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FLUOROCARBON LEADER COMPARISON
by Mark Smith
Caveats on Comparisons and Claims
When we first began carrying fluorocarbon leader there were
few suppliers, and all shared some similar characteristics. We only supported
100% fluorocarbon leader, never a coated product. All proved to be invisible in
water. When folks would ask for a recommendation I'd simply say, "just make sure
it's 100% FL, beyond that they're all pretty much equal." All manufacturer's
products were stiff, and all absorbed a bit of water. Most importantly, all
proved very effective when it came time to go fishing. When the bite was picky,
fluorocarbon leader could make a difference - a big difference. I've seen days
when you couldn't buy a bite unless you were using the stuff, and I've also seen
days when it made absolutely no difference since the fish were eating everything
that touched the water...including cigarette butts!
As time passed, more manufacturers entered the field. As a result we've seen some competition between manufacturers each trying to gain some marketing advantage. Sometimes marketing claims are made that exceed proven results, sometimes the hype is only hot air blown by an over-reaching sales/marketing department. As a fishing tackle retailer I share some common concerns with our clients. We can't stock everything, and the stuff we stock had better work or I've blown dollars that should be used elsewhere. So, we do some testing here as a regular course of business. We have invested in test equipment and try to look beyond the hype to sort out facts.
So, let's get down to business. I am still of the opinion that all fluorocarbon leader are pretty much equal, so long as they are 100% fluorocarbon. We are hearing some claims from certain manufacturers about strength, softness, diameter and stretch... various properties beyond pure fishing effectiveness. It was our intent to do some simple testing to see if there really are any differences between products. We chose to evaluate Seaguar, Stren, Blackwater and YoZuri. We omitted some manufacturers, may revisit this exercise at a later date to add their statistics to the mix.
TEST
EQUIPMENT
We used a $2.6K line tester made by Scale Master. The Black Max is IGFA certified, used in many tournaments, and VERY RELIABLE. We also used a couple different micrometers to arrive at line diameter measurements.
PROBLEMS WITH STUDY
Our sample was not huge, only 10 tries per line test/per manufacturer. We only used one spool of line (pulled from our shelf) for testing purposes. The lines were not wet, they were dry and this could result in different findings in the field. While we tried to treat all measures consistently, this does not mean that we mimicked the way a fish would run and pull on the line. We were consistent with the pressure, not jerky, so real world conditions were not met.
METHOD
First, I used a 3' section of leader and checked the line diameter in three different locations on the line and arrived at an average measurement. Usually there were very small variances, insignificant. Then, I cut a 4' section and put it in the Black Max tester. The "jaws" were closed allowing only a 1" gap of line. Then the jaws were moved apart at a steady rate until the line snapped. At that point we'd check the breaking test and also measure how much stretch one inch of line would allow prior to breaking. This was repeated 10 times for each line. Those numbers provided a mean measurement which is what we'll examine for comparison.
Comparisons were made with 20# and 40# lines.
We used Izorline mono as a reference monofilament line, for both diameter and breaking strength. It's a fairly remarkable line in terms of strength, perhaps not typical, but it gives us a reference point in terms of stretch and diameter to compare with fluorocarbon.
DATA / RESULTS
| Manufacturer | Diameter | Avg. Break | Avg. Stretch |
| Izorline 20# | 0.016 | 41.5 | 3.25 |
| Seaguar 20# | 0.016 | 30.667 | 3.167 |
| Blackwater 20# | 0.017 | 31.333 | 2.9 |
| YoZuri 20# | 0.013 | 28 | 2.767 |
| Stren 20# | 0.016 | 28 | 3.5 |
| Izorline 40# | 0.022 | 54.5 | 4.1 |
| Seaguar 40# | 0.025 | 41.25 | 3.45 |
| Blackwater 40# | 0.0245 | 45.75 | 3.25 |
| YoZuri 40# | 0.0235 | 44.5 | 3.25 |
| Stren 40# | 0.024 | 41.5 | 3.35 |
OBSERVATIONS & OPINIONS
Line diameter is an important consideration when comparing performance. We've seen many claims by mono manufacturers about how strong their line is, without reference to diameter. [For what it's worth, Izor based their line on diameter, using Ande as a reference. Ande's 20# line measured a certain size, Izor's line of the same diameter was marketed as a 20# line, when in reality it would test far higher based upon newer copolymer manufacturing.] In our testing, we did find that fluorocarbon leader does indeed stretch less than mono, however we were surprised to see that in general it does stretch more than we initially thought possible.
0.748897 correlation diameter and break 0.478603 correlation diameter and stretch 0.694674 correlation break and stretch We found a positive correlation between line diameter and break strength, and a positive relationship between break strength and stretch. However there was not a great association between line diameter and stretch.
In our testing, we did find that fluorocarbon leader does indeed stretch less than mono, however we were surprised to see that in general it does stretch more than we initially thought possible. Products from ALL manufacturers allowed some degree of stretch. Products from ALL manufacturers strength tested well, at or beyond their claimed rating.
What's the point? Well, if you were trying to run a short topshot of fluorocarbon leader into your spectra backing, having some stretch would be a good thing. Perhaps you might chose your fluorocarbon based upon stated stretch measurements. From the limited research we did, under the conditions we used, I'd be hard pressed to recommend one FL line over another from the standpoint of stretch alone. I'd look at other properties, many of which are beyond the scope of this writing. For instance, limpness, ability to maintain strength after being in water for 30 minutes... These are better real world considerations I feel. From the standpoint of breaking strength and stretch, I can make no claims regarding one manufacturer or another based upon the results from this comparison. That's something you might do for yourself...
