Should I go mono or braid?

[Chamelion]

it can cut you easily..it tangles in the bloody wind..not worth the effort..my reels will all be going back to real fishing line..mono.

I've only been cut by it when I've been absent minded and I haven't had any wind knots in ages.

Maybe you're doing it wrong?

[Damned67]

The old arguement that braid is best or mono is best is a bit single minded and poorly thought out. Use mono when it is the best for the job and use braid when it is the best. Simple. What is going to be the reels main use : bottom bashing, spinning, livies, trolling etc etc. Base your decision on that and you will be happy with your choice.

I mainly spin, toss lures or deep drop outside ( 400 - 550' ) so most of my gear is spooled with braid. Mono on my live bait, trolling and beach reels.

Braid tangles in the wind ?

that's what I went with.
Ended up grabbing a 300yd spool of FINS 'original PRT'. Was cheap compared to the other spools in that size, so I grabbed 50lb. Interestingly, it's rated at '10lb mono diameter'. The spool on the reel says it's good for 325yds of 12lb. I've still got braid left on it's plastic spool, and I didn't put too much mono backing on?
I thought I put it on nice and tight, but I guess not?

[Chamelion]

Most braid manufacturers rate the diameter of the line at the smallest measurement. Often the line isn't round, it's flat. So generally speaking on 'side' can be as much as twice as wide as the other 'side'.

[Damned67]

That makes sense. Either way, there's still a good 250+ yards on there, so I should be OK. I'd love to tangle with the fish that spools that!

[Chamelion]

I just checked Paulus' website and some of it is actually quite shocking. There are cases where the claimed diameter is 0.10mm when it actual fact it's more like 0.220 one side and 0.230 the other.

So I guess it comes down to them claiming whatever the hell they want, because it's not like anyone is going to bother measuring the line and then mounting legal action against them, is it?

[Damned67]

Over the course of the last 24 hours (during this thread), I spent a lot of time looking at Paulus' site. It's awesome.
I'm actually pretty happy with the 'Fins'. I've almost exclusively used Fireline, and this seems no where near as stiff. My son bought a new reel tonight, a Daiwa Exceler DA 2500, to match his 3-5kg Daiwa Exceler rod that he bought on the weekend, both of which he bought out of his 'own' money. Anyway, the guys at Tackle Warehouse suggested some Spiderwire Camo braid for the reel. I'm impressed by the feel of that braid. Might have to buy some for my other new reels.

[PNG1M]

If you're surf casting with the slammer I'd say mono - approx 14lb good quality.

Or if you're using it out of a boat (deepish water) use braid as it has less current resistance & less stretch to deal with when u have a lot of line out.

So it depends on what your application is.

Best to try both over time and see for yourself...