Spectra Braid

[FishNoob]

Hey everyone i was just wondering is spectra braid any good?

[Jords]

The ebay stuff? It's ffishable with mate, but has a fair bit of twist in it - I reckon you would be just as well of spending fractionally more on some fireline

[FishNoob]

Cheers

[Surfingant]

Or a little more again and get some power pro.

[doss]

power pro is a really good!!

[plugga]

It's all i use.

caught reefies and a big makceral on it.

cheers

[planetfonz]

It's all i use.

caught reefies and a big makceral on it.

cheers

same here.. the only time i'll spend more on braid is when its for my SP get-up and that has 4lb stren

[cboy69]

In the 4lb I found it was very bad compared to fireline as it would get 'wooly/fluffy' very quickly. Also the ends would fray and fluff up as soon as I cut it, thus making it very hard to thread the end through hooks and knots (even worse at night).

I ended up getting rid of it.

I have only tried 4lb in fireline, suffix and spectra. My preference is Suffix, Fireline, Spectra not even considered now.... it was really that painful to use

[plugga]

Yes i agree-

6lb and under defs go with other more well known brands.

but anything 12-60[the range of lb's i've previously used] its great stuff. but after heavy uses it can lose coloration.

cheers

Jordan

[Jords]

Ive only used it in 4-8lb, and didn't have fluffing issues, but found that it would often catch around the tip after casting because of the twist, don't have any experience with higher/stronger line classes

[rayke1938]

Orca had an interesting post a while back on braid.

Here is a link to a spectra manufacturer in the States.

http://www.jerry-brown-industries.com/

Have a look around his site as it has some interesting info.

I just got a 600 yard spool of his 20lb solid spectra but so far havent even spooled it on a reel.You can purchase directly from the manufacturer at approx half the price from an Aussie retailer.

Cheers

Ray

[roverfj1200]

I bid on 1000m of 30lb spectra braid $40 all up from Hong Kong. Was here in a week. But when it got here it was Saratoga. It is not the best I have used but is OK for bait fishing maybe a bit stiff for SP's.

Cheers

[rayke1938]

Here is part of ORCAs post.

In an industry that seems to be able to get away with telling half truths and sometimes just downright lies on a regular basis, it seems to me nothing gets more nonsense talked about than Braid. Magazines and Newspapers and Boards like this are full of claims and counter claims as to what is the best etc.

With this in mind, I thought I should share some TRUTHS with you and you can make your own mind up in the future about what type of Braid to buy armed with some more knowledge than you probably have now.

The first thing most people don’t realise is that there are only 2 real PE Dyneema manufacturers in the world - one of them is in Holland and the other is a company called Toyobo in Japan - the factory that manufactures our Takeda Braid.. When I made my fist visit to the factory about 6 years ago before we started to put Braid into our product line, almost the very first question they asked me was “How much do you want to pay�. I thought this to be a very strange thing to ask until I eventually realised what they were actually on about.

Apparently it is very common to blend cotton in with the Dyneema to make the Braid. This can reduce the cost quite significantly but also reduces the amount of time it takes to rot and also it makes the braid thicker and more buoyant thus taking more time to sink through the water.

They also asked me if I preferred stiff or soft braid as they can spray silicon and all sorts of other stuff onto the braid to vary its stiffness and of course vary its cost. One other question they asked me was how many strands did I want. Many of the cheaper braids use 6 strand which has an elliptical cross section or 8 strand which has a nice round cross section shape. The round shape in my experience gives you a better casting distance because it goes through the guides easier.

All this information was initially a bit hard for an old lifetime Mono user to get his head around but eventually I did and in summary I will give you my observations:

• The best braid i think you can buy is 100% Dyneema and has 8 strands in the weave. This makes it nice and round and very soft, and also gives it the longest life expectancy.

• Cheaper Braid often is blended with cotton and uses 6 strands ,rots much quicker, and tends to sink slower.

• The stiffness of the Braid is very much a personal preference and is a bit of a red herring in terms of whether or not its better than another. Some people like stiff braids and other people like it soft. One is NOT better than the other in my honest opinion though the marketing departments of the major brands will try to tell you differently.

• The cost difference between brands can be huge. Our Takeda Braid is 100% pure Japanese Dyneema and uses an 8 strand weave. It is nice and soft.

• I am aware of several “BIG NAME†braids that are exactly the same as ours but are priced around 20-40% higher because they are perceived in the market to be superior because they are badged with a well known name.

• The diameter of the braid again is subject to individual preferences to a degree and is ultimately a compromise between having a nice soft feel as opposed to making it as thin as possible. If you use our Takeda braid as an example, my personal preference is to make a nice soft braid so therefore our braid is not the thinnest on the market. However, I can ask the factory to pre- stretch it and make a tighter weave and it will result in a reduction in diameter which in turn will have less water resistance. The downside is it will be stiffer and potentially reduce its knot strength according to the factory engineers.

This is not meant to be a highly technical explanation of all the ins and outs of different braids but I hope it at least gives you some food for thought in the future when braid shopping.

Cheers

Orca

Cheers

Ray

[reddybandit]

you get what you pay for