Power pro (spectra) vs Dyneema

[Dwbuzzard]

Are thes the same material? I notice that dyneema can be had for about a third of the cost. Any major differences between the two? Thanks.

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

Spectra covers a lot mor than PP, in fact that's bottom of the barrel stuff. Dynema is a generic version

[Black Pearl]

Are thes the same material? I notice that dyneema can be had for about a third of the cost. Any major differences between the two? Thanks.

Spectra and Dyneema are almost the same. For real Spectra and Dyneema are very costly. You can find a lot of lines state that they uses Spectra or Dyneema on Ebay, but in fact that it is made with Chinese PE line (it is not the same material). I know Spectra has 2 versions, S1000 and S2000, and Dyneema has 2 versions SK61 and SK71.

The Spectra material costs cheaper in the USA, but it is 2 or 3 times more outside of the USA. Therefore, a lot of companies start using Dyneema. For instance, Diawa uses Dyneema.

Please notes that there is Dyneema made in China and made in Japan. They are difference. You always want to look for SK-71 Japanese Dyneema. It is very soft and silky.

[Dwbuzzard]

so how much difference is there between the sk 61 and 71? If I end up with the 61 instead is that bad?

[saltydog]

Not really, I've been using the stuff for years and have had no problems with it. What you need to look at is thread count, 4 strand,6, 8 ,12, there is a difference just like the high end braids it is all up to what you want to spend.

[philaroman]

they're different fibers made from the same base material -- gel-spun polyethylene.  Spectra has thicker individual filaments & Dyneema has thinner ones & more of them -- as raw material, it's softer & cheaper.  initially, all braids had 3-6 carriers (strands of filaments); Spectra was vastly superior; the Dyneema looked great straight out of the box, but quickly got "hairy"...  since then, second-generation Spectra 2000 & Dyneema SK71 came out; the Japanese figured out how to make a superior Dyneema product (8-16 carriers) with better braiding/coating techniques; and the Chinese got into the game with cheap trash.

originally, two US factories made all the Spectra in the world & one Euro (Dutch?) factory made all the Dyneema.  Now, I'm not quite sure what's going on    What's "Japanese Dyneema" -- is it still Euro PE meticulously braided in Japan, or did the Japanese buy the actual manufacturing process for raw Dyneema fiber?  Did the patent-busting Chinese copy Dyneema fiber, or are they just buying PE from Europe & shooting out loose, crappy braid w/ low strand count?  Who knows?

In short, don't worry so much about what it's made of, but WHO makes it & HOW -- tight, neat, uniform, multi-strand braiding & thin, durable, colorfast coating are MUCH more important than Spectra vs. Dyneema.  As a general rule, though (IMO):  the thicker Spectra filaments are more likely to give you a serviceable affordable braid with moderate carrier count; thinner softer Dyneema fibers are better suited to hi-tech, expensive braid w/ high carrier count; and loose, low-strand braid is virtually guaranteed to be crap, especially if it's third-world Dyneema

[Reinaard van der Vossen]

I tried to investigate the same questions years ago. As far as I could identify the following is quite accurate (but please note that I write this from memory):

Actually the fibers, dyneema and spectra used to be exactly the same. The dyneema fibers are made originally by DSM in Geleen, Netherlands. They later licenced the process to honywell (and or Allied fibers) which is now one compnay)

In the US it was called spectra (for the fibers produced by Honywell) Lateron the fibers have been further developped but DSM and Honeywell developped indepentently. Nowadays there are small differences in spectra and dyneema for this reason. These differences are quite small.

DSM has licensed the process to Japan, Toray if I recal correctly and continued to refine the process with them together. The product made in Japan and the Netherlands is identical.

As far as I know there isn't another manufacturer of the fibers in the world.

Al fishing lines which use pure dyneema/spectra are made from (almost) the same fibers. Differences in the fibers are hardly measurable

Nevertheless there can be differences in fishing lines. The production method of the line, the method of braiding and the thickness of the original strands and how many strands are used, all have an impact on the end product. Also the tightness of the braid has an impact on strength and usability.

Some fishing line producers "fuse" the line by heating which will give fifferent characteristics again.

It doesn't matter whether dyneema or spectra is used. It matters a lot how the line is made and from the slection of strand size and number, thightness of the braid etc.

Whether the chinese brands use always dyneema or mix anything else I don't know. If have purchased some 6 strand chinese stuff and had that tested by Paulus from "paulus just fishing". the 20 lb version had a higher breaking strength than the 30 lb but other wise the line is fine. I use it for non critical applications. On the heavy marlin and tuna stuff I take no such risk and used izorline.


I've been involved in the design (allas not the spinning machines) and construction of some of the factories in NL but that was ages ago

[Bryan Young]

And Spectra is a registered trade name.

[Dynamo]

Dyneema is not spectra, usually. Dyneema is to be avoided, it is usually just oversized sewing thread, made of cotton or some other cheap material. If you want cheap spectra, type into the Ebay search bar, "X strong PE fishing braid". The braid should come in green spools, and have "Free Fisher" on it. Its good braid, it sinks so boats can't snag it, and you can get a 1000 meter spool of 150 test braid for 50 bucks, shipped. Im not endorsing them or anything, its just a bargain. They had it on Amazon too, for a couple bucks more.

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

Dynamo real spectra and Dynema floats, where did you get the over sized sewing thread from? Only Dynema or spectra I've had problems with was PP and spider wire, spider wire really is a cheap line though.

[Black Pearl]

Dyneema is not spectra, usually. Dyneema is to be avoided, it is usually just oversized sewing thread, made of cotton or some other cheap material. If you want cheap spectra, type into the Ebay search bar, "X strong PE fishing braid". The braid should come in green spools, and have "Free Fisher" on it. Its good braid, it sinks so boats can't snag it, and you can get a 1000 meter spool of 150 test braid for 50 bucks, shipped. Im not endorsing them or anything, its just a bargain. They had it on Amazon too, for a couple bucks more.

Dyneema is just an oversized sewing thread. Are you sure? I have been using it and selling it for awhile. They are as good as Spectra. If Dyneema were bad, how come so many people are buying into the Daiwa braided line?

[Dynamo]

"Dyneema is just an oversized sewing thread."

You forgot the "usually" from my post ! Usually when people want to buy dyneema braid, they do it because it is cheaper than brand name braid. Most cheap dyneema braids are made of cotton or some other cheap fabric, hence the comparison to sewing thread. Are they really sewing thread, just made larger? Nope, but its made very similarly, and is thus similarly useless for fishing applications. Some Dyneema braid is good, I bet. But most, NOT. Hope that answers your question.


"Dynamo real spectra and Dynema floats" (by Bunnlevel).

Er, I was talking about the cheap alternative to brand-name spectra, the Free fisher enterprise braid I was talking about, not dyneema itself. Read my post again. I've had bad experiences with cheap line like dyneema, so have a lot of people apparently. That's why I posted at all. Have you ever used in fact the cheap china made dyneema braid? Cause I'd bet anybody that most dyneema brands on Ebay and Amazon will perform terribly. (Terrible fray factor, breaks way under manufacture's listed number, Very soft and unravels, dye comes out and stains, etcetera.) Usually, you get what you pay for.

[cathauler65]

I'm sure all would agree that USA, W Germany, Japan etc all produce tools & other products at least equal to anything available elsewhere in the world.

Regarding some peoples comments regarding PowerPro, I would be interested whether the 'faulty' line was bought at a realistic price from a reputable vendor or whether some 'price sensitive' individuals may have bought cheap & ended up with Chinese counterfeit tat?

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

Spooled from a tackle shop, a lot of times it just comes back snapped. 15-18lbs should pop 80lb braid with a 15 turn spider hitch in it.

[Dynamo]

It isn't the fact that the cheap braid is made in China, its the fact that the braid isn't made well. Im part Chinese, and I'm not racist. I've learned that you get what you pay for, I'll tell you that . The cheap braid is most commonly found at Amazon and especially Ebay, (some sellers there are reputable, a lot however, not so). Hope that helps. Honestly, if 80 lb braid snapped while spooling, it would snap when you had a large fish pulling that 15-18 lbs of drag. Which braid are you speaking of?