Hey folks -- I have been debating on what type of braid I want to run for next year, and instead of just picking one I wanted to try a mix over the year and see what fits me and my style. I figured while doing so I would make some notes about the lines and share some observations with y'all. I wont get into the specifics of the build out, but Mono backer, braid main, and a leader will be the general setup. This is observations of the braid though, not the setup.
I chose four braids, all in 15lb test.
Power Pro Super 8 Slick V2 "4lb diameter" Hi-Vis Yellow
Sufix 832 15lb .22mm Hi-Vis Yellow
Daiwa J-Braid x8 15lb .19mm Chartreuse
KastKing Mega 8 15lb .18mm
In the comparison shots you will also notice:
KastKing Super Power 40lb .30mm Yellow
Ande Premium Mono 10lb pink
First I noted the color. They all seem as though they will show up well on the water. The Sufix and KastKing had more of an orange color, the Daiwa a nice bright green, and the PP a pale yellow. To be fair, I'm not sure that it was not an older spool of PP based on the shape of the rubber band on it. It seemed to be deteriorating - but may have just been an old rubber band. It reminded me of the color of last years KastKing Super Power Yellow towards the end of a season. That said, it certainly should show up just fine.
Next I looked at the diameters. Now this is slightly subjective as different colors will appear to be thinner or thicker. But observationally, the Power Pro appeared to be the thickest, followed by the KastKing, then Daiwa with the Sufix appearing to be the thinnest of all. Again, all are 15lb test. I was slightly surprised as the Sufix is reported at .22mm the thickest of all listed. (PP says 4lb diameter and I could not easily find a stated mm diameter to compare)
I next started comparing perceived smoothness. Just running the line between my fingers. Here the Power Pro stood out above the rest. It was not quite as smooth as the Ande Mono, but surprisingly close! The Daiwa was also very smooth, but not quite as good. The Sufix had more texture, and felt noticeably stiff. The Mega 8 was the most textured of all four. Again based on feel on the fingers.
After noting how stiff the Sufix felt, I tried to determine stiffness of the rest. It was hard to really make a judgement on, but I would say the Sufix was by far the stiffest, the Mega 8 followed while the Power Pro then Daiwa rounded out being the most supple.
I tried to take some macro pictures of the line, but found it amazingly difficult to get them all into focus at once because of the razor thin depth of field to get a tight macro shot. The images are not great, but I think give a general idea of the lines up close.
The color tone is off in this image, but I was trying to isolate the texture of the lines. From left to right:
KastKing 40lb 4 carrier
Ande Mono 10lb - could not get it to focus at all.
Then the four lines I'm comparing.
Sufix -> Power Pro -> Daiwa -> KK Mega 8
Based on the image, it would appear the power pro (#4) is the thickest, followed by the KK (#6).
The Daiwa (#5) appears to be a bit thicker than the thinnest of all, the Sufix (#3). This met my original observation.
Smoothness, however, is a bit surprising. Looking at the image, the Daiwa (#5) appears to be the most uniformly shaped of all. I suspect the additives in the Power Pro (#4) mixed with a very uniform wind make it feel smoother. The Sufix (#3) and KK (#6) appear to be the least uniform and have the most felt texture as well.
Based on the observations, and image I tried to rate the lines based on design with smoothness, suppleness, and diameter being the only factors.
The thinnest two were the Sufix then the Daiwa, KK then Power Pro were the thickest.
The smoothest were the Power Pro then the Daiwa, followed by Sufix then KK.
Suppleness or stiffness (which being too supple can arguably be an issue in itself at times) came in with:
Daiwa then Power Pro as the most supple, then KK and Sufix being the stiffest.
Giving 4 points for "best" and 1 for "worst" the scores would be:
Daiwa 10
Power Pro 8
Sufix 7
KastKing 5
Of course, that is purely based on non-scientific testing, did not consider tensile strength or knot holding or any real-world testing, abrasion resistance, life expectancy or anything else. Literally just looking at and feeling the line. Basically I was surprised how differently they all felt and decided to dig into it a little. More of a shared observation then a test or actual ranking - I only did so since I had ranked them in each category lol.
