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Braid production and prices.


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Just wondered why there are no Australian made braids (that I know of) at affordable prices.

 

To me, braid seems very expensive for what it is,, especially when spooling up the likes of a tiagra 30w.

 

Il admit, I do buy the Chinese stuff on ebay...its cheap...does the job...and hasn't let me down. I can get 2000metres of 80lb braid for 65 bucks. Its no bells and whistles braid but it does the job , and iv had this braid on SOME  reels for 3 years with no faults, I cant afford to fish $200 jerry brown braid per 600yrds, when I potentially get busted off twice in a session.

 

Why is good quality braid so expensive ? yes I know...you get what you pay for in this world...but far out braid can be expensive.

 

Why is nobody in Australia producing quality braid ? if there is some....Id like to here about it...I love supporting my own country for a quality product.

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Spools of braid are small and inexpensive to ship. I get all mine from the US.

 

Did a quick check and a 600yd spool of 80lb Jerry Brown is $85 from the place I get a lot of my gear. A couple other quality brands to check out are Cortland and Izorline which are both a little less expensive than JB.

 

Of course you've got to factor in exchange rates and shipping, but you still come out way ahead, especially if you buy in bulk.

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Unfortunately there is this little thing called 'economy of scale'. The machines for making braid are fairly specialized and the capital costs are high. That's why braid is quite expensive as well. From a news thing I read apparently it takes around 100 hours to spin 1000m of braid, so that's not a high level of production from a expensive machine.

 

Australia is too small a market for a large scale manufacturer to set up here given our high cost base, small market, poor export opportunities and trade exposure since consumers really do vote with their wallets.

 

That's why our manufacturing industry is dominated by either local generic production or highly skilled technical production as for niche basic bulk manufacturing its cheaper to do it overseas where there is a bigger market.

 

I'm sure there is Australian braid out there but the majority of stuff that will turn up on the shelves will be imports for the massive overseas markets since their production lines are so much larger just to service their own domestic demand.

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To me, braid seems very expensive for what it is,, especially when spooling up the likes of a tiagra 30w.

 

 I cant afford to fish $200 jerry brown braid per 600yrds, when I potentially get busted off twice in a session.

 

Just wondering, what sort of fishing you're doing to get busted off twice per session? You mention a tiagra 30w and 80lb jerry brown braid, so I assume you've got to be talking about chasing sharks or tuna. What sort of setup have you got that you're losing sections of your braid mainline?

 

Playpus platium braid is Australian made & owned.

 

Yes, apparently they have their own facility here in Australia, never knew that before, thanks projoe!

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Yeah interesting ..and thanks for uploading that video link....may look into platypus .....never used it. I love to support an Australian product if its decent and affordable.

 

And in regards to "scissors" comment....iv been using one type of "cheaper" braid (there are some absolute shockers out there il admit) on and off (if I can get good deal on a more well known brand il get it) for about 6 years.....never once has the braid failed. Iv landed some decent fish on it..tuna, shark,snapper, etc and although I didn't catch it , I have seen a 40kg grouper caught on same braid personally.

 

As I said, its no bells and whistles stuff, its not glossy and smooth, it dis colours fast. But it does the job.

 

I am however more interested in using a good Australian product if there is one around. And was just interested as to why there isn't more made here in oz...but previous comments have answered that cheers.

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  • 1 month later...

I'd recommend Sea Lion braid from Ebay - they seem to have generally positive reviews and are shipped from Melbourne.

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281677163072

 

It will arrive far quicker than Aliexpress (I ordered some squid jigs shipped 4 weeks ago and still no sign of them ) and the breaking strains are pretty accurate according to this line testing site:

 

http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/

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Talking of braid, how do you choose a color? I'm going through that aliexpress.com website and am confused about choosing color

 

I prefer something hi-vis so I can see it well when fishing, fluoro green or pink are best, white can work well too.

 

All braid is naturally white, the colour is added and usually fades through the life of the braid, some fade faster than others.

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Depends on your application.

 

Lures - high-vis so you can keep track of it and watch for line movements.

 

Bait - darker low-vis and more natural colours, particularly for fishing muddy freshwaters. Doesn't spook the fish mooching around as much.

 

Deep water jigging - Depth counter, measured lengths with different colours so you can estimate how much you have out and what depth you are at.

 

Of course colour doesn't change the breaking strain, diameter, limpness, texture, knot strength, etc.. so its really more a matter of choice and what you think you are comfortable with.

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