Braid shelf-life.

[Kentish Bassman]

I am hoping that some of you may be able to give me some advice on the shelf-life of braid. I started using braid a few years ago and certainly wouldn`t go back to mono but I would like to know whether the spool of braid I bought 2 years ago will still be alright to load onto my reel. The braid in question is Berkeley fireline 40lb bs. I used Berkeley whiplash last year and towards the end of the season I lost a couple of decent fish when the line snapped, this line had only been on the reel for around 4 months and was put on the reel straight from the shop. Would I be better off buying a new spool of line or will the old one be alright?

[volante]

Hi, I personally use Power Pro braid but there are loads of different makes out there !!!
I use my braid for one season then if there is enough on the spool I reverse it for a second
season and then normally discard it. I think I have had my monies worth out of it without pushing it too far. After every use I rinse my reels/line in fresh water, this again is only a personal thing but really advisable. I tend to use a rotten bottom to try and get the fish back, easy to replace sinker/pirk.(thats the theory)
As for shelf life I have spools of Power Pro which must be 5/6 year old which I keep in a fishing cupboard out of any UV light etc and will/has been fine. I am using Sylcast line (1lb spool)which must be 20 year old and kept the same way and is fine, every now and again I tie a cutting not and try and snap it - never happens!!!!!!!

[el_sid]

yes mate it'll be spot on, if its been used over the past couple of years just check it when reeling back in, checking for any wear and tear on it.(a have some braid on one reel thats been on for bout 3 yrs and has been abused and its still going strong)

if its new and unused it will be just as good as owt you'd buy from the shops.

a use whiplash on a couple of my reels and havent had any problems at all, you might of had a duff spool or might of damaged it and not realised

[lingking]

presuming nobody objects to me having an opinion i have heard that some of the berkly lines are prone to snapping.i use different braids,whatever i can get at a decent price from various tackle shops around and have had some for a long tine and still ok. if you are boat fishing with it 40lb might be a little light,not for strength but for abrasion resistance i dont go below 50lb my self

[Kentish Bassman]

Thanks for the help. I will load the old braid onto my spare reel and purchase some new 50-55lb braid for my main reel.