Braided Line Review

FlatsNBay · January 20, 2023, 05:18:59 PM

I've been a Power Pro user for probably over 20 years, with no complaints. Even though I never had a complaint, I wasn't really aware or even cared about other braided lines. I kind of equate my love for Power Pro to this scenario: Many people are happy with their minivan with zero complaints. When they have the opportunity to drive a sports car, let's say a corvette, the ride and handling is that much sweeter and an obvious edge in performance in feel and ride is experienced. Power Pro has been my minivan and some of the newer braids have been my corvette!! LOL

A few years ago, I won a spool of Tufline Supercast braid and decided to give it a try and was blown away at the subtleness, castability and strength of the line on spinning gear. I tried other braided lines in the Tufline lineup and was very pleased with them (Domin8, XP, and Force). I was very happy with Tufline and then Mustad bought them out. The price went up and the quality went down.

I went back to Power Pro to see what I was missing. It was like driving a minivan again. I had no complaint other than it didn't handle and perform as well as what I experienced with Tufline. I set out to try some other braids. One requirement that I had was affordability. Some of the high-end expensive braids are I'm sure excellent but were out of my price range.

Next up was Suffix 832. It is an 8-carrier braid. As much as I wanted to like it, it didn't blow me away. The color bled easily, and the handling was rather stiff for an 8-carrier braid. I tried the 832 on both my frogging (50 lb) and flipping (65 lb). It didn't excite me enough to be swayed from Power Pro. I also tried the newer Sufix ProMix on my medium light saltwater spinning rod. Promix is (I think) a 4 carrier braid with color fast technology so that it won't fade or bleed. It was good and casted easily in the surf. I haven't used it very long to give it a fair assessment yet. The price was excellent.

I tried Spiderwire Stealth for flipping and it was very similar to Power Pro and I didn't experience any noticeable difference.

Next up was some of the Berkley lines. I tried Berkley X9 which is a 9-carrier braid in 10 lb. test on my finesse spinning reel and boy, what a nice handling line. It reminded me of Tufline Supercast. It handled beautifully, had an increase in casting distance and I have yet to break it. I've given it a good run for over a year and tested both green and Hi Vis Yellow and they performed great. The color seemed to not fade as fast as some of the other braids that I've fished over the years. I then, tried the Berkley X5 braid which is a 5-carrier braid for both my flipping and frogging and loved every minute of using them. The color held fast and castability with my frog rod was excellent. I've fished with the X5 for over a year and hadn't had a break off yet. I've been very pleased with both the Berkley X5 and X9.

I've got down to needing to buy braid again for my light spinning reel and was set on Berkley X9, but I thought, let's see what you guys like for light spinning applications and maybe I'll test another braid since I like experimenting! Do you have any recommendations for a light spinning reel braid that won't break the bank? Looking forward to hearing what you come up with.

big g · January 20, 2023, 05:46:49 PM

Thanks for the in-depth report. It has been rather quite here lately, and the report is greatly appreciated. Thanks Flats, and Go Noles!

Capt. BassinLou · January 20, 2023, 05:50:05 PM

Ninex braid from CPF Lures. I use it for my bfs applications. Top notch.

BassmanRudy · January 20, 2023, 06:44:53 PM

I have been buying the 4 strand Reaction Tackle stuff and plenty happy. 300yd spool for $14 and they have specials/coupons a lot. Used 10lb to 65lb range and lots of colors to choose from. They do have an 8 and 9 strand braid too but price goes up accordingly.

https://www.reactiontackle.com/products/reaction-tackle-high-performance-braided-fishing-line-fluorescent-yellow?variant=12197475713060

BassmanRudy · January 20, 2023, 06:47:02 PM

Won't let me edit the above comment- I usually run the 30lb on my spinning rods as it's such a small diameter. Hi vis yellow to see wacky rig bites and color stays for a long time.

Dink Dawg · January 20, 2023, 10:13:32 PM

I have great confidence in my mono and flouro lines at this point but I'm still looking for a braid that I can settle on. Sufix 131 has grown on me but it's a premium price too.

Princeton_Man · January 21, 2023, 04:04:13 AM

Great review! I've been a very happy Made in USA PowerPro guy for a lot of years, but it's good to know what else is out there and worth trying should I ever get the notion to try something different.

BassmanRudy · January 21, 2023, 08:40:40 PM

30% off sale on Spider Wire just came to my inbox. Was my phone reading our posts lol?!

https://www.purefishing.com/spiderwire?pf_ptypes=superline

fishingram24 · January 24, 2023, 08:02:47 PM

Power Pro user for many years but I have been using H2O braid from Academy recently and have been really pleased with it. Gradually respooling all my reels with it.

coldfront · January 24, 2023, 09:15:41 PM

flatsNbay: just picked up more of the old school suffix performance braid (clearance over on tacklewarehouse).
I use the 10# on my spinning rigsand 30# on my frog rods/c-rigs/punching...
never had a complaint. it's green but loses color to light fairly quickly. that's okay: I'd prefer it stay dark, but the lighter color is easier to pick up bites (don't need to buy the neon yellow or pink stuff)...

I just picked up extra spools... 'cause I do like the stuff. and at $6.99 (vs regular $20) figured I'd take advantage of the close out since they're obviously not making more.

I actually prefer the performance braid OVER the 832... know marketing folks have to make their $$$ but it kinda chaps my hiney when companies move to 'new and improved' products that are 'not' actually...

chrisD46 · September 27, 2023, 07:23:31 AM

My journey and results absolutely mirror what you stated in your braid review!! For me , I still have no complaints with Power Pro but seeing how nice Berkley X5 and X9 are for their intended applications - I will be looking for sales of X5 and X9 in the future and buy accordingly (especially X9 for my finesse spinning set ups).

Donald Garner · September 27, 2023, 10:37:46 AM

I don't use Braided line all that much. I've tried Spiderwire and couple other brands over time and found that Power Pro has been the one for me.

J.W. · September 27, 2023, 11:32:43 AM

I tried a few different ones, but only a few, before I settled on PowerPro original. Suffix 832, SpiderWire, Berkely Fireline (which is not quite the same since it's fused), and maybe a couple of others I can't remember. So far PowerPro has been what I buy over and over again because of its combination of price, castability, availability, and toughness. I'm sure there are probably some better lines out there, but so far I've got no complaints about what I'm using.

skidemn · October 05, 2023, 08:28:04 AM

On my baitcasters I run Daiwa J-Braid and PowerPro. The J-Braid is better in every way except colorfastness, but I get PowerPro for $5/spool so I use it when money is tight. I have used Spiderwire and that stuff is very well named, as it reminded me of wire—just terrible. I have also used Izorline since my local shop carries it on bulk spools, and it's not bad. Softer than PowerPro but they only carried white and I didn't like it. I prefer dark colors on my baitcasters since I'm usually not finesse fishing with them.

For my spinning reels I run nothing but Sunline SX-1 Hi-Viz yellow as it is super limp and I can see it well when dropshotting. I have been wanting to see what the Sunline Asegai is all about, but I still have so much SX-1 that I haven't had a chance to try it.

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Oldfart9999 · October 06, 2023, 08:29:26 AM

Started with Fireline, tried Power Pro and haven't looked back.
Rodney

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FlatsNBay · October 07, 2023, 07:57:42 AM

As I study and try different braids, I've found out a few things from interviewing different pros because I'm an outdoor writer.

Standby for an article in Bass Angler Magazine about fishing with braided lines with Elite Series Pro Hunter Shryock. His choices are interesting. I value his opinion as he recently caught a 6 pounder on Lake Murray in an Elite Series tournament as it wrapped him up under a dock and he successfully landed the fish without breaking off.

Another famous pro who was sponsored by a different company said that during tournaments he used Dawai Samurai braid (which is not his sponsored line company) because he feels that it has a smaller diameter than other lines.