Using 'cheap' braid - any thoughts?

[poledark]

It's a no brainer for me. I have USED braid in various forms for most of my fishing life, and tried various "cheap" ones, most of which were suitable for my fishing. The one I ended up sticking with was Power pro, in various diameters, most of which is still on the reels and much of it 30 years old (or more).

 

Going back to sea fishing I needed new lines and after a few months using mono I took the plunge and sent to China for some of the "cheap" braid..................I am certain it is the same as PP and so sent for some more...........and more...............grab it while I can was my motto I now have enough to last me my lifetime (I'm 75) in several different BS/diameters, and have saved a fortune.

 

There is a growing trend in sea fishing towards braid, low diameter and high BS being the main attractions, but the bite detection is superb compared to mono.................I am using 60lb BS straight through, no need for a leader, and both my FS have been really punished over the last 18 months, and the line is still good. Lost a bit of colour, apparently you can't dye dyneema, but you can use a spirit marker to colour it youself, lasts a few sessions

 

On my carp/barbell/roach spools I use markers to camo the last few yards.

 

Don't let the word "cheap" put you off the Chinese stuff...........it is only cheap compared to the highly inflated prices charged in the UK. Every dealer wants 100% profit, the Vat man wants his share, and an item costing only a £1 or so in China ends up at £25 in the uk.

 

The Ad men get to work with scare stories and some (not me) fall for it and are prepared to pay £35 for a couple of 100 yds af the same stuff I get from China at £5 for 300 yds.

 

Ebay for ever

 

Den

[Anderoo]

I hope the cheap braids are as good as the more expensive ones, maybe in a few years I'll switch. But until I'm really sure, I'll stick to ones I trust. It's not the price so much, but once I've found something I trust I find it hard to switch - e.g. I use Sensor a lot which is cheap, but that's not why I like it. I've tried much more expensive monos, and didn't like them at all.

 

It is true though that the named braids are not necessarily great. Fireline gets a lot of praise on here and other forums but I hated it and wouldn't use it again for any price. Nanofil got a lot of hype and then turned out to be pretty poor. Powerpro has stood up to its reputation for me and is my current no. 1 choice, and I've seen spiderwire used and I think I'd like that too.

 

I think one of the main reasons I'm loathe to change is because I use braid in the lighter breaking strains, and put them through a fair bit of punishment. I expect in the heavier breaking strains (say, over 20lb) there's a lot more room for error and it's a lot less risky. I'd happily use cheap, strong braid on a marker or spod rod, for example.

 

There are quite a few new braids coming out of Japan now that do seem to have moved forward quite a long way, being slimmer, rounder and smoother. Those look worth investigating, especially for lure fishing.

[Neil G]

I changed to Powerpro (50lb BS) on all my rods years ago and have never looked back. I don't fish particularly rocky swims though.

[Dick Dastardly]

A bit controversial and thats why Ive not said it untill now! There are many many myths about braid! Forget the ones about the actual stuff itself for now as they are not really relevant to this topic however lets look at some of the more relevant ones.

 

Im not entirely sure how many actual manufactrers of brad there are in the world to be honest but I wouldnt mnd its the same as mono in that there are only a few! Work is sub contracted out and often the smaller "companies" are owned by the same parent ones! In the 90's there were only FIVE manafacturers of mono n the world and TWO of those were subsidery companies of one of the "Big Three"!

 

Braid can be made from different quality materials BUT the real cost in manafacture (and therefore the resulting quality and ex factory price) is the actual braiding process. Better quality,lighter,rounder profile braids normally consist of more individual strands being braided together. This takes longer even on the amazing machinery used. So better quality braid costs more to make. BUT this isn't the MAJOR reason for difference in cost! Better quality products are normally sourced and sold by big companies who invest a lot of money in marketing and advertising (forget the cock and bull stories of investing in development this is usually done by manafacturers as very few wholesalers/distributers actually do any development just simply source products) And its in the marketing and advertising that the masive differences in prices acrue.

 

Same as any product the closer to the source of manufacture you can get it from the cheaper it will be. In the "old days" big manufacturers would stay loyal to the big distributors and only supply them with the same exact product. These days the Chinese account for the greater majority of manufacturing and have no such morals! Which does us (the end user) BIG favours. Small enterprising companies now purchase all sorts direct from the manufacturer at the same/similar price (obviously there are better prices per item for larger amounts) and as they dont have the same huge marketing/advertising costs they can sell at a lot lower price. Therefore you can buy exactly the same item that is called "X" by the major company for a lot less as its now called "Y" by the smaller one.Not a cheaper or inferior or different model but EXACTLY the same bar any logos etc.This explains GOOD "cheap" products such as some of the braids.

 

However there are two more factors to be aware of! These are "Fake" or so called "fake" goods. True fakes are just that ie inferior quality products sold as "the real thing" and (of more interest to us!) "so called fakes" These are actually the real item sold as the real item but not from the people whose name apears on the label! Confussed? I will try and explain! The imaginary company we will call "Mega Braid" Mega braid sells top quality braid that it has manafactured in (imaginary)factorey "String is Us" MB pays a lot out in overheads and sells the braid at £20 for 100m after buying it at £2. "Good deals" also buys the exact same product for £3 but as he puts his own label on it and doesnt bother with the same extent of marketing/advertising and can sell it at £15 and still make a good profit."Scummy Dealer" comes along and also buys the same braid at £2 - £3 BUT he cashes in on the advertising/marketing that MB has paid for by putting "fake" MB labels on and selling it as MB braid at the same (or cheaper) price as MB! Thus making more profit or just capitalising on MB's promotion but using the lower price to "steal" sales.

 

So often the "cheap braid" that is as good as the "real stuff" is the real stuff! So forget about labels,advertising blurb and prices just try braids untill you get one that works and source it at the best prices! Poor quality braids are poor regardless of price and can soon be seen as such.

 

Now Ive bored you all to death I will bugger off!

Edited October 31, 2013 by Dick Dastardly

[Anderoo]

That all makes sense BUT - how do you know which of the cheap braids is the 'real thing' without the expensive label?

[Tigger]

That all makes sense BUT - how do you know which of the cheap braids is the 'real thing' without the expensive label?

 

 

Err...I was gonna say the same lol.

[barry luxton]

the hong kong stuff on ebay is ok, I think. sells for less than a tenner for 500m so it's bound to be good.

 

 

believe it or not, it's fab.

[Dick Dastardly]

That all makes sense BUT - how do you know which of the cheap braids is the 'real thing' without the expensive label?

 

 

Err...I was gonna say the same lol.

 

Basicly insider knowledge or simply by identifying a braid by looking at/handling it is the only way but not that difficult.

[Phone]

All,

 

You know - I THINK I can identify one from the other.

 

Just use the "good stuff" and think of it as repelling rope.

 

Phone

[philocalist]

Basicly insider knowledge or simply by identifying a braid by looking at/handling it is the only way but not that difficult.

 

So: the 64-dollar question I guess? Your post implies that you are privvy to such knowledge - perhaps you'd care to share some specifics, for the benefit of all interested parties?