Spectra?

Started by Marcq, June 08, 2018, 07:55:20 PM

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jurelometer

#15
Quote from: philaroman on June 08, 2018, 08:26:58 PM
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

The base material is UHMWPE   (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene).     This is similar to HDPE plastic that you may have seen (the better plastic cutting boards,  StarBoard, etc.),

Polyethylene is extremely solvent resistant,  but a Dutch company managed to figure out a process to turn the solid  stuff into a goo (gel) that could be stretched into long fibers (spun).  Unlike the original UHMWPE,  the molecules in the gel spun fiber are aligned in long chains.    Perfect for  making lines.

This product was trademarked Dyneema.   It was licensed  to Honeywell  in the USA,  which uses the Spectra trademark.  It was also licensed to  company in Japan as which uses the Dyneema trademark.  I have no idea where the actual factories are.  There are patents involved in the manufacturing process, I haven't seen any trademarks other than Dyneema or Spectra.  


I think the manufacturing proceeds is a bit like a pyramid.   There are only a few suppliers of the base fibers,  lots more manufacturers that weave the fibers into lines, and way too many consumer brands.  

A weaver  can use  different  variants of the base fibers,  and then  weave the fibers into  braid in a variety of ways to a variety of tolerances, depending on  customer requirements for performance and price. The braid can be dyed and coatings  can be applied,  but since nothing sticks to polyethylene,  these don't always last very long.  

The fibers are formed into strands often called carriers.  An "eight strand"   or "eight carrier" line is a braid of eight strands.   The pic count refers to how tightly the braid is woven.   A tighter braid will will stiffer, but in theory will have a bit less strength and abrasion resistance than a loose braid.  

A good or bad line for a given price point can be made from either Dyneema or Spectra fibers.

And if anyone has found nice stiff braid that casts half way decently on saltwater conventional reels,   I'm all ears.
 
-J

Rivverrat

#16
Quote from: philaroman on June 10, 2018, 02:35:00 PM
Quote from: Rivverrat on June 10, 2018, 01:35:07 AM
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)...   

When compared to other 4 carrier  lines & considering price you may have a very valid point. However after trying it for a season while using offerings from others I chose to use it no more.

Like I said I've not used any of the newer PP braids. Since its easy to come by I will try it out at some point this year. Being able to walk into Walmart & get a decent braid is always a plus for me... Jeff

Keta

Quote from: Rivverrat on June 10, 2018, 06:48:36 PMBeing able to walk into Walmart & get a decent braid is always a plus for me... Jeff

I send a txt to Jerry and the next day the Line One is in my mail box.  Give PP another chance.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Gobi King

#18
Don't buy any chinese PE/Spectra/Whatever on ebay or amazon.

I bought a spool of the chinese pe/spectra on amazon to fly my kite, it was rated at 50lb. The line broke at 20 lb or less. They are junk from my experience.

The original powerpro rotted out and did not last more than a few season from what I read. The new stuff might have different formulation.

Keta sells jb and that is spectra, top shelf stuff. it will last for ever probably.
Shibs - aka The Gobi King
Fichigan

Tiddlerbasher

#19
Old thread (I know ::)) but a suggestion for - J
Have you tried Berkley Fireline (I use the tracer variant when I can find it). It isn't soft and floppy and casts well conventional or spinner.
PP Hollow Ace is another line I like, particularly for splicing (very expensive in the UK :(). Some of the PRC PE16 braids (hollow) have improved over the last couple of years. I've been using it for fly line backing as well as conventionals/spinners main line. It's dirt cheap and so far no complaints :)

I bought the 'then revolutionary' original Power Pro donkeys years ago. It's still sitting on a couple of spinners. Never particularly liked it but it has never rotted. If it's actual spectra/dyneema/pe braid it can't rot - long term that may not be too good for the marine life :(

Keta

I have some Berkley Fireline Tracer ordered and will be trying it.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Tiddlerbasher

I just checked the Berkley website - Fireline now maxes out at only 30lb - my last puchase I bought 40 and 65lb. I wonder why they stopped producing the heavier stuff :-\
Anybody know??

Jim Fujitani

And where does Western Filament (Tuff-line) fit into all of this?  They have been producing spectra lines for years, in the US.

Keta

I have used 60# Tuf-Line for deep halibut fishing for years and it is a good product.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Gfish

Anyone got any opinions on the Diawa Samauri braid. I've got some 40lb. on a small spinner that's about 6 yrs. old. Still very supple castable and knotable stuff.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Three se7ens

Quote from: Gfish on November 06, 2018, 04:04:04 PM
Anyone got any opinions on the Diawa Samauri braid. I've got some 40lb. on a small spinner that's about 6 yrs. old. Still very supple castable and knotable stuff.

I use the Daiwa Saltiga boat braid almost exclusively in 55 lb and up weights.  In my experience, its extremely smooth, supple, and has a very favorable strength to diameter ratio in most sizes.  And the color holds up well. 

For 30 lb and below, I use powerpro super 8 slick.  I have caught many nice fish on the 15 lb, and its an important part of being able to cast light artificials a very long ways. 

Cor

#26
Quote from: jurelometer on June 10, 2018, 06:08:09 PM
Quote from: philaroman on June 08, 2018, 08:26:58 PM
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

The base material is UHMWPE   (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene).     ...........................................

And if anyone has found nice stiff braid that casts half way decently on saltwater conventional reels,   I'm all ears.
 

-J
Nice detailed explanation!

I've always stated the stuff is not suitable to cast efficiently on conventional reels, but not all believe me.

But it can be made to work on a reel that is well set up and has a good cast control.     There are trade offs and I've found I can get away with it these days, but it does not give you distance benefit.

Cornelis

Donnyboat

I brought a 1,000 or 1200M roll of Suffix, about 2 years ago, when I got to the middle of it, there was about 25M of defected braid in it, never again. cheers Don. that was about 100Lbs.
Don, or donnyboat

Keta

Quote from: Cor on November 07, 2018, 05:32:51 AMNice detailed explanation!

I've always stated the stuff is not suitable to cast efficiently on conventional reels, but not all believe me.

But it can be made to work on a reel that is well set up and has a good cast control.     There are trade offs and I've found I can get away with it these days, but it does not give you distance benefit.


I'm casting well with both uncoated JB Line One (60#)  and coated Power Pro Depth Hunter (30# and 40#).  Backlashes can be bad but it does cast better than mono.  What you don't want to do is touch the spool when it's moving without having protection on your thumb.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

Rivverrat

I've had no more issue casting braid than anything else. I dont touch it during a cast. Or as little as possible... Jeff