Sunline Monster Battle

[Mark Harris]

Have any other members had problems with the blue Sunline Monster Battle braid?

I have a spool of PE10 which snaps on the tighten when tying an FG knot    Thought it might just be a damaged section but it isn't. 

On a recent trip a friend twice had mid-air casting load explosions also with Monster Battle PE10.

And the guide on that trip mentioned he had seen several instances of this line snapping with a fish on.

Anyone else had issues?  It is damned expensive line and I am wondering whether to risk the unopened spool I also have (also blue and PE10).

[Tom McCafferty]

I hope its good line, I just had a reel spooled with it as well.  Had one bad wind knot while fishing the other day but it was very full also got one just as bad with Avani a couple of casts later...

Can't say I've given it a good work over but I've liked using it, haven't had anything out of the ordinary happen as far as random line breakages.  It looks cool on the Dogfight as well

[Leo Sorbello]

Mark,

Sami I recall was endorsing this a while ago with absolute no issues at all at that time..... I was thinking of getting a few spools of PE6, 8 & 10 but had a hunch about the cost too about being expensive, so didn't get any.

I can't recall where I read it that this line had issues in hot dry areas when in use  .

[Andy Rowe]

Mark,

I have PE8 sunline on a 16k and an 18k spool, I have had no issue with FG knots, unfortunately cannot report about it with a fish on yet..

That is very unnerving news though.

[Mark Harris]

Andy, I do not know what to think about this TBH.

I have had 2 private messages both of which talked of similar problems.  It seems to be inconsistent though.

Tough one. Really tough.  Bloody expensive line to just throw away but the problems I have had are hard to get out of my head.

[Andy Rowe]

Andy, I do not know what to think about this TBH.

I have had 2 private messages both of which talked of similar problems.  It seems to be inconsistent though.

Tough one. Really tough.  Bloody expensive line to just throw away but the problems I have had are hard to get out of my head.

I sympathise with the problems in your head Mark recalling that one sunny October morning in SO. During one of the best GT bites I have seen.

If it is breaking on the FG knot you know what you have to do. It is a dud batch.

[Mark Harris]

Yep indeed. Nothing worse that no confidence in your mainline.

I think it has to go in the bin.

Expensive mistake. Lesson learned. Stick with what you know works!

[David Lumanauw]

Hi, Mark,

I'm not sharing about this particular PE, but about FG knot. I had a case where PE broke at end of FG knot. Turns out that the PE slice each other because I tie the final knots too hard (pulling too hard)
The first section of FG (PE x-cross each other over leader), the second section (PE knot over leader) we can pull hard.
But for the final part (PE knot over PE main line), don't pull this section too hard. PE will slice each other on shock load. Same case when you have wind knot, it will snap at shock)
So now I make FG knot with mediocre pull for the final part, don't tighten too hard for this final part.

Maybe for different PE line, they have different "slicing-each-other" index, so the same FG procedure may fail for different PE brand.

[Mark Harris]

Hi David and thank you for that.

I agree with you and for that reason I do not do any half hitches over the main line. I stop the knot at the half hitches over the leader (usually) or sometimes I do a Rizutto finish to replace the half hitches over the main line.

[David Lumanauw]

I might be wrong, but i feel that PE braid with "super PE" material is more vunerable to shock snap than ordinary plain spectra/dyeema material.
The PE knot over mainline (the final part of FG knot) maybe useful for protecting main PE line from leader end. I usually burn the leader line end,  make it more bulky so the knots cannot slip over this bulk. But it rubs the main line PE so i still use PE knot over PE main line to protect main line from rubbing with this bulky / burnt leader end

[Duncan O'Connell]

Hi Mark
I have randomly broken a couple of FG knots when tightening up the line, I think it has to do with the way the line lays into the knot. As David says it is an issue with the way the knot is constructed. If it keeps breaking then there is probably a problem with the line - I'm sure it is not due to your knot tying technique.

I have come across the odd dud spool of braid from virtually every manufacturer I have ever dealt with, from the cheapest to the most expensive. It is very rare, and in 11 years in business I've seen a lot of line go out the door. Mostly the braid ends up being damaged because of a handling issue of one sort or another (I can say I have seen a lot of different ways to trash a spool of braid over the years) but occasionally you do come across a faulty one.

I have both Monster Battle and Avani Casting/Avani GT on all my big reels. I've been using the Monster Battle since the first batch arrived in Australia (long enough to have worn out a couple of spools of it through normal wear and tear) and I haven't had any significant issues apart from what I'll detail below.
What I think can be a problem is if the line roller isn't functioning properly, the lines twist up which causes reduction of the shock loading capability of the braid. Monster Battle has a flatter profile (which I think helps with it's casting performance) than Avani Casting and it could be more susceptible to damage from line twisting. I know of two cases (one was on my reel) where a sticky line roller has caused severe line twist in Monster Battle, followed by shortly after by random line breakages.

I don't know if the line twist is relevant to your spool, but I think it is worth mentioning as something worth looking out for in all braids.

Cheers
Duncan

[Trevor Skinner]

Mark,

I suspect that Duncan is right on the money.

As you know, I've had it fail and wondered at the time whether there had been any 'mechanical' damage to the line since portions of it lightened in colour after only light use.

I replaced that with another spool full of the Sunline and have also used it since then on a couple of other reels with no problems at all.

Regards,


Trev

 

[Mark Harris]

Hi Duncan

Many thanks for the input and the line twist point seems very logical. 

The PE10 Monster Battle in question has been used on a Dogfight 7000H and there is no noticeable line twist.  I also stripped a fair bit and tried several times to re-tie knots with different sections of line and each time the line snapped on the tighten. That does imply to me that we are not talking about a specific section of line that has been damaged in some way by use. 

I should probably explain the knot mechanics before the snaps occurred - 12 FG wraps and 2 half hitches to hold them in place and then a big tighten using pullers... snap.  So this is BEFORE the main set of half hitches over the leader and before any tying off of the knot.  I am a bit bewildered.

It is though encouraging to hear that you have used the line without issues to the point where it wore out.

Maybe I have just been very unlucky with this spool.

[Jon Li]

Hi Mark ,

When tigthening the knot , heat is produced and especially in the tropic , can cause problem . This was explained by the winner of knot competition in Japan when I visited SFPC show , namely Mr. Kaname Kon . He even let me touch the knot and feel the heat generated while he tighten the knot slowly to prove his point .

That is the reason why it is necessary to lubricate the knot while tightening process is being done and this is standard practice even when tightening any knot , be it PE line , Dacron or Monofilament .  Heat dissipation is the key not to " burn " the dyneema fibers which cause the breaking of the line .

Jon .

[Andy Rowe]

Good point Jon, I always wet the line before the big tighten.

Mark, PE 10 should be hard to break just by tightening, it is pretty robust stuff!!

Have you cast the line by chance? I once had a cracked guide on my HLTN87, it systematically ruined over 100m of main line on that spool before i figured out what went wrong. The damage to the line was was clearly obvious to the naked eye though in this case, I gather you see no visible issue with the line.

Duncan on another note, i was interested to note you think the flatter sunline casts better than rounder varivas. I tried JB hollow in 80lb and found the flat profile caught the wind much better than round profile lines taking noticable distance off the cast in breezy conditions.