TUF-Line PLUS
Spectra™ Super-braid

A Report and Review
by Ralph Walker

Editor's Intro......
As well as being a long-time user of TUF-Line braid for his lure-fishing, during a visit to the States, Ralph Walker got the chance to visit Western Filament's very impressive braiding factory, and talked at length to their Manufacturing and Research & Development Management Teams — here's his combined Report and Review of TUF-Line Super-braid, how it's made and how it performs:-

The Low-Down on Western Filament, Inc.
Western Filament was founded in 1938 and is an expert manufacturer of specialty woven braids — for nearly 60 years, the company has provided exceptional products constructed from polyester, nylon, fiberglass, ceramic, Nomex, Kevlar and Spectra™ filaments to the electrical, telecommunications, military, aerospace and other industries. (Spectra™ is a trademark of Allied Signal, Inc.)

Western Filament has a multi-million-dollar manufacturing facility employing more than 60 people. Their 50,000 sq. ft. facility houses over 2,000 hi-tech braiding machines, 1,500 twisting spindles and their own dyeing and pigmenting facilities. Specializing in micro-filament technology and process control, they produce braided, twisted, coated, dyed and pigmented lacing-tapes, expandable sleevings, tie-cords, twines, braids and threads that meet the most stringent military, aerospace and other leisure industry applications, such as yachting ropes, fishing lines and kite-flying.

QUALITY FIRST !
Their sophisticated on-site Total Quality Management System uses Statistical Process Control throughout the production processes, thus ensuring that all customers receive products of unparalleled quality. Western Filament's versatility stems from its complete in-house facilities which ensure the continuity of the very highest quality standards is maintained through all phases of their manufacturing and braiding processes, from raw materials to finished products.

Braids for All !
Well, nearly ..... aswell as braiding Spectra micro-filaments to make their own leading-edge fishing Super-Line, TUF-Line, Western Filament also manufacture braided lines for several other braided fishing-line marketing companies to their specifications and colours — for example, Western Filament are based in Grand Junction, Colorado, USA ...... and so are Innovative Textiles who market the very successful PowerPro braided Super-Line! Need I say more?!

Made of Spectra™
TUF-Line is one of the most advanced braided lines on the market today. This braid is made of Spectra™ micro-filaments and as a result, it has very little stretch — up to about 4% under normal conditions of use. The means that it is very sensitive and results in more and better hook-setting when lure-fishing. This braided Super-line also repels water, thus preventing it becoming water-logged.

My Old Faithful
I've been using TUF-Line for almost ten years now and I've had the chance to compare its price and performance with most of the other braids, and fusion lines, that have come (and gone!) on the market.

When I first started using TUF-Line it was pure white and I have to say that I was more than a bit apprehensive about its visibilty underwater to fish, so I used some of those special line-colouring pens to eliminate all of my worries on that score.

Nowadays, TUF-Line is available in darker colours but because of its chemical composition, you can't dye Spectra fibres, so they are coloured with a surface pigment coating. Even with modern braids, these pigments still wear-off during fishing, so I re-colour mine with my colouring pens before every trip — whether or not this makes the line more difficult for fish to see, I don't rightly know, but it sure does give me peace of mind.

Performance
Maybe I've just been very lucky, but I've never had any problems with TUF-Line ! It's a neat tight weave and casts very easily and doesn't seem to suffer much with wind-knots etc. Of course, as with most braids and other lines, you do get the occasional tangle but that's nornally fairly quickly untangled.

As with all Super-braids, TUF-Line has very little stretch and this gives very good sensitivity for lure-fishing. Similarly it has the high tenacity of Spectra filaments i.e. high strength with low diameter. I have used BSs from 20 to 80 lb and they're all very good and low in diameter for their strength. I haven't got an accurate micrometer to measure diameters but for example the 50 lb BS TUF-Line has a diameter of about 0.02 inches, which compares very favourably with every other Spectra Super-braid that I've tried, with the possible exception of SpiderLine based on Spectra 2000, but that comes with a much bigger price tag!

Before I switched to braids, I had used monos for years and years and, although I could never see myself reverting to monos for my lure-fishing, I have to say that I am constantly aware of the fact that the very low diameter of Super-braids make them much more susceptible to fraying and abrasion that my old meaty monos which have a much higher diameter for the same BS — I'm sure, like me, you've read this several times before.

Cost Bonus
For me, the biggest bonus with TUF-Line PLUS is its top-notch performance at a price lower than most other similar 100% Spectra Super-braids. I guess there are several reasons for its prioce advantage over other Super-braids. Firstly Western Filament actually braid the Spectra fibres themselves and they don't have the extra on-cost that some other fishing tackle marketing companies have to build into their prices.

Secondly, I suspect that Western Filament don't spend quite so much money on advertsing and marketing hype as some of the other fishing braid marketing companies — Western Filament simply sell their top-drawer TUF-Line PLUS Spectra Super-braid to a large and ever-growing band of satisfied lure-anglers the world over.

I get mine by mail-order from Cabela's (www.cabelas.com) in the USA and I'm sure that if you were to do the same, you'll become a very satisfed customer too — just compare the on-line prices of TUF-Line PLUS with some of the other Super-braids around, and you'll see what I mean!

I mainly use 50 and 80 lb BS TUF-Line PLUS, and 300 yd spools of it cost me, landed in the UK, about £22 and £28 respectively, which I reckon is a bargain for a true 100% Spectra-based Super-line. I've also got to admit that I've got my friends in the USA under strict orders to keep their eyes open for TUF-Line PLUS on "Special Offer" which means that I often get the odd spool or two of it even cheaper.
Tight lines !
Ralph Walker.

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