A quick review - Berkley Fireline Exceed

[LOX Flats Basher]

Hey guys and girls,

I had a good opportunity to take out a spool of Berkleys' new(ish) Fireline Exceed.

Lets just say I have never been a fan of fireline but I decided to give it a shot and needless to say I was actually quite impressed :cheer:

I ran 3Kg mono backing and 135 Yards of crystal (I think thats the name of the colour :S ) 2.5Kg Fireline exceed onto my 2 piece LOX flick stick and Daiwa Frearms and went to work... Then it turned sour. With a good 15 knot wind blowing in my face and only light jigheads and gulp Sps to work with, it was going to be one hell of a test.

With previous Firelines I had a lot of drama with wind knots and knots simply becoming unwound but found neither of these problems with the exceed. I still had good casting distance and accuracy with no signs of turning bad. Knot strength was great using a short bimini double through to an improved allbright, and these travelled thru the minute upper guides on my LOX with ease. I was running 8 pound Berkley Vanish Fluro due to the rocks and pylons in the area

Sensitivity is great, and even the abrasion resistance was good for a fused braid, with fingermark, whiting and a decent long tom giving it a good run. The fingermark really do head for home when hooked, and after 4 of these fish going to about 500 grams, only small schooling fish but still, very little chafing or furring was seen and even where it was evident the line still held up well.

All in all, when compared with other braids around the same price of roughly $25 for 135 yards I rate it as honestly one of the best I've used and it's found a home on my spool.

Hope this helps someone... :silly:

[WayneD]

I saw this in BCF and I wanted something in the 20 pound range so I bought it to try. Absolute rubbish. Broke way too easily, lost 4 spinnerbaits due to line snapping on the upper brissy bass. Same rod and reel that I had my 14pd fireline on and never had any dramas. Took it off and binned it straight away. Cost me about $80 for a days fishing between the cost of it and the 4 spinnerbaits I lost.

I have since read that the reviews on the heavier line classes for exceed do not perform as well as the lighter ones. Replaced it with sunline PE 20pd.

I see that you tried out the lighter class and that\'s why you\'re in favour of it as per it\'s reviews but in my opinion if your stepping up a class then give this product a miss.

[Zim man]

a quick review was done a while ago

/>http://www.australianfishing.com.au/forum/tackle-rods-and-reels/409088-berkley-fireline-exceed-review#409113

in short , no one liked it, i myself found it to be useless, perhaps more useless than gillard .

[LOX Flats Basher]

Everyone has their own opinions I guess. I found it great, and can't be the only one... Or can I?... :whistle:

[TIM D]

I'm running 8lb exceed on my 2500 Symetre and haven't had any dramas with it. I guess i haven't tested it on any fully hektic Bream though that may snap it with ease :whistle:

cheers tim

[Surfingant]

Which line did you run LOX? Fireline Exceed or Fireline Crystal? They are 2 different things, the crystal is awesome in the lighter (4lb and under) ratings but the exceed on the other hand is poo no matter what the rating, as most people tend to agree on. I found with the exceed I didn't even need to stretch it on a "fully hectic" bream for it to break, it just did it of its own accord on a cast taking my lures with it. I also found that it would randomly break whilst tightening a leader knot under normal tension, not at the knot but a few centimetres above it, yep quality stuff

[TIM D]

I found with the exceed I didn't even need to stretch it on a "fully hectic" bream for it to break, it just did it of its own accord on a cast taking my lures with it. I also found that it would randomly break whilst tightening a leader knot under normal tension, not at the knot but a few centimetres above it, yep quality stuff

I havent experienced any of those problems yet

When i hook and lose a decent bay Snapper then i'll bin the Exceed and go back to normal Fireline. I have landed a 55cm Flattie so far and the braid hasnt snapped, also when i snapped the line on a snag it broke at the leader not the braid so maybe i got a good batch.

cheers tim

[EZY]

running 12lb on one outfit can't fault it. great stuff.

[jnewy]

i have been using it on my nortic stage 4 pound but i have to cast sidways if anybody knows what i meen and i love it no leader no swivel sinker on the hook it works for me cryistal

[tomca]

a quick review was done a while ago

/>http://www.australianfishing.com.au/forum/tackle-rods-and-reels/409088-berkley-fireline-exceed-review#409113

in short , no one liked it, i myself found it to be useless, perhaps more useless than gillard .

I like the way Runty loves it in that thread then a week later loves PE instead. :pinch:

[stinkyibis]

Cheers guys, has helped me steer well clear of this product. Sounds like it is just as nastly a product as the berkley nanofil. I'll stick to the much more expensive better braids and keep saving $$$ thankyou

[TIM D]

If you want quality braid grab some Daiwa Saltiga Hyper Pe, im using the Pe3 (50lb) on my Saltiga and it's great, also very cheap at $165 for 300 metres

cheers tim

[Surfingant]

No need to spend heaps on braid stinkyibis, I find nitlon pe is great and sun line super pe rates well also, both are around the $40 mark, note the only place in brissy that I have found that has the nitlon is tackle warehouse I think. Interestingly seeing as they are pretty much the same product aside from the colour is that I have had much less trouble with the nitlon on my spin reels vs the sunline, I have sunline on my baitcast though and can't fault it on that. I do use shimano spin reels and my mates with daiwa reels don't experience the same issues with sunline on them, presuming due to the tapered spool?

[aussie123]

What do you guys think of the Sufix 832 braid.

I am thinking of buying some in to see what it is like before I add it to the website

[Surfingant]

What do you guys think of the Sufix 832 braid.

I am thinking of buying some in to see what it is like before I add it to the website

I haven't tried it but have heard good things so would be willing to give it a crack. I'm looking for some new line for one of my bass reels so might try that.

[Damien2Rad]

I haven't used it, but the same story every time with every braid.

Some love it and some hate it.

Try it for yourself before you commit to selling it.

[aussie123]

I have read some great reviews about the 832 and several people have said its one of the best on the market but again people have preferences that others may hate.

I am keen to order some in as it has some of the finest diameters in the range.

I have some Power Pro on the way now to try as well as I have heard plenty of great reports about it.

[Surfingant]

I didn't mind the power pro Lance but for two things, it seemed to twist a lot which I think caused guide wraps a bit more compared to others that I've tried on the same rod and reel and it also lost its colour and ended up being basically white from the original yellow. Only small things I know but still it was enough to make me ditch it.

[aussie123]

I didn't mind the power pro Lance but for two things, it seemed to twist a lot which I think caused guide wraps a bit more compared to others that I've tried on the same rod and reel and it also lost its colour and ended up being basically white from the original yellow. Only small things I know but still it was enough to make me ditch it.

That sounds like the last braid I bought,it's doing the same sort of thing.

I cannot remember what brand it was either,lol

I am really keen on the Sufix,all reports put it right up there with the very best but its very expensive.

300 yrd rolls are $80 at BCF

[Surfingant]

That's probably a bit cheap actually, a 300 yd spool of nitlon is 90 I think and that is only 4 strand AFAIK. The suffix is 8 strand.

[aussie123]

I wont pay 90 bux for a roll of braid,lol

What size braid would you be after Ant.

I reckon I should be able to do the Sufix 832 for about $50 for 300 yds and about $30 for a 150 yd spool

[LOX Flats Basher]

Which line did you run LOX? Fireline Exceed or Fireline Crystal? They are 2 different things, the crystal is awesome in the lighter (4lb and under) ratings but the exceed on the other hand is poo no matter what the rating, as most people tend to agree on. I found with the exceed I didn't even need to stretch it on a "fully hectic" bream for it to break, it just did it of its own accord on a cast taking my lures with it. I also found that it would randomly break whilst tightening a leader knot under normal tension, not at the knot but a few centimetres above it, yep quality stuff

Really seems to be a lot of mixed reviews here on this product. I am running 2.5 Kg Berkley Fireline Exceed in the crystal/smoke colour. Funnily enough I thought the crystal itself was rubbish... :whistle:

Possibly bad batches or something? Although this would be more than a bad batch by the sounds of it. In the end I've used more expensive braids such as Daiwa TD sensor etc and find the Berkley product just, well, better... Please dont flame me too much for this.. :silly:

[Damien2Rad]

I really liked TD Sensor for a while... until the first half windy day..

If I want cheap line I usually just get FINS.

My reels have

Toray 4lb

Sunline Castaway PE 10lb

Daiwa Hyper AccuDepth 20lb

Fins 20lb

Fins 30lb x 2

Sunline Super PE 30lb

Saltiga Hyper PE3

Saltiga SW8 PE5

I find all these lines acceptable.

[Surfingant]

I wont pay 90 bux for a roll of braid,lol

What size braid would you be after Ant.

I reckon I should be able to do the Sufix 832 for about $50 for 300 yds and about $30 for a 150 yd spool

No 90 is a bit steep, I go for the 150yd spool and fill the rest with mono. I would be after 6lb, if the price is that good I'd get a 300 spool.

[Surfingant]

Which line did you run LOX? Fireline Exceed or Fireline Crystal? They are 2 different things, the crystal is awesome in the lighter (4lb and under) ratings but the exceed on the other hand is poo no matter what the rating, as most people tend to agree on. I found with the exceed I didn't even need to stretch it on a "fully hectic" bream for it to break, it just did it of its own accord on a cast taking my lures with it. I also found that it would randomly break whilst tightening a leader knot under normal tension, not at the knot but a few centimetres above it, yep quality stuff

Really seems to be a lot of mixed reviews here on this product. I am running 2.5 Kg Berkley Fireline Exceed in the crystal/smoke colour. Funnily enough I thought the crystal itself was rubbish... :whistle:

Possibly bad batches or something? Although this would be more than a bad batch by the sounds of it. In the end I've used more expensive braids such as Daiwa TD sensor etc and find the Berkley product just, well, better... Please dont flame me too much for this.. :silly:

No not flaming at all mate, just sharing my experiences. Berkley must have brought out an updated exceed (and hopefully better) then if yours is crystal/smoke as the one we've all used AFAIK is orange. I agree with the crystal being rubbish over 4lb.

[aussie123]

I wont pay 90 bux for a roll of braid,lol

What size braid would you be after Ant.

I reckon I should be able to do the Sufix 832 for about $50 for 300 yds and about $30 for a 150 yd spool

No 90 is a bit steep, I go for the 150yd spool and fill the rest with mono. I would be after 6lb, if the price is that good I'd get a 300 spool.

That should be the prices.

If it is any dearer,it will only be a max of $5 as I worked it out on a rough freight estimate.

[stinkyibis]

When using any berkley fireline and stren microfuse, these fused gelspuns in particular seem to differ a lot depending on the guides used and the breaking strain. For instance, I find anything over 10lb in gelspun awful to the touch so have never used this. All my mates using stren microfuse and fireline have many mixed results in breaking strains 4lb to 8lb. I wonder if this exceed handles the same, I want to try it cos it's cheap but the line failure stories on the cast and colour rubbing off is a complete turn off. The line failure is what I got with berkley nanofil 3lb, just bad and tangled in my samurai 101 guides all day. This is all getting interesting as fireline crystal in 3lb is the fireline I had the least tangles and issues with. And i have never seen fireline exceed in crystal. Only in the high-vis orange colour. And I'm at a tackle store every 2nd day.

I fish light and so far use line system and sunline. Recently after my nanofil failure I have been using toray saltline light fish PE in 4lb. Breaks very close to the rated strain, ultrafine. I'm hoping it keeps on staying awesome. In heavier braid I have been using black magic 20lb black braid, if anyone else is using these braids would like to hear what you think of them.

[TIM D]

i have never seen fireline exceed in crystal. Only in the high-vis orange colour. And I'm at a tackle store every 2nd day.

I have the white Fireline Exceed Crystal in 8lb, got it from tacklewarehouse. It comes in 3 different colours, Crystal, Orange and Flame Green.

/>http://tackleware.cart.net.au/details/3473097.html

cheers tim

[ellicat]

What do you guys think of the Sufix 832 braid.

I am thinking of buying some in to see what it is like before I add it to the website

Stumbled across this stuff about 4 years ago and it is great. Smooth, supple, thin, lasts well.

Neal82 brought me some 20lb "Advanced" back from the States last year and it is great too.

Ted tried to get me on some other stuff. I bought a spool and found it to be like rope in comparison to the Suffix.

[aussie123]

What do you guys think of the Sufix 832 braid.

I am thinking of buying some in to see what it is like before I add it to the website

Stumbled across this stuff about 4 years ago and it is great. Smooth, supple, thin, lasts well.

Neal82 brought me some 20lb "Advanced" back from the States last year and it is great too.

Ted tried to get me on some other stuff. I bought a spool and found it to be like rope in comparison to the Suffix.

Thanks for that info Brian.

I have read and heard nothing but raving reviews about it which is why I am interested in trying it out.

I think the price is a bit prohibitive here for most people to try it but we can try to change change that.

They also do one called Performance Fuse which is supposed to be top stuff too.

[stinkyibis]

Well cheers for that guys, I will be sure to give the fireline exceed crystal in a low breaking strain a go. You guys have also convinced me to try the sufix 832, if it's as good as you guys say, the price is great. Have used sufix leaders and found them to be ok. Wanna get it in something like 10lb soon for bay pinkies. I'll try comparing it with power pro and fins in 10lb and see how it fares.

[Do$tylz]

I know most people shake their heads in wonder for braids that are expensive... and I keep mentioning Linesystems Frog PE braid, but I have never been disappointed with it, and I can't find anyone saying anything bad about it anywhere, other than the price.

I've had the same spool of 4lb on my stella 1000 for the last 3 years and it may not be as brightly orange as a brand new pack, but its still orange, soft, supple and strong.

I've got it in 4lb, 6lb, 8lb, 15lb, 30lb and 80lb. Nothing but awesomeness.

back to the OT - i've never tried the exceed but if it is even withing cooee of fireline = no thanks.