Using 'cheap' braid - any thoughts?

[philocalist]

Thanks for the comments so far guys - I tend to use the usual suspects - PowerPro, Spiderwire and Fox - no probelms (apart from the fact I'd rather not pay such high prices), and also had a decent play with Ultima Power Braid after I had the opportunity to buy some cheap - local Go Outdoors were clearing 3 x 300m spools in 50lb, 30lb and 20lb in a job-lot for the princely sum of £15 ... seemed rude not to, at that price.

 

I've also had the 8-strand stuff on a couple of reels, both from PowerPro and Daiwa; it seems as though (in both cases) there is a marked improvement on bog-standard braid, which I guess is perhaps the main reason for starting this thread; I'm in the market for multiple bulk spools of braid in varying strengths and like the idea of it all being 8-strand ... but brand-name prices are a bit naughty. The PowerPro is readily available from Harris Sportsmail, but 275m spools in 10 / 15 / 20KG are coming in at £45 a spool - and thats apparently with 36% OFF the RRP! ... and the Daiwa equivilent isn't much cheaper, plus I'd like to be able to buy above a BS of 20KG, too.

Ebay? 500m of 8-strand 50lb BS arriving for less than £19 including shipping direct from China (bought plenty of stuff from there incidentally, off Ebay - so far, has ALWAYS turned upwith no problems whatsoever, and often arrives before stuff sent by dealers within the UK on their 'economy' service!)

 

Fair enough, I can apparently get the PowerPro version off Ebay(.com) from US suppliers for about $60 including shipping and taxes etc, but there is the question in my mind of whether or not it is actually the same stuff? Not as daft as it sounds - there WERE issues with 'ordinary' PowerPro in that respect when there were quite large disparities between spools carrying labels bearing specs in mm / KGs and LBs / inches - they should have been comparable, but were not - and it was by quite substantial margins, too.

[barry luxton]

I have bought uk branded braid that I would never buy again. Colour dripping off the reel during use and coatings falling off and the same while knot tying. I have bought uk branded braid that's flat profile and a g!t to wind back onto the reel, due to resistance felt coming through the rod rings.

 

Again my first was dyneema and I have found it to be soft, supple and strong, non coated. And best of all, very thin profile with regards to the use I have for it. All my reels apart from one have braid. Yes I know, use in the sea, however I use less breaking strain than some of the freshwater braid users. Normally 20-30lb I go up to 50 for conger eels.

[Steve Walker]

Has anybody gone for that Glasgow angling centre link I posted - 2000m of 7.5lb bs braid for thirty quid...

 

I've got a 300m spool of the 9lb stuff (one for Steve too) but haven't tried it out yet. I'm going to kick myself for not buying more if it turns out to be really good!

[Phone]

Steve, W,

 

And exactly how many spools would be a "lifetime" supply? (I just turned in half dozen 3lb (weight of the spool of line, different breaking strains) spools of mono from the late 60's early 70's. Guess I'd buy a second arce-hole if the price was right.

 

I've been told, and I believe, the difference is not in the material but rather in the quality control and inspection process. The last 2% of assurances is quite expensive. The "manufacturer" can have 10,000 meters of pre-run and post run. 98% of it is OK. If you are dink fishing with 20lb braid I'd suspect it is ALL OK

 

Phone

[Steve Walker]

Phone,

 

I have a similar affliction with fly tying materials. You often see dead guy's tying boxes being sold with hundreds of pounds worth of unused feathers and fur. It's a common folly.

[Anderoo]

For the amount of time braid lasts, I'm happy to pay the higher prices and stick to the trusted brands. I expect most are made in the same factories but I also suspect the points about QA are also true.

[Sportsman]

I have some cheap Chinese braids in varying diameters and can honestly say that I have never had a problem. There is usually such a huge comfort zone in breaking strains that I am not sure what problems are likely.

[mdgfishing]

I have been using the cheaper braids from China the last 3 seasons and to date have had no problems, I buy 1000 m for around £23/24 through E-Bay and had a lot of Barbel with it . I use a gray coloured Braid. I mainly use 18 - 28 BS and this is cheaper to buy as the Branded Braid.

[Neil G]

It lasts so long and is such an important part of an anglers setup that I don't see the point in going cheap. I usually go with Powerpro but have used Berkley whiplash as well without issues.

[philocalist]

It lasts so long and is such an important part of an anglers setup that I don't see the point in going cheap. I usually go with Powerpro but have used Berkley whiplash as well without issues.

 

The point is Neil, is there really any reason at all to continue paying inflated prices for braid if the (much cheaper) non-brand label stuff does the job just as well? I'm not able to confidently make that decision alone and welcome the advice and experiences of others; most posters on here seem more than happy with their experiences of the cheaper braids - and there have always been anglers who've moaned and complained about various aspects of the brand-name stuff, regardless of the premium prices asked, and the perceived quality of these products; Nanofil (though not strictly a braid) has been knocked quite widely ever since it was launched - and from personal experience, I'd have to agree with most of the negative stuff that has been posted about that particular product.

I guess perhaps what it is coming down to is the question of whether people continue the sheep-like behaviour and pay top prices for braids that are heavily marketed, or bite the bullet and actually try the cheaper alternatives for themselves?

As already pointed out, most people who have taken the 'experimental' route seem to be quite happy with their experiences.

 

Personally, I still have not fully decided, but I know which way I'm leading; let's be honest, there are ALWAYS other things that attract the attention of any cash that happens to be going spare, no?