At the Breaking Point / Going for Broke / Braid Knots / Results / Conclusions
The tensile-strength chart tells the story. And that story, especially for "20-pound" braided lines, is striking in just how widely brands vary. Sufix Performance Braid comes closest to breaking as stated, at 23.4 pounds - barely over the IGFA's allotted 22.2-pound break for the 20-pound line class (which is really the 10-kilogram class that converts to 22.2 pounds). At the other end of the strength spectrum is Berkley's 20-pound Fireline, which popped at 54.5 pounds on average.
| 20-POUND BRAIDED-LINE TENSILE STRENGTHS | |||||
| Manufacturer | Line | Color | Actual Break (Lbs.) | % Rated Strength | Variance |
| Berkley | Fireline | black & flo-green | 54.5 | 273% | H |
| Triple | FishBully Braid | Moss green | 46.3 | 232% | L |
| Cortland | Master Braid | Emerald green | 41.6 | 208% | L |
| Cortland | Spectron | white | 41.3 | 207% | L |
| SpiderWire | Stealth | green | 39.7 | 199% | L |
| Stren | Super Braid | hi-vis gold | 37.6 | 188% | L |
| SpiderWire | Spiderline | Moss green | 35.7 | 179% | L |
| Ande | Braidfluoresc | yellow | 34.6 | 173% | L |
| Western Filament | Tuf Line | black & white | 34.5 | 173% | L |
| Western Filament | Tuf Line XP | green | 33.8 | 169% | L |
| PowerPro | Superline | Moss green | 33.0 | 165% | L |
| Platypus | Bionic Braid | pink | 31.5 | 158% | L |
| Izorline | Spectra | green | 30.5 | 153% | L |
| Offshore Angler | Magibraid | green | 30.0 | 150% | M |
| Cabela's | Ripcord Si Plus | green | 27.6 | 138% | L |
| Sufix | Performance Braid | lo-vis green | 23.4 | 117% | L |
| Standard deviation: 0-3 = L (low), 3+-6 = M (moderate), 6+ = H (high) | |||||
Among 50-pound lines, Cortland's Spectron made the top of the list, breaking at 83.7 pounds on average, while at the low end sits the one superbraid tested that actually broke within its line class: Stren, at 46.8 pounds.
It's also worth noting the variation of the breaking point among the five tests. I calculated the standard deviation, then categorized the results as high, moderate or low based on a "visual curve" on looking over the range of deviation. Of course less deviation is more desirable since it indicates line that breaks more consistently. For example, Ande's 20-pound braid had relatively high variance, breaking as low as 24.4 pounds and as high as 39.3 pounds. Most 20-pound lines broke with minimal variation and none more so than Cabela's Ripcord Si, which varied just 1.5 pounds over five tests.
Lines in the 50-pound group proved a bit more consistent overall. No line showed a high rate of variance, though Spiderwire Stealth was close, varying from 61.8 to 74.4 pounds in our tests. On the other hand, some brands broke within just 2 or 3 pounds over the five tests.
| 50-POUND BRAIDED-LINE TENSILE STRENGTHS | |||||
| Manufacturer | Line | Color | Actual Break (Lbs.) | % Rated Strength | Variance |
| Cortland | Spectron | green | 83.7 | 167% | M |
| Sufix | Performance Braid | Hi-vis Yellow | 71.4 | 143% | L |
| Cabela's | Ripcord Si Plus | green | 68.6 | 137% | M |
| Cabela's | Ripcord Sifluorescent | yellow | 67.7 | 135% | M |
| SpiderWire | StealthTracer | yellow | 65.9 | 132% | M |
| PowerPro1 | SuperlineMoss | green & white | 64.8 | 130% | M |
| Platypus | Super-Braid | green | 64.3 | 129% | L |
| Western Filament | Tuf Line | black & white | 63.7 | 127% | M |
| Berkley | Gorilla Tough | Camo | 62.4 | 125% | L |
| Offshore Angler | Magibraid | green | 61.1 | 122% | L |
| Ande | Braid | green | 58.4 | 117% | L |
| Western Filament | Tuf Line XP | green | 58.2 | 116% | L |
| Izorline | Spectra | Naturally White | 55.8 | 112% | L |
| SpiderWire | Spiderline | Moss Green | 55.0 | 110% | L |
| Standard deviation: 0-3 = L (low), 3+-6 = M (moderate), 6+ = H (high) | |||||
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At the Breaking Point / Going for Broke / Braid Knots / Results / Conclusions
