Mono line vs dyneema

[denmyos]

When i buy a new speargun i allways change the mono line to dyneema, because i think the mono line is to stiff and ridge.
But sometimes a dyneema (1mm) to light and flexible.

So i was thinking is there better mono lines you can buy that is more flexible that the ones that comes with a gun.
I guessing that the gun maker just gives you the cheapest of the cheapest in mono line.

Any suggestion on a flexible and not to ridge mono line.?

Thank you

 

[Bill McIntyre]

If you want more flexible mono, this brand is nice.

https://www.softsteelusa.com

But it you'd like to stick with dyneema, I'd recommend this stiff dyneema from Benthic.

https://benthicoceansports.com/collections/lines-rigging

I'm using the 1.4 mm on a smaller gun and the 1.7 mm on a larger gun and I like it. Its not as limp as normal dyneema and not so likey to tangle.

 

[Nicholas1986]

If you want more flexible mono, this brand is nice.

https://www.softsteelusa.com

But it you'd like to stick with dyneema, I'd recommend this stiff dyneema from Benthic.

https://benthicoceansports.com/collections/lines-rigging

I'm using the 1.4 mm on a smaller gun and the 1.7 mm on a larger gun and I like it. Its not as limp as normal dyneema and not so likey to tangle.

Can you specify what you mean by smaller gun? Is this up to maybe a 100cm? And 110cm upward you use the 1.7mm dyneema?


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[Bill McIntyre]

I had the 1.4 on a Abellan 110 and the 1.7 on an Abellan 120, but I recently put the 1.7 on the 110 too. Either one is plenty strong and resistant to abrasion for either gun. I guess its just a tradeoff between resistance to the shot and ease of handling. If you have a light shaft and bands, the 1.4 will be a better choice. A heavy shaft and bands can more easily overcome the added resistance of the 1.7. Recently my sinuses clogged up and I was back in the boat and let my buddy use the 110. He shot a 40 pound fish and grabbed the 110 shooting line in an attempt to keep it from getting to the bottom and wrapping up in the kelp. The line cut his glove and his hand and he didn't stop the fish anyway, but after his complaint I put the 1.7 on that gun. If grabbing the line to stop a big fish isn't a concern for you, I would go with the 1.4 mm. Just for fun, here is my buddy with the fish in question.

 

[Nicholas1986]

I had the 1.4 on a Abellan 110 and the 1.7 on an Abellan 120, but I recently put the 1.7 on the 110 too. Either one is plenty strong and resistant to abrasion for either gun. I guess its just a tradeoff between resistance to the shot and ease of handling. Recently my sinuses clogged up and I was back in the boat and let my buddy use the 110. He shot a 40 pound fish and grabbed the 110 shooting line in an attempt to keep it from getting to the bottom and wrapping up in the kelp. The line cut his glove and his hand and he didn't stop the fish anyway, but after his complaint I put the 1.7 on that gun. If grabbing the line to stop a big fish isn't a concern for you, I would go with the 1.4 mm. Just for fun, here is my buddy with the fish in question. View attachment 52085

Nice fish! I use mainly Rob Allen guns so my only concern really is if the dyneema will slow the shot. I’ve watched a vid on youtube from spearq8 who did some serious testing of various shooting lines. The 1.7mm sounds like a good alternative to the mono I’m currently using.


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[Bill McIntyre]

I watched that video too and that's where I got the idea to use the stiff dyneema. I would have mentioned that earlier but I didn't want to muddy the waters if you hadn't seen it. For at least 20 years I've been using 400 pound mono, so this is a new experiment for me. For your Rob Allen I think I might lean toward the 1.4, but its probably not that big of a deal. One thing I like about either one is that they are available in that bright green color which makes them easy to see down in the kelp and murk.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

An afterthought- the line cutting my buddy's glove shouldn't happen very often. It seems like the fish has usually taken all the shooting line before I can grab anything, so I'm grabbing reel line or float line. By the time I'm holding shooting line, the fish is wrapped up in kelp or tired if its in open water. But in this case the fish swam about 2 feet under his tip and he strung it on the shooing line and had time to grab the shooting line before the fish took all of it.

 

[Nicholas1986]

Looks neat. What kind of knot are you using to attach the dyneema to the shaft? Or is that a splice? :-0


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[Bill McIntyre]

I talked to the owner of Benthic, and he told me it could be crimped just like mono. Then I saw some posts by spearq8 of crimps with knots. So I'm not sure what's best but here are my two guns now. The first one has an overhand knot on the line after it runs through the crimp. The second one has that loop before the crimp and then a bulb burned on the end after it passes through the crimp. I wish I could say I've shot a lot of fish to test the connections, but I had a cancer removed from my leg and it left a big hole that has to heal before I can get back in the water. But I have shot a few fish, and my buddy pulled as hard as he could trying to stop that 40 pounder. I've also leaned on them with all my weight with the shaft in a vise, no slips so far. I don't know why, but you need crimps larger than the stated thickness of the line. For the 1.4 line, get 1.6 crimps. For the 1.7 line, get 1.9 crimps. They will fit perfectly, and you'll still have to cut the line at an angle and/or smooth the end with spit to get it into the crimp.

You can't splice it like other dyneema since it isn't hollow.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Oops, I see why you might think I spliced it. One of those first photos was from a couple of years ago when I tried some 1000 pound hollow dyneema as a substitute for cable for tuna. I did splice that but it was awful. It gathered around me like a spider web in the water and I quit using it. This stiff stuff is much better.

 

[Nicholas1986]

Agree with you on the spectra. It’s really strong but I found it to be too too soft in the water and would tangle easily. I’ll definitely think about the stiff dyneema. I have some Rob allen dyneema which is 1.8mm and I find it to be pretty stiff compared to some other dyneemas. The RA rollers actually come stock with the 1.8 if I’m not mistaken. I wish you a speedy recovery!


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[diver278]

Hi guys I’ve been told that spectra and dyneema slow your shaft speed more than mono line is this true.
Bill does this line work well in the kelp I see we’re in the same area so cal. And is this line used only for shooting line not reels?

Bill sorry to hear about your leg I’ve been through the cancer thing twice so I feel your pain. Hope you get better soon.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Hi guys I’ve been told that spectra and dyneema slow your shaft speed more than mono line is this true.
Bill does this line work well in the kelp I see we’re in the same area so cal. And is this line used only for shooting line not reels?

Bill sorry to hear about your leg I’ve been through the cancer thing twice so I feel your pain. Hope you get better soon.

Let me refer you to this comparison that tells you more than you want to know. I believe he says that the 1.4 mm dyneema is about the same as his reference 250 pound mono. If so it should be a big improvement over the 400 pound mono that I’ve always used. I think he also says that the 1.9 mm dyneema causes way too much drag and the 1.7 might be a good compromise but he didn’t have any to test. think the 1.9 might be good for reels but I prefer something thicker myself. I’d really like to use that 1.2 mm coated cable and I even bought some, but I’m afraid to use it. It’s just too hard to cut. I haven’t shot many fish in the kelp with the dyneema but it seems OK to me. Just be aware that it’s also harder than mono to cut. It would seem like a good option for Baja or places with coral. The guy from Benthic told me that he shot a big cobia at an oil rig in the Gulf using the 1.9 and it sawed the barnacles off the leg of the rig without cutting the line. Sorry I don’t have time right now to watch this video to refresh myself but see what you think.
http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=192987

 

[Bill McIntyre]

OK, I made time to watch and was reminded that you had to keep the dyneema tight and away from the bands. On a gun like my Wongs that wouldn’t be a problem since the line runs down the side of the gun well below the bands. But with the reverse mechanisms in my Abbelans the .line is up on top of the gun next to the bands, so maybe it could be a problem. My solution was to imbed a loop of stainless steel down on the side of the gun and run the line under it. If you use a reel then a pin would work just as well but the loop served another function when using a breakaway float line. It the float line pulls at 90 degrees to the gun it can’t pull the bungee off of the line release.

 

[diver278]

Thanks for the info Bill. I’m in the Philippines and do reef spearing here. I’m currently using my Pathos 115 sniper roller and using 200 lb mono the black one from Spearamerica works pretty good except it does get beat up a little but I just have to change it. Good thing I brought extra with me. I also have some 1/32 steel coated cable but haven’t tried it yet. Think I’ll try it on my 130cm gun instead of my roller. But would like to try the dyneema when I get back next month.

 

[denmyos]

Does the stiff dyneema has a different name.?
I'm in europe and "can't" buy stuff outside europe.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Does the stiff dyneema has a different name.?
I'm in europe and "can't" buy stuff outside europe.

Its also called Aussie Line.

 

[sharkey]

Dyneema has some advantage over mono for abrasion around coral but its terrible for tangles. I have just started doing this in the last month or so & so far the knots havent failed & I havent lost a spear with it either, I have had dogtooth tuna take both big floats under using this knot & it appears to improve the appearance of the knot shape rather than the inverse. Most of the abrasion & cuts in our line are in the first 2m behind the spear so I have spliced 2m of 900lb hollow core dyneema to the spear & then used an albright knot to 500lb ultra hard mono. The knot looks terrible & no doubt it has some small effect on the range, but I havent seen a decrease in accuracy with 9 & 10mm spears & am of the attitude this is a good compromise just for dogtooth tuna.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Dyneema has some advantage over mono for abrasion around coral but its terrible for tangles.

Have you tried the Aussie Line stiff dyneema? I find that it is a lot better than the hollow core dyneema or even other solid cores that I've tried.

 

[sharkey]

I know the one you mean, its marketed by a spearo down here but it isnt made here. I've tried it several times & dont like how it tangles or using knots in it, I dont trust the swages/crimps, or the combination of both swages & knots when rigging up this line. I know people say it can be swaged, however most failures I have seen with this is the swages slipping/failing, also a knot in this line reduces its strength by 65%, although that may not be really important when we are talking about 900lb line. The reason I have gone with the hollow core for the dogtooth tuna set up is because it can be spliced easily & the albright knot to mono is a lot smaller with the hollow core than the stiff & we dont weaken the knots/joins as much as with the "stiff" dyneema.