Spectra?

[Marcq]

Sorry for my ignorance but   
I often hear the word Spectra, is it some kind of braid or a brand of braid? If it is, how does it compare to Power Pro

Thanks, Marc..

[wailua boy]

Hopefully someone can chime in more details but I think Spectra is a braid and if im not mistaken Powerpro is made from braided Spectra.

[MarkT]

Spectra is what the braid is woven from.  Dyneema is very similar to Spectra and also used in braid.  PowerPro is a brand of braid.

[Marcq]

So Power Pro is spectra?

Marc..

[philaroman]

the material is PE (gel-spun polyethylene)...  originally, 2 US factories (Honeywell?) made Spectra & 1 (Dutch?) factory made Dyneema...  not sure who makes what now, or what the Chinese PE should be called

[Marcq]

I get it

Thanks guys, Marc..

[oc1]

not sure who makes what now, or what the Chinese PE should be called

It seems the Chinese usually call it dyneema.  I didn't know the Honeywell and Dutch background.  The cheap Chinese dyneema seems to hold up as well as Power Pro for me.  The dyes used to color moss green Power Pro wear off fairly quickly, but color on cheap Chinese dyneema wears off even quicker.  So quick that it comes off on your hands.
-steve

[Cor]

I've always understood that Dyneema and Spectra are trade names for similar fibres that are used to make Fishing Braid from and both have similar characteristics.    I the early days I preferred Dynema as I thought that was the "original" fibre but these days I no longer care.

As to the dye......it's just a messy coating that wears off the line very quickly, same as the stuff they coat it with to give it some "body"

[sabaman1]

Power Pro is considered spectra. Owned by Shimano, spun by Honeywell Industries

[Rivverrat]

I've not used any of the newer variations of Power Pro. The original stuff was crap... that's being nice about it... Jeff

[Marcq]

Well!! You learn some everyday 

Marc..

[whalebreath]

Then there's Fireline

Then Gliss.....

[philaroman]

I've not used any of the newer variations of Power Pro. The original stuff was crap... that's being nice about it... Jeff

I beg to differ...

the true ORIGINAL PP from Innovative Textiles, in plain no-frills packaging, was EXCELLENT for the price (by far, better than most 4-carrier braids)...  then, long before the Shimano buy-out, the packaging got progressively fancier, while the braiding got progressively sloppier...  at some point, there was also allegedly a huge batch of counterfeit PP on fleaBay, that pulled apart like cotton-balls

same thing happened to Spiderwire: when it was made by Safariland, it was expensive & good; when Pure Fishing bought them out, they turned it into affordable crap

in short, PE is PE -- super-thin & super-strong, straight out of the box (unless it's defective/counterfeit)
how long it stays that way, is ALL ABOUT THE BRAIDING:

• YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR -- neat, tight braiding w/ more carriers (strands) is slow, hence EXPENSIVE!
• Spectra - fewer/thicker PE filaments; seems to lend itself better to good, affordable 4-carrier braids <60 lb.
• Dyneema - more/thinner PE filaments; seems to lend itself better to high-end 8-carrier Super Braids <60 lb.
• if you see 3-carrier, avoid it like the plague, esp. if it's Dyneema

[Swami805]

I've used power-pro for years,works fine for me. For the heavier line I use Jerry Brown,that hollow is good stuff. The one I tried that I didn't like was suffix,has no body and seemed to want to knot up. That's just me for what it's worth.

[Keta]

I've not used any of the newer variations of Power Pro. The original stuff was crap... that's being nice about it... Jeff

I like and sell JB but I also use PP, give it another try.  I really like the Depth Hunter and Ace Hollow 40#.