What PE equals what in pounds

[Cam Foley]

Getting a bit confused of what PE equals what according to pounds.
ie:does PE 6 equal 80 pound and so on?

[Brandon Khoo]

From what I understand, the PE measure is based on diameter, not breaking strain. PE6 equate to roughly 80lb breaking strain so is a rough guide but no more than that

[Cam Foley]

what exactly does PE stand for?

[Brandon Khoo]

braid is made from gel spun polyethylene fibers
PE I assume is polyethylene but happy to be corrected if I am wrong in this assumption

[Cam Foley]

Did some surfing on the net and from what i could find it seemed PE meant the actual weight of the line as in how much it weighed also found a lot about PP in fly fishing info its quite a mystery.

[Greg Burt]

Different quality braid means there is different PE ratings to breaking strain.
Open the YGK Comparison and see what you pay for.
The Pro Hunter is 4X.
 
 Cam, thats the cheaper stuff Dingles was pushing in the connected 100mt rools.
 1:30 pm, The Spheros, T-Curve, Jigman and assorted goodies has left the building.
 

[Cam Foley]

So going of that Table ,PE has got to be the diameter of the line.

[Greg Burt]

Thats what I reckon,  Ultra Jigman and Ultra Castman are the same line, the only difference is the colour.

[Cam Foley]

braid is made from gel spun polyethylene fibers
PE I assume is polyethylene but happy to be corrected if I am wrong in this assumption
Your assumption is correct Brandon PE = Poly  Ethylene nice one its all starting to make sense.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Did some surfing on the net and from what i could find it seemed PE meant the actual weight of the line as in how much it weighed also found a lot about PP in fly fishing info its quite a mystery.

'PE' is the rating of the line by diameter, not breaking strain. I believe the traditional unit or way of measuring is called 'Gouw' - this was used to measure silk in Japan. Measuring the line by it's actual weight is useless and i can't really see how you would do it accurately and then, what would we possbily do with that information?

Generally, you can more or less multiply the PE number by 10 to get the line breaking strain in lbs. With advancements in PE development a lot of the premium japanese lines will also test a lot higher while their diamter decreases (along with the usual testing higher than stated anyway), therefore what Brandon said is starting to become more commonplace i.e. PE6 = 80lb in some Jap PE. At the moment PE # multiplied by 10 is acceptable for those not wanting to get complicated!

I'm sure some more knowledgable members may be able to shed more light or even correct my primitive understanding of this complicated area

[Cam Foley]

Thanks Luke for shedding some more light on the subject.
I always assumed that it was the PE number times 10lb until i started reading PE 6 equals 80lb, but being that PE is measured in diameter i can see how things would change with the new development of braided lines being smaller in diameter but stronger in breaking strengths.

[Brandon Khoo]

The traditional measure was certainy the 10X measure but I have found of late that the multiplier has increased. I think the Varivas GT is about the finest on the market for the reaking strain.

[Earl Hamilton]

So when a rod is rated PE 3-6 is that 30-60lbs, or 40-80lbs...Rating by thickness of the line helps me with drag resistance in the water, but does not tell me if I am matching the line to the power of the rod correctly as there is(we assume) a 25% difference in strength between a rod of 30-60lbs rating and a rod of 40-80 lbs rating-it may only be a guide, but I would like a guide to be a bit better than + or - 25%. If as some do, you set your drag to lets say 1/3 of the assumed breaking strain of line, a PE6 of 80lbs  would mean a setting of 12+kg which on a rod only rated for 30-60lbs where drags would be set at 9+kg-thats 3kg over which may put you in a slightly precarious situation if you are expecting your 30-60 rated rod to perform as a 40-80 would.
I know in regards to a power rating on a rod that there should be a safety margin built in, but in the effort to make rods lighter, more responsive, and I dare say more cost effective in production, as carbon cloth can be quite expensive by the yard, safety margins may be getting cut thin when you take into account that there may be as much 25% difference in power rating depending on which brand you choose to fish with !

[Ben Keller]

I dont mean to sound like a prick but to me it seems to be reading a bit too far into things.

How is rating a rod by thickness of line (PE) any different than rating it to 80lb braid, braids BS fluctuates so wickedly the numbers can only be used as a guide anyway.

I personally like the idea of round about figures in the rating of rods, as not to try to absolutely categorize a rod type. I can still use an 80lb rod for 60lb line and enjoy it, and visa versa.

Most jigging with braid or PE line is knock down fishing anyway. measuring drag spikes is an interesting thing to do on a rainy day. Its amazing to see how big of a drag spike you can produce with a 9kg drag setting when theres no give (stretch) in the line.

If I have the normal drag range a rod can work with, the maximum dead lift, the recommended jig weight, the rough line rating, the length, plus the action, for me its definatly enough to get an idea of what the rod can be used for and how far it can be pushed.

Personally, I like safety margins, I still bump the rod on the rail from time to time when loaded up, and if the rod was always being used at 100% capability im sure we would hear of alot more gear failure due to operator error.

As for your original question, if a rod is rated PE3-6, if your an optimist treat it as 30-60 and if you like to take a chance, treat it as 40-80.

Cheers
Ben

[Brandon Khoo]

I'd take the rating of a rod as no more than a guide and I would never seek to fish more than the 10X factor. I started a thread some time back on what I felt were over-optimistic ratings on some jigging rods.

See http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php/topic,39.0.html

I have a rod built n a SEED blank that is supposedly rated PE4-8 but it also states a max of 12 kg of drag. To me, that is really cutting it very fine indeed as I think something like 15-16kg would be more realistic. on the other hand, I have a JM Monster that is rated PE4-8 and I doubt it would bend with PE4!