Bristol Knot Break Analysis

The Bristol should be strong since it connects a heavy mono leader with a doubled piece of the main line. In any case, keep in mind that the Bristol only needs to be as strong as your Bimini to do its job. In that respect, testing showed that most lines perform more than adequately in providing a secure line-to-leader connection, with all but just a few coming in 100 percent or (often, considerably) more.

Braids for which seven-turn Bristol knots broke at more than 120 percent of the line's actual strength (when tied to 50-pound mono leader)

? Daiwa Saltiga Surf (139 percent)
? Western Filament TUF-Line XP (139)
? Stren Sinking Braid (134)
? Western Filament TUF-line (121)

Braids for which seven-turn Bristol knots broke at considerably less than 100 percent of the line's actual strength (when tied to 50-pound mono leader)

? Triple Fish Bully Braid (80 percent)
? Spiderwire Ultracast (80)
? Berkley FireLine (66)

Monofilaments for which seven-turn Bristol knots broke at 170 percent or more of the line's actual strength (when tied to 80-pound leader)

? Berkley Big Game IGFA (189 percent)
? Stren Super Knot (179)
? Sufix Key Lime IGFA (177)
? Hi-Seas White Lightning (175)
? Offshore Angler Tight Line (173)
? Maxima Crystal Ivory (173)
? Hi-Seas Grand Slam (170)

Monofilaments for which seven-turn Bristol knots broke at less than 90 percent of the line's actual strength (when tied to 80-pound leader)

? Platypus Lo-Stretch (86 percent)
? Spiderwire Super Mono XXX (82)
? Hi-Seas Quattro Plus (72)

Test Results

Discussion
The results certainly suggest that most lines are fine for tying a Bristol knot, but a few would seem to be a poor choice for those who tie Bristol knots regularly. In fact, there may be a correlation, with some knots that performed poorly in Bristol strength also not faring well when tied with other knots. But hard/fast rules would be risky. Yet again, line testing seems to raise as many questions as answers. As noted, these tests measured seven-turn Bristol knots. Carefully read the sidebar, "Fine-Tuning the Bristol" (page 81), since it shows how things can change with more or fewer turns.

Using only four turns in monofilaments made for slightly or significantly stronger Bristol knots. For example, Spiderwire Super Mono XXX went from a mean break of 23.4 to 47.0 at the Bristol - that is, from just 82 percent of the line strength to more than 200 percent! The ranking of braided lines for Bristol knots would also change - generally increasing - for more turns. Unfortunately due to limited time, I could test only a few more monos for Bristols tied with more and fewer turns; I'd have liked to have tested all lines that way to determine the optimal number of turns, but that will have to wait for a future test.

I can point out, at least, that some lines seem to "like" the Bristol knot, and some don't. That is, some lines cinched right down when pulled as snug as possible into neat, tight loops, while with other lines, the leader loops seemed unwilling to slide together. The result was a ragged-looking knot. But how much does this matter? I had figured the tightly cinched Bristols would prove strongest, but in fact, most of the ragged-looking knots gradually pulled together into a tight package as the pressure increased, and generally broke as strongly as those that had easily cinched by hand into a compact knot. (It's certainly possible that the neat, tight Bristols might have the advantage in a situation of sudden "snapping" pressure versus a gradual pull, however.)

Keep in mind that very strong Bristol knots - such as those testing in the 130 percent range for braids and in the 170s for monofilaments - may not matter. That is, your rig will always be only as strong as its weakest knot. So, for example, while Daiwa's Saltiga Surf in 20-pound should give you a seven-turn Bristol (tied to 50-pound mono) of about 130 percent that breaks around 30 pounds, the Bimini twist just above the Bristol offers a knot of 81 percent strength that will break around 17 1/2 pounds. In this example, it doesn't matter much if the Bristol breaks at 130 percent or 90 percent. For all lines, Bristol-knot strength must also take into account the strength of the Bimini knot above it.

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