Braid Problem

[argonautical]

Hi All

6 months ago I purchased from Amart 300mts of Berkley 20lb "Whiplash" braid at a cost of about $50.00. I have had continual problems with what I thought were knot failures. Consequently I stopped using that spool on my reel.

Figured I would give it one last try on the weekend so rigged it up and then tested my knots. Result - hopeless. Went up to my local (independent) tackle shop where we tested it and found that the line was breaking at somewhere between 7 to 10 lbs pressure. Thought about the ones that got away. Not happy Jan!

OK maybe weakness as a result of my ill-treatment /sun exposure etc, so I wound the line onto another reel and tested the other end of 300mts. Same result as above.

Took the line back to Amart yesterday and asked for a refund. They are going to get back to me.

Anyone else had similar problems.

Argo

[mackmauler]

Buy the aussie made bionic braid it is a great product.

[krazyfisher]

I have had the same problem with wiplash and will never buy it again there are many better braids out there

[Lucky_Phill]

$50 for 300mtrs of Braid..........................mmmmm


says it all. sorry.

or is that the cost now. I know I pay around the $85 mark for &^%%$$ Brand. Good stuff.

Phill

[argonautical]

OK looks like I have fallen into the get what you pay for trap. I am also using Berkeley Fireline (at nearly three times the price) but without any problems.

I would be interested in other views as to what are good quality brands of braid, and what is a reasonable price to pay.

Lucky-Phill can you be a little less cryptic with your recommendation.

phil

[deb]

We've changed over to fireline across the weight range, no hassles and defineatly more fish ;)

[peterbo3]

Phil,
That is the reason you were missing them with me! ;D But what is my excuse? ???
I have imported Fireline directly from a tackle dealer in the US but I cannot recall seeing "Whiplash" on their Net catalogue. Possibly a cheapie deal organised by #######. :o :o Was the line manufactured in the US? I have just checked an unopened box of Fireline & it is made in the USA.
Go to TackleDirect.com to compare prices. I will phone you tomorrow or Fri re future activities.

[mackmauler]

Argo, fireline is good, it tests well over its rated strength i find, no matter what braid your using a bit of loctite or glue on the knots is the go.

[argonautical]

Hi Peter,

Hoping you would pick up this topic.

On the box it says as follows..."made in USA from imported fibres". It has been suggested to me that there may be different grades of the same product.

Dreamdays, note your comment and possibly this confirms the above. Do you mind telling me where you purchase your Whiplash and roughly what you would pay for 300mts of 20lb.

Phil

[fishsmith]

I have only used Fireline myself, mainly because its been on sale at A certain supplier for a while at a fairly good price,around $25 for 125yrds. So I can't really comment on other braid brands. I have found Freline a good product and I cannot to date fault it in anyway I have been using Fireline for about 2 years now.

Cheers Smithy........

[Lucky_Phill]

It appears to me ( and others ) that the 2 value for money Braids are.......Fireline and Bionic. I have never heard bad things about either.

Sure there is other stuff on the market, and sure budget is a concern when making a purchase.

Using the right knots, proper storage etc, well lengthen the life of the Braid, and I personally will not fish deep water with anything else.

And for offshore, go the 50lb.

Cheers phill

[caveman]

i use berkly fire line and can't fault it. i have just recently bought some super braid by platypus havn't used it yet got it at a nice price so i hope its ok

cheers gary

[clutter]

I use fireline for my smaller sizes or braid (4lb to 14lb), I have 30 and 50lb super braid and 20 and 30lb bionic. I have had no problem at all with any of these and recommend them all. I did look at Whiplash a fair while ago but wasn't real impressed with the look and feel, it seemed very furrry and alot of colour came off in my hand.


Clutter

[banshee]

Three months ago I spooled my deck winch with three hundred metres of the new Berkley Gorilla braid (80 lbs), this stuff is a braid/dacron mix suposedly more abraision resistent,for winch work you could certainly do a lot worse.

[Fitzy]

For anything under 10 pound I run the thermo fused polyethylene (Fireline). For 10 pound I run Penn Power Braid (a true braid) & 20 pound & over I run Bionic Braid (a true braid).

IMHO Bionic & Penn are the finest weaves I've seen & used. There are plenty of "open weave" poly lines out there. I'm not overly keen on many. Have seen some absolute shockers! :-X

As Lawsy says, "when you're on a good thing,,,,, stick to it". 8)

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[rick k]

I have 50lb whiplash I bought from a tackle store, and it is a mongrel to break.

I plait a double and tie that ducknose/tonyjones knot from Wilson's book. I use 50lb pink ande as the leader, and that is usually what breaks.

I reckon you have either got a bad batch, or a dodgy runner on your rod. I would certainly check out runners and other sources of damage before respooling.

Rick

[aquarius]

Argo Phil...I use fireline and bionic braid.....the fireline is good but the bionic braid is smooth as silk and ultra thin diameter.
As most of the guys have mentioned i wouldn't use anything else offshore.
Catch ya on the water soon mate.
Cheers Brent

[sooty_mad]

Argo

I had exactly the same problems that you are describing with Platypus. Absolutey useless.

Rick... believe me it's not a dodgy runner, just a poor quality product.

My mates all use Penn and swear by it.

Regards... David

[reel_screamer]

If I recall rightly whiplash had major prob's with 20lbs & 30lbs and would not even back there own product. 50lbs, 65lbs and above no prob's.
Braid is not cheap but as with everything you only get what you pay for. The life you get out of braid is far longer than any mono.(cheap in the long run)
The secret is to get the right braid for the right aplication. I have tried just about all and have only three I would use again, all for different uses.

Fireline for light spin

Tortue for baitcast

Gorilla tough for deck winch

But I'm always open to try something new.

Scream hard. Real screamer

[argonautical]

Hi All

Not sure how long it will take Amart to make an assessment of the Braid.....it had to go to head office.....but will let you guys know the outcome.


Phil

[Willo]

Hi All
I just recently got some 30lb Whiplash and have not had any problems with it (also use Bionic, Fireline,& Platypus) .Even manged to boat a couple of fish well over the 30lb mark.In the packaging of Whiplash they supply a phamplet of the preffered knots to use,Iused those knots and no problems.
But I've heard before about braids main weekness is it's knot strength.So I pay particular attention to the knots I use on all the Braids Iuse.

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Been using the whiplash (30lb stuff) for a few years now. Only ever broken under extremes - maybe you got a brumbie batch ??? ??? I like the limness of it. I also use Bionic but have a preference for whiplash for snag bashing.

[Luke]

When is it breaking and what gear do you have on the end of it? Just remember if your are casting bait and sinkers with it that the shock of the sinker hitting the swivel at high velocity with no stretch line will cause explosive twangs if brought to a sharp halt. Learnt that one with experience. Also similar if you have a sinker running up and down the braid for a period will wear it away I've found no matter what brand.
Cheers Luke

[ANYFISH]

i have found 20lb fireline to be verry good when scraping over granite boulders when fishing for murry cod. the ware resistance in this situation is bloody great. big w is the cheapest place to buy it where i come from.

[argonautical]

hi all,

Got a call yesterday from ####### to say that they would replace my Whiplash. No further explanation.

I was hoping that they would simply give me a refund, rather than replace it,and they were happy to do just that.

I figure alls well that ends well and I have learnt a lesson, but I can't help wondering about the one's that got away. Still thats why I love fishing.

Phil

[clutter]

Argo,

I'd be asking if I could put a bit more money in and upgrade to bionic or fireline.

Just a thought, Clutter

[argonautical]

Clutter,

Yep, thats exactly what I intend to do. However I figure I owe it to my local independant tackle guy to see what he has on offer. After all it was he who alerted me to the fact that the braid was probably faulty. Subject to that sounds like Bionic is the way to go.

Phil