Hahl Extrusions Topline
Introduction
I first noticed this line at the NEC a couple of years back, and thought it a
bit odd to have a whole stand devoted to just a couple of different
products. Hahl Extrusions website can
be checked out here. It is a copolymer line, which is
prestretched, hence in use it has much less stretch than a standard mono.
Top Line
First Impressions
At first glance at this
line, I thought it was a little stiff, but being loaded on a fairly large
diameter spool it still came off nice and straight with little memory. The line sat nicely on a pair of
baitrunners, it was loaded by reeling ‘off the side’ of the spool to avoid any
twists, but I suspect it would still be OK loaded via a pencil through the
spool. It hasn’t had a great deal of
use yet, but I have landed chub and tench to over 6lb, but I shall have to wait
for the season to start before giving it a proper going over.
Properties
Topline is claimed to have high strength per diameter for improved casting,
high abrasion resistance, high knot strength and also season long
durability. The last point will be a
tricky one to test, as I am quite sure I will still change my mainline every
month or so anyway. It is marketed as a
carp fishing line and is available in the following breaking strains/diameters.
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I have been given the 14lb to test, which is just as
well, as fishing on the Ouse with realistic chances of fish in excess if 15lb I
don’t like to take too many chances with tackle. Over the winter I have been using Suffix Tritanium in 15lb BS,
mainly because it is incredibly tough, and will withstand a lot of abuse in
bank high rivers, It is not really fair to compare this with Topline, accept to
say that dipping a short length of each in my fish tank revealed the Topline to
be a bit harder to spot, but this is probably due to reduced diameter. The line was more visible than a length of
10lb fluoro however.
Knot Strength / Diameter
Knot strengths were tested using a couple of snap swivels and a bucket
containing around 8lb of lead, I then added 4oz leads one at a time until the
line failed. I tested a
‘once-through-the-eye’ 5 turn grinner,
‘twice-through-the-eye’ 5 turn grinner and a palomar knot 5 times each
and I wrote the results down on the back of an envelope, which was lost within
an hour or two! However I can say there
was very little difference between the knots, and the average knot strength was
a little over 14lb for each, the lowest break was at 13.5lb and the highest at
15.5lb. BFWs Mr Gadget AKA Bob Gill has
measured the diameter, and the line was had a very consistent diameter of just
under the stated 0.30mm.
In Use
So far I have been fairly impressed with the line, but will add to this review
after a few months use to give an idea of how it is coping with monster barbel
(I hope!)
Conclusions
A reasonably priced hi-tech mono which I reckon shall be a boon for summer day
time fishing due to it’s the low diameter and transparency, and particularly
for its high knot strength compared to the diameter. A bit of use over the summer will give an idea of whether it can
cope with the stress and strain of floodwater fishing with large leads, perhaps
I shall just have to opt for the 16lb breaking strain!
Andy Davies
28th May 2004
