home line testing 101

[Gavin Ng]

Hey guys, do you ever test your line's breaking strain at home? Just wondering what you guys do.

for me, I get a strand of braid to be tested, tie heavy mono on either side of the test line via fg knots, then lift a dumbell that is similar weight to the breaking strain.

my only question is, when a line is rated to say, 60lb, does that mean that theoretically it could lift a 60lb dumbell? or are there other factors that need to be considered that may deduct from the lifting power of the line?

are there better ways of testing line at home?

the reason I'm asking is because I can never lift the breaking strain of the line, in fact, no where near it, so i'm hoping my method is flawed, rather than my batch of line is flawed!

Cheers

[Jon Li]

Hi Gavin ,

One quarter of the line breaking strain is the recommended initial drag setting , I don't think there is any reel in existense that has the max drag of 80 lbs. . Do be carefull to secure the reel when dead lifting using rod n reel , just had a guy breaking the very expensive MC Works jigging rod when the reel came off the reelseat when trying to lift a jig bag full of jigs ( 25 kg ) . The lifting process must be done slowly in a controlled manner and don't try to " jerk " it like a weight lifter doing " Clean n Jerk " to prevent breaking the rod .
 
Jon .

[Gavin Ng]

Hi Jon, thanks for the reply, I dont think I would dare test line via rod and reel- ive seen so many things go wrong in stores from people loading rods wrecklessly, or the line breaks and the tip smashed into the ceiling- ouch! the mc works would of been painful!

For the purpose of testing the breaking strain of the line, to make sure the batch of line you have is good, how much would a 60lb rated line be able to deadlift? i-e using the line only, and you're hands or some tool that the line is connected to?

cheers

[Jon Li]

Hi Gavin ,

There is this website which deal with line testing , check this : http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/index.htm , I hope it will answer your question .

Jon .

[Gil Ayuyao]

Been reading up on the various tests done by Paulus; great info.

People have sent in samples for Paul to test; that's why there are duplicate results for the same size/lb spectra from the same manufacturer.  I'll be sending in a sample of some spectra to make sure I know the strength and limits of the spectra I have on my reel.

Hi Gavin ,

There is this website which deal with line testing , check this : http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/index.htm , I hope it will answer your question .

Jon .