Sabre-Braid
reviewed by Andy Edwards

It took a while for braided lines based on Spectra or Dyneema HPPE (high performance poly-ethylene) to get into the carp-fishing market but recognising the potential of these near-zero-stretch lines for unbeatable bite detection for distance-carping, Relum launched a Dyneema-based braid specially designed for this specimen sector.

Reels for casting long distances have large, high-capacity spools and so Relum very sensibly supply their "Rod Hutchinson" Sabre-Braid line in nice big 800m spools. Rod himself has caught as many specimen carp as most, of the years, and so initially you have to take his endorsement of the line at face-value.

As Relum also market Sufix's Herculine Dyneema braid in the UK, it's tempting to assume that the Sabre-Braid is merely the result of a bit of label-changing, but as the reputation of Herculine is very well established in the braided line market place, this is far from being a negative aspect -- quite the opposite in fact !

Drifting and trolling
Relum who have developed a range of carp tackle in conjunction with carp maestro Rod Hutchinson and his Team. Carp are probably my most favourite species and I fish for them whenever I can. Of course few of us lesser mortals can hold a candle to Rod when it comes to catching mega-carp and so it's hard not to have the highest expectations of products bearing his endorsement.

Cool Casting !
The first thing you notice about these braids is how thin they are for their B.S. This means that you can cast a lot further with them than you could with a normal mono of the same BS Alternatively you can fish with a higher BS line without sacrificing diameter, delivery and presentation, so that's why I've been using 32 lb B.S., a much higher B.S. than normal.

For long-distance carping you obviously need a lot more line than normal and so these 800 metre spools of SabreBraid are more than enough, and at £70 each they work-out at less than 9 p per metre, which is pretty good as far as braids go because they're much more expensive than my usual monos. For example, 300 metres of 20 lb Big Game mono is only about £6, which works-out at less than 2 p per metre.

Good for lure-fishing too !
Being similar to Herculine, Sabre-braid is equally good for lure-fishing and what's more, getting 800 metre spools is a very cost-effective way of buying your braid for whatever sort of fishing is your fancy. Of the two big spools that we've had on test, I've had one and three lure-anglers in Nick's Tackle Test Team shared the other between them.

And its seems as good a time as any to report their findings as far as their spin-fishing with Sabre-braid went — and it's all good news! All three lure-anglers rated the Sabre-braid very highly which, considering they're big users of most of the modern braids, is quite a compliment.

In-touch with Far-out Rigs
Anyway, having managed to cast further than I'd ever managed before, the next thing I noticed was the fact that I seemed to be in almost direct contact with my rig, even at that huge distance. I guess this is because of the lower stretch and less sag you get with braids compared with monos. Of course there was no way I was going to catch anything in the Rod Hutch class from my local pits, although there are some 20s in there I'm told.

Although it's difficult to tell whether I'd still have caught with my normal mono, I feel sure that the Rod Hutch Sabre-braid gave me extra confidence to cast to areas that I couldn't otherwise have reached. In fact I had trouble reaching the spot accurately with my throwing stick and my catapult so whether or not I had lured any 20s into the area with my widely spread boilies, I know not! I did manage a Double and a couple of smaller ones though, and I did notice the very much more direct contact that braided line gives you.

Brickbats and Bouquets
As far as I can see from my first impressions, there aren't many down-sides to Rod Hutchinson's SabreBraid - even its cost isn't unreasonable compared with other braids and bearing in mind the fact that it lets you cast almost to the horizon, if you're skilled enough - I'm getting there, slowly!

Knots are extra critical as far as braids are concerned and so I did what I was told and used a 5-turn Grinner and kept it wet while I was tying it and pulling it tight. The lab test results showed how different knots broke at different BS and how Grinner and Palomar are two of the best - by the way, for extra strength, it's best to double your line before tying your knots.

The SabreBraid that I've been using is the normal semi-floating green coloured one but there's a sinking version as well if that will help you. The green coloured seemed to stay one the line quite well in spite of the fact that I've often read that colour loss can be a problem with braids.

I've also heard that abrasion can be a problem with some of the thinner braids but I checked and double-checked the SabreBraid as I was using it and couldn't find any problems but I guess only time will tell.

SUMMARY
To summarise, I was impressed with this braid - I like its thin diameter, high strength and its very low stretch. It made casting a whole lot easier - I could cast further and more accurately and was definitely in much more direct contact with my rigs. You can't really ask a lot more of a line, can you? Andy Edwards.

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