A Brief History of Braids
Edited by Nick Caine

Braided line has been around for decades; there's been silk, nylon, Dacron® (polyester) , Kevlar® and others but now there's GSPE, Gel Spun Polyethylene, also known as HPPE, High Pressure Performance Polyethylene (polythene).

Manufactured under a couple of trade names, Spectra® and Dyneema®, these ultra-low diameter microfilaments of GSPE are the basic raw materials for many modern braids. There are only a few textile weaving companies around the world which manufacture braids using these GSPE microfilaments, either on their own or inter-woven with other fibres such as polyester. One of the earliest GSPE braids to arrive was Corastrong marketed in Europe by Cormoran.

But in the early days, as far as high- tenacity (and high cost!) braids were concerned, Fenwick's Iron Thread and JWA's Spiderwire were in a league of their own, both in performance and price!

The fibres of GSPE polymer are white in colour but because of their chemistry they can't be dyed in the same way that nylon can, so the manufacturers add surface coatings and pigments to their braids to make them green, grey or other colours. These colours are only temporary because, despite some claims, the coatings soon wear-off in use but they can be restored using the special line-marking pens available — don't use just any old "Magic Marker" pen because you may find that the solvent in the ink might affect the braid, weakening it severely.

Berkley also had an early braid on the block in the form of their Gorilla Braid but like so many other early braids, it too suffered from teething problems, one of the main ones being that its green coating did just that, and coated everything with which it came into contact — rod rings, reel rollers and guides, the lot— with a sticky green pigment! Bad news!

The actual profile of a particular braid ( round, oval, hollow or flat ) depends on the number of GSPE microfilaments, the tightness of the weave and the required breaking strain. Whatever their initial profile, after a while most braids tend to flatten particularly if they have experienced one or two 'pulls to break'. Some of the individual microfilaments may also fray with time. For higher breaking strains eg. 30 lb and above, the loss of one or two microfilaments isn't too much of a problem but for lower Breaking Strains it can cause critical weakening and this is where buying top quality 15 or 20 lb BS braids really pays dividends.

From a manufacturing aspect, weaving these GSPE braids is a very slow process and uses lots of factory 'machine hours' — it can take up to 8 hours to produce 100yds of braid! This is why braids tend to be expensive. Although some top quality braids such as Spiderwire Spectra 2000 still cost over 25p per metre, now there is very real competition from newer braids of matching quality and performance which are much more reasonably priced. For example Relum's Sufix Herculine braid can be had for less than 11p per metre of 20lb B.S.

To counter-act the understandable price-resistance to the original cost of true braids, several manufacturers developed a faster manufacturing technique in which the unbraided microfilaments of GSPE are either losely woven and then heated to fuse the filaments together or sleeved in a thermoplastic resin. These fusion or sleeving porcesses holds the the filaments together rather than braiding them, and hence the name Fusion line.

Because it is easier to manufacture, fusion line is supposed to be much cheaper than true braid; for example, Spiderwire Fusion costs around 8.5 p per metre for 24 lb BS. But, Berkley Fireline, on the other hand, can cost upwards of 12 or 13p per metre for 20lb BS, so why buy a fusion line when you can get an excellent true braid for less?

Well, in terms of performance and handling, fusion line behaves more like a monofilament than a true braid and some anglers prefer this, especially because fusion line also shares the low-stretch properties of true braid. The tenacity i.e. strength/diameter ratio, of fusion lines is intermediate between the true braids and the latest generation of monos.

Apart from the theoretical cost advantage, the role of fusion lines may seem a bit puzzling because they are neither braid nor mono. There are three or four different brands to choose from if you fancy trying one. Spiderwire Fusion and Berkley's Fireline have been around for a while and Relum have launched their Sufix Herculine MICRO fusion line in the UK followed by a nice fusion line for drift-fishing called Way-Out which is coloured fluorescent yellow for high visibility at a distance.

You may have read some claims about fusion lines stating that they have 'excellent abrasion resistance' and that they are 'more abrasion resistant than braids', but independent laboratory tests have shown that there is only a marginal difference between the two types as far as wet abrasion resistance is concerned — both types have relatively poor wet abrasion resistance — fact !

Surprising, isn't it? How many of us would have lost money betting on the abrasion resistance of braids according to their manufacturers' claims ? We would have for sure, until we saw the lab results!

Some anglers are quoted as having fished with braids for 'months and months' in waters which they consider are full of abrasive snags 'without any problem' but the truth is that this is just arbitrary anecdotal information. In fact they have no real way of knowing what the line has actually resisted nor have they necessarily done a proper 'back-to-back' comparison either.

So if braids aren't brilliant on the abrasion front, what are they good for? Well, the answer to that is very easy: they have four main advantages that put them head-and-shoulders above monofilament lines. Firstly, they have incredible tensile strength coupled with low diameter and weight.

Secondly, braids have hardly any 'stretch', although some anglers may not see this as an advantage. There's no doubt that you have to take extra care with your tackle set-up, reel drag and how hard you strike, when using these low-stretch braids, to avoid hook-pull-out, fish or tackle damage. You just have to be a bit more gentle. The bonuses are the extra sensitivity and better hook sets that you get from braids.

Thirdly true braids are very supple and have virtually no memory. Fusion lines are less supple though.

Fourthly, HPPE/GSPE braids are much more resistant to weakening and general degradation by light (UV), air (oxygen) and water than traditional nylon monos.

Some braids such as Mason's Tiger Braid are a dual-weave of HPPE with a small percentage of polyester.

Diameter for diameter, there's nothing to compare with these modern true GSPE braids. However, even with a zero-pressure slot micrometer, it can be rather difficult to get an accurate measurement of diameter of some soft, hollow or coated braids. We found this problem with Newtech Power Cable but this doesn't detract from the fact that it's a very soft and supple, loosely-woven braid if that's your preference.

Along with arguably the best two original braids, Fenwick's Iron Thread, and JWA's Spiderwire™, the more reasonably-priced Rekum Suffix Herculine and Berkley Whiplash braids have been around for a while now.

Power Pro braid marketed by Innovative Textiles was dogged by a few quality problems when it was first launched but these have now been overcome and PowerProhas now become established as one of the most favourite braids for lure-anglers, especially in the higher BSs used for mega-lures and jerk-baits.

Along with Relum's Sufix Herculine braid which our and a couple of other independent laboratory test teams rated very highly, another braid called TUF-Line Plus from Western Filaments Inc (USA) performed very well indeed. Western Filaments of Colorado, USA, have been weaving lines for nearly 60 years and have more than 2000 braiding machines, so they definitely know what's what! TUF-Line Plus is a braid to look out for and definitely worth the money at around 9p per metre.

Talking of TUF-Line and the USA reminds us that if you can't get the braid you want in the UK, there are always the popular and efficient US mail order tackle giants BassPro and Cabelas who will be only too pleased to meet your every need — the latter have also launched their Own Brand braids, Ripcord Si and Ripcord Si PLUS which are reviewed separately in this Tackle Section as is Western Filament's TUF-Line PLUS — check them out too !

For all braids, follow the manufacturer's loading instructions to the letter, and don't load the reel spool too close to its rim. Also, I suggest that you leave a slightly bigger lip clearance with these supple braids than you do with monos as this will help minimise any tangles; these lightweight soft braids can flow off the spool at a rate of knots! When you're first spooling-up with them, to stop braids slipping on polished metal spools you can either out on some backing line first or wrap a couple of turns of insulating tape around the centre of the spool first — sorted !

On the other hand, when you're casting, you want the braids to slip off the spool and through your rod rings with great ease, so try adding one of the silicone-based line lubricants normally used for monos — they work pretty well for braids and fusion lines too.

You have to be a bit patient and give braids a chance to 'wear-in'. Loops and wind-knots can be a problem if you're not careful during the first few outings. Make sure that you spool-up with the spool of line the right way round or this can make line twist even worse.

Also, you may find that rear-drag fixed spool reels are better than their front-drag counter-parts when using braids because the finger-grip for the drag control on front drag reels can snag light-weight, supple braids. For the heavier breaking strains and for example if you're using your braid for big-lure fishing, a multiplier reel will be much more suitable.

Having looked at braids and their cost , their high strength (ie, absolute breaking strain), ultra-low diameter, near-zero stretch and poor wet abrasion resistance, it's important not to forget two other critical factors when selecting a line. How do braids pan-out when it comes to wet knot strength and shock-load limit?

We can't emphasise enough that, with braids, the type of knot used is extremely critical — the Palomar and Grinner are the most commonly recommended. The Uni-Knot is another favourite with braid runners. If you don't use the recommended knots you will get a lower wet knot tensile strength. Some manufacturers recommend double- or even treble-looping the braid through the eye of your hook or swivel as part of the Grinner or Palomar.

We prefer to use a double-loop Palomar knot followed by two or three half-hitches with a tiny dab of hi-viscosity, water-proof Superglue to finish the job. This gives a very acceptable wet knot strength as proven in lab tests. If you've got plenty of time, then try the neater and possibly very slightly stronger 6-turn Grinner knot. Braids can be difficult to cut and trim cleanly so you'll need a good pair of ultra-sharp scissors or a pair of special braid blades.

The zero-stretch of braids can be a disadvantage when they are subjected to shock loading. Much more important, though, is the need to be very aware of the tremendous shock loads that can be transmitted to your rod as a result. And as we said earlier, extra care is needed when striking to avoid hook-pulls and fish damage.

Trying to snatch a hook out of a snag using violent jerks of the rod is just asking for big trouble if you're using a braid — it simply has no 'give' at all and, if you're not careful ...... BANG !! .... your rod will break. And the stiffer your rod, the bigger the risk. Setting your reel's drag on the low side is a good precaution. Never pull-to-break with strain on the rod or bail arm or your hand — braid will cut your flesh like a knife.

Equally, you have to be very careful not to snag your tackle behind you as you forward cast. If you do, the result can be the same — disaster! Braids are very unforgiving in this respect and it's an all too easy but very expensive mistake to make if you're normally used to those more forgiving monofilament lines.

The Future ?
Improvements are constantly being made in high-tech fibre development and manufacture both on the monofilament and braided line market. For example, we've recently seen the advent of fluorocarbon (PVDF) monofilament line that's supposed to be much less visible to fish. And now we've managed to get our hands on some development samples of some new braids — are these the future? We don't know but you'll be the first to know once we've had the chance to check them out thoroughly in the lab and on the bank.

As far as currently-available braids in general go, it's good to make the best of their strengths and even better to remember their weaknesses. Then you get the best of both worlds. What other type of line offers you more?

Please click the Key-Chem logo button below
to go back to our Home Page