Power Pro

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Jonnysig
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 1:01 pm

Power Pro

Post by Jonnysig »

Got some High Vis Yellow for an awesome price. Was gonna use it for frogging, topwater, and pitching jigs. Never seen or used it before. Is it too bright for bass or does it disappear well????
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Guyle
Posts: 500
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:37 am
Location: Delta

Re: Power Pro

Post by Guyle »

color 6 feet of line black with a big sharpie
bantam1
Posts: 974
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:51 am

Re: Power Pro

Post by bantam1 »

Yep I agree. The nice thing about Spectra fibers is you can color them with sharpie markers.
Wild Bill
Posts: 368
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 1:39 pm
Location: Long Island NY

Re: Power Pro

Post by Wild Bill »

Dan,

I have heard that Shimano bought PowerPro, so I figured you could answer a few questions for me.

1].. Has Power Pro braid CHANGED any since the Shimano takeover of it ?

2].. How many strands is the PowerPro now? {Some new braids have said they have 8 or 16 strands/carriers...Could you explain that all to me, as I don't quite understand what all that means, and tell me what PowerPro has in respect to all that}.

Huge thanks in advance.
You have always been AWESOME in your answers to my questions.
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bantam1
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Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:51 am

Re: Power Pro

Post by bantam1 »

The only thing we have changed is the QC of the product. We have tightened up the quality of the line and the manufacturing process. The carrier count varies by the line strength. Some are 4 and others 8 and we will have a higher count later so I have been told. I have a list of this somewhere in my pile of Shimano, Power Pro and GLoomis data overtaking my desk.

There are a lot of other factors that contribute to how braided line is made. I'll cover some of this here. There is a lot of information that is proprietary to our company, so this data will not be released.

First lets cover the types of material used to make braided line. Major brands of braided line are made from either Spectra made by Honeywell in the US, or Dyneema made by DSM in the Netherlands (or Dyneema made under license to Toyobo in Japan). The main difference between Spectra and Dyneema is that the individual Spectra fibers are much larger than the finer Dyneema fibers. When exposed to an abrasion situation the individual Dyneema fibers are more susceptible to being cut, unlike the larger Spectra fibers that may get nicked but not cut. As a result, Dyneema lines are less abrasion resistant and typically show wear more quickly. This wear is characterized with a fuzzy surface appearance.

Another common use of Spectra fibers is to manufacture body armor for our troops. This is another reason why Spectra fiber based braided lines are more expensive than the Dyneema based lines. Government contracts help drive prices of materials up because of the demand.

There are two types of braids. Diamond braid and Basket braid.

Diamond braid: Braid construction when a braider is run with its full compliment of carriers-fully occupied. Power Pro sizes of diamond braid include 200 lb and higher. Diamond braid results in a smoother surface, and softer "hand".

Basket braid: Braid construction that happens when a braider runs with a half compliment of carriers- half occupied. Power Pro sizes that are basket braid are 5-150 lb. Basket braid results in a denser structure, however there is more surface texture which results in noise during the retrieve as the "bumps" of the braid pass over the guides.

Weave Density:
Braiding line is dependent on "pick count" or the number of interlacings per inch. The more picks (interlacings) per inch results in a tighter braid and fewer picks per inch gives a braid that is looser. Braids with a higher pick per inch have more texture than those with a lesser count but are better under abrasive conditions because there is less exposed area of a particular individual fiber at a certain point, unlike the looser braids that have longer areas of exposure of individual fibers. However, lower pick count braids have higher strength translation since fibers are being loaded parallel to their length. We strive to balance the abrasion resistance and strength of our braids through our construction.

Coloration
Currently there is no available technology that can permanently dye Spectra or Dyneema. These materials are so slick that nothing will stick to them. When coloring these fibers you are basically "painting" them and eventually the color will fade. The next slickest substance to Spectra is Teflon.

The Power Pro difference
The thing that separates Power Pro from other brands is Enhanced Body Technology (EBT). EBT is a multi-step process that makes Power Pro rounder, smoother and gives it body. The EBT process involves flooding a resin through the structure of the line, which eliminates many of the handling problems with "older style" softer braided lines. Since the resins used in EBT go all the way through Power Pro, this cuts down on the amount of water that is picked up by the line and improves abrasion resistance.

Power Pro break strength is measured using the IFGA method to test cordage. Most of the breakage we see is either from the drag being set too tight or the hook set is too hard. Since their is no stretch with braided line like with mono you do not need to swing for the fences to set the hook. A quick shock to the line can cause it to break.
Wild Bill
Posts: 368
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 1:39 pm
Location: Long Island NY

Re: Power Pro

Post by Wild Bill »

Dan,

Could we limit the answers to 80 pound test braid or less of PowerPro, since I think MOST freshwater Bass anglers will not be utilizing anything more than that [in MOST cases].


Please explain :"Carrier" and "Carrier count".

Please explain: "strand count"

It appears that the more I try to learn about this, the more I don't understand...{LMAO}.

Thanks for being patient with me, and I appreciate the detailed response given already . Thank you very much.
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bantam1
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Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:51 am

Re: Power Pro

Post by bantam1 »

80 pound has 6 strands currently.

The carriers are what the Spectra line is on. These machine use the spools to braid the lines together. This is pretty much the same thing as strand count.
Last edited by bantam1 on Mon Oct 05, 2009 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
Wild Bill
Posts: 368
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 1:39 pm
Location: Long Island NY

Re: Power Pro

Post by Wild Bill »

What about on the lower pound tests of PowerPro, such as 65, 50, and 30 pound test ?
Those are the line sizes I use the most of myself in PowerPro.

Thanks for all the info and explaining, Dan.
It is greatly appreciated.

I am a manic east-coast frogger/ratter, and the SnagProof "WildBull"Frog color is named after me.
I designed that color for them.
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bantam1
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Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:51 am

Re: Power Pro

Post by bantam1 »

They are all currently 4 strand.
Wild Bill
Posts: 368
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 1:39 pm
Location: Long Island NY

Re: Power Pro

Post by Wild Bill »

Thanks , Dan..

You're the man with the answers !
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