ebay braid

[Ale 301]

Sorry if its been covered, but does anybody use ebay spec braid( pelagic,pex, sea lion, maxx power, spectra,melaluka) with no major issues? I relise that the big brand stuff is probs better, but Im looking at needing over 300m in 40lbs which gets pricey at the local shops $20/100m price. I dont mind if it's over rated since 40lb has a buffer for my set up , but I want stuff that will cast ok in a overhead and not give me any major issues beeing stiff and having memory. Using it for a light game/big snapper outfit.Am I barking up the wrong tree? Is it a classic example of you get what you pay for or are we paying top dollar locally?Thanx

[MarsOne 137]

I would've said if you're paying 60 bucks for 300 yards of the stuff you're doing pretty damn good.You don't want to waste your time with crap line.At the same time, if you can pick up some decent stuff in those huge spools over ebay you could be on a winner.

[Ale 301]

Agreed, but how do I distinguish the bad stuff from the good? I bought some jarvis walker braid from kmart the other day when In a rush, jeezuz!! the stuff is rubbish, worse than the worse, the stuff just sits in loops when slack, yuk!! It wasnt even cheap!!Its the whole problem with ebay, its flooded with cheap fishing stuff, most of it terrible no doubt, but some must have to be resonable you think.(ie some of the rods have served freinds well) If you look hard enough, even soem of the brand name stuff comes up cheaper than buying locally. Unfortunte for the locals I know but all have our limits.Just out of curiousity, what brand do the tackle stores sell off the roll? Ive spooled a spinning reel with it and is realy nice...

[MarsOne 137]

just realised Dyneema make my line of choice atm - Nitlon. So maybe those huge spools would be worth a crack?

[southslide 0]

hey not all the braid on there is crap but some is, my mate got spectra extreme in 60lb 500mtr spool and was REALY crap knots didnt hold for shit, get one little birds nest and the braid starts to frayup and get loose.i got "pex" in 50lb 500mtr spool and it works great knots hold realy well doesnt get windknots has no memory at all, only bad thing is after afew big fish puting tension on the eyes the colour starts to come out and leaves colourd gunk on your eyes,i think its just in who you get the braid from i can get the sellers I.D that sold me the good stuff if you want

[smokeykebab 175]

I can answer your questions. I brought PELAGIC EXTREME SPECTRA BRAID Fishing Line 10lb 300m 0.15MM for $7 I use this for flicking plastics and small lures works fine. I got about 150meters or so on a shimano 2500 reel so its a bit thicker then expensive braid but it does the job. first time I used it some black ink ran off the braid and onto my hands but since then I've used it a dozen times and no more runny ink. I haven't been able to test out the strength of the braid on a big fish. but I have caught 40cm s.t's and 35cm bream no worries. Its easy to cast out and sinks very slowly which always helps when fishing with plastics. knots hold well haven't had a bust off yet.Also got SEA LION DYNEEMA BRAID Fishing Line 300m 40lb 0.27MM for $5 I've been using this on a shimano 6500 bait runner reel. I haven't caught any fish on this braid yet as I use live bait and go for mulloway. But it feels smoother and like a better quality braid then the one above. I fit all 300meters on my reel so its thin and casts out easily. Just need to catch another mulloway to test out the strength of the braid.Both braids do the job for me and for the price I can't complain.

[Station49 33]

Ya get what ya pay for.Putting down $50 for peace of mind when chasing a trophy fish [presumably your targetting something big if using 40lb] suits me.

[Ale 301]

Oarsome feed back guys!!!Like I suspected, it cant all me terrible, cos I see so many buy it.I suspected that the sealion may be the go.Station, to a degree, I agree, but Ive seen it many times with other stuff that the "big brand" stuff has a huge mark up due to branding and all comes from the same place. If you look at this way, Id feel crap knowing I paid $70 for something I couldve sourced for $5.In addition, Ive seen plenty of brand stuff fail and not live up to its expectation.The question is do you risk it?Considering that the reel Im going to use will only have 7-8kg max drag, even if the 40lb braid is really 30lb, I have a big buffer if used sensibly :S :S

[Orca 0]

The secret to a good braid is 2 fold - it must be 100% pure PE Dyneema - preferably SK65 - and it must be 8 strand. A lot of cheaper ( and some big names) blend cotton into the mix which makes it slow to sink and difficult to use when current is running.Only 8 strand Dyneema can give you a nice round shape which gives you better casting distance, a nice soft feel and minimal wear and tear on the guides.Again a lot of chepaer braids use 6 strand which gives a flatter cross section shape and can cause problems with distance and wear.Hope this helps you.By the way, there are only 2 factories in the world that actually produce Dyneema - 1 in Holand and 1 in Japan. Everybody gets the raw material from either of these 2 places and then does their own thing to it - blends its - coats it - whatever. Basically its all marketing crap. Stick to pure untouched SK65 and you just cannot go wrong.

[Ale 301]

Thats even more welcome info, just have to see which manufacturer spills the beans now!!!thanx mate!!

[rollcast 1]

Orca is right on the money with his comments.Dyneema is a trade name applied to Gel spun Poly Ethylene which is why it is reffered to as PE braid.Most braids come out of the same factories and are manufactured to specification ordered by the parent company .The Australian monofill company in Brisbane weaves braid to an eight pick eight carrier standard.Issue 102 of freshwater fishing has a very informative article "between the lines " by Rod Harrison which exposes all the myths surrounding current "superlines".Pick and carrier are the industry terms applied to weave.Carrier applies to the number of strands weaved into the line with the optimum number being eight to ensure roundness and durability.Pick is the tightness of weave which is described as the number of times the line crosses in a centimeter.Again 8 is the optimum number.Any manufacturer using 8 pick 8 carrier will advertise this on the packaging.Poly ethylene is also used as insulation on electrical cable.P E cannot be dyed and the colouring is a polyurethane coating which will eventually wear off without affecting the integrity of the line.Fused lines such as fireline are still manufactured from gel spun Poly etheylene but are not braided instead they are fused using heat which explains why they are stiffer.You do get what you pay for but remember you pay for advertising and packaging and promotion.When you buy Shimano how many of your dollars go to the millions they spend on promotions and advertising.I doubt Rex Hunt works for free.A bit of careful research to ensure you are buying 100% dyneema in eight pick eight carrier construction will by braid that should outlast the reel it is on.CheersRollcast

[Allroy 236]

some great info here.I can say that I have been using the Pex Braid for a few years now & it has not let me down. I have landed Stingrays, Snapper, Mullies & Cod on the 30lb without any dramas. Sure the colour fades but I don't think the fish give sh*t I have also been using the Berkley Fireline for years in 20,10 & 6lb which has served me well. Again as previously mentioned not as supple as other brands but has not let me down either.

[Ale 301]

Got a prompt reply from a seller of Sealion:"Hi,Our braid is 100% dyneema as described, it's 4 strand.Thanks."Good to even get a reply, in english and hopefully the truth

[Orca 0]

Note its only 4 strand though and not 8!

[plankton 725]

Even better than Dyneema based line is line made from Spectra. You can get a 500 yard spool of 40 pound Power Pro from the US ebay shipped to Australia for about $45 USD.

[Ale 301]

Orca wrote:

Note its only 4 strand though and not 8!

Noted mate,its just good to get a prompt reply and seems honest by admitting it to be 4 strand only.I have no issue with all of these products,they all have their place. Just feel that as customers we need to be made aware of what we are buying and the ins an outs of our choices. Its seems with many things we just buy on recomendation or what is protrayed to be the ducks guts. On ebay, its flooded with a heap of stuff, lots of it with minimal infomation displayed on the addsThis thread is full of usefull info, thanx to all that have contributed, I intend on contacting more e-braid suppliers and see what they say and post the results.In addition, it may seem this thread is to discredit the local shops, but I hope its seen as more of an eductaional thread that outlines the ins and outs.At the end of the day, In sure there probs is a market for some of the "lesser" brands for people like me who probs would be happy to save a few $$$ if made aware on the trade offs.If the local shops where to reasearch and make the customer aware of what they are buying, it would just increase their market share. Keep the info coming guys!!

[Guest SnappaHunta]

I used to only use FIRELINE which I believe is gel spun. My wife got me some PEX braid off the Internet. I think $12 for 1500 meters. I use the red 20lb stuff for my main Snapper line with 30lb mono trace. Perfect on the Ugly Stick for deep water snapper. No Dramas what so ever. It did bleed a bit of colour when I wet it to spool on the reel, but a few trips puts an end to that. The stuff ties great knots, I mainly tie cove hitches and blood knots. I love it and have three reels spooled with the stuff. The Spectra braid I tried was similar price and since I don't use anything heavier than 20lb, I spooled my light outfits with 6lb SPECTRA. The leader knots to 4,6,8lb sunline fluro are strong as. I find that it put performs fireline, particularly in abrasion resistance, the fireline frays alot more. For bream in and around structure, (where they live lol) the Spectra is awesome. Really good to have nearly all my reels full of braid for bugga all money. Infact the only thing I don't use braid for would be Yellofin and King George whiting

[Ale 301]

Thanx for that mate, thought I d update my findings:I got replies from jsut about every seller on aust ebay, all said its was 100% dyneema and all was 4 strandMost intresting tho "fishingshopworld", replied:Dear sirYes.it's braid dyneema line.and it's 4 strand.but we can provide 6 and 8 strand also.if you need.Thanks.Regards I asked for pricing on 300yard spool in 30lb, replied:Dear sirThe best price we can offer to you $17.95USD for 6 strand.$19.95 for 8 strand (including shipping) to aust.Thank you.RegardsI then asked to order some in 8 strand but he said it would be a 2 week wait.Unfortunatly I need it before then so bought some 30lb and 12lb from "kamikaze", under $20/300yard spool, and just finsihed spooling my upgraded 7000abu with the 30lb, and my small spinning plastics reel with the 12lb. Just used a generic allbright to the backing and then to the fluro leader on the 12lb and it seems all good. The stuff seems to be just as nice as the braid I had put on my other spinning reel off the bulk spool at the local shop, we will see how we go. I did notice the colur run out of the line tho, Im expecting it to discolour, non issue for me.It would be intresting to see how different it would perform against a brand braid, and also be good to know how many strands they all are and how much differnce it makes.Intresting huh

[trig 0]

I like the sea lion braid and have used it on an Abu 6500 overhead a fair bit for bottom bouncing. I caught an 18 kilo Tuna on the 30lb sealion so it holds up okay.

[weaver 271]

Even the top brand braid has the colour run mate.

[Orca 0]

Ive noticed a few of you have made mention of the colour run problem so i thought i would fill you all in on the facts.2 years ago, the EEC banned the use of certain chemicals used to make dyes and also to make them colourfast. So now a lot of factories who have a large part of their business with European customers have switched to using chemicals which keep the greenies happy but unfortunately are nowhere near as good for maintaining the colour.Hope this clarifies your thinking - its not the crap manufacturers but the new regulations that are causing these problems

[__matt__ 0]

...for those apparently in the know, is the general consensus that a nameless 8/8 20 buck pe off of ebay (provided that its legit and actually 8/8) will perform just as well, and last just as long as high end japanese pe?Cheers rollcast and orca especially so far.

[Orca 0]

the answer lies in the marketing budget!most fishos would be quite happy with a pure dyneema braid 8 strand but the big boys spend millions telling you otherwise.What concerns me most about ebay braid is that the good gets mixed up with the bad and its obvious there are a lot of very financially distressed sellers out there judging by the prices being quoted on this thread.Without letting too many cats out of the bag i can tell you that the actual manufacturing cost price of say 300yds of 50lb 100% Japanese PE braid is around $30 which makes me really question some of the prices being banded about on here. Desparate sellers or "fallen of the back of a truck" stuff?????

[__matt__ 0]

So you are saying that all 8/8 pe is the same irrespective of marketing hype and should perform the same?How do you explain the difference between say rock fish pe and td sensor? Both look similar on paper but are very different lines...Cheers

[Del 245]

both softy and i use a ebay branded 8lb braid on all our flick sticks.we have about 8 reels spooled up with it. dont have any wind knotts apart from when i first stared using braid. get good casting distance and hassle free fishing. largish fish landed on 8lb braid so far is 13.5lb. we dont suffer any break offs or issues i first expected for the cheaper stuff. very happy customer.also have some 20lb on an over head and on a 4500 series reel. so far all is god.and purchased 600 meters of 30lb braid for one of my surf reels. yet to fish it. but will be using it this coming browns weekend.

[alby1396235543 0]

hi there ale ive been using 100% dyneema braid for several years i used to get it from a tasmanian ebay seller it was called ocean braid $68 FOR a 1000m spool .but since then he has stopped selling.last lot i purchased from ebay allso is 100% dyneema braid call HI-CATCH made in holland again about $26 for a 500m spool you can buy continuis lengths both are great products.did try that pex braid i was not satisfied with it