Berkley NanoFil - Where's the Beef?

The two most hyped products this season have to be the Suffix 832 Braid and Berkleys NanoFil "not braid" or "unified filament"  Being a bit of a new product junky I have given both of this products a run for their money and both left me thinking.. where's the beef?

I dont have time or space in a single blog post to tell you how I feel about both of these lines, so lets start off with the most hyped line I can ever remember.. Berkley NanoFil

I started researching NanoFil line about a month ago, reading blogs, products reviews and talking to guys on the water. The consensus was that this was the softest smoothest casting line on the market.. so with reviews like that I had to take the plunge. I placed an order for 12lb (the highest strength available) and as soon as it arrived I spooled it up on my Shimano Stradic 1000 and hit the lake to give it a test run.

Pros: 

As advertised NanoFil is a smooth casting and feeling line, it comes off the reel extremely well and has a decent sink rate. Spooling NanoFil was a breeze, and even when slightly overfilled, did not come off in a tangled mess

The "white" color, or "clear mist" as Berkley named it, is very high vis from above the water, and does not seem to effect the bite below the water. The line is highly sensitive, probably the best and most accurate feature contained in the advertising campaign. I could feel every little thing that my line and bait came into contact with while in the water.

the line does seem to have some strength behind it, i hooked and faught a large musky on the 12lb line and it help up fairly well, until the fish decided to put some serious pressure and teeth to it.


Cons:

I found a few cons to this line, first and foremost the price, in Canada this line can be found as high as $24.99 for a standard spool. In the US the current average price is $19.99. Although these prices are not outrageous (for todays standards), they continue to set the bar higher and higher for new lines that come on the market, and we should expect line to reach close to $30 a spool in the coming years.

The 12lb line being the highest strength available is a concern to me, with many anglers being raised on braided line, we have grown accustom to thin diameter lines with superior strength. Yes Nanofil line is thin, but I can purchase 20lb Power Pro line at a similar diameter to the Nanofil line, and get that added strength Im looking for.

Knot strength is not so much an issue, but tying a knot is. When I first attempted to tie a hook on, the knot slipped on my first three attempts. This hut my confidence while on the water and trying to retie quickly.


The Wrap-Up

Yes, NanoFil is a new technology and maybe we will see some improvements down the road, but at this time the NanoFil line is just a slight improvement to Berkley Fire line Crystal, a line i hated and ripped off my reel soon after applying it.

Nothing about NanoFil is an drastic  improvement to my current brand 'PowerPro", other then the price. Sure it casts well, but I saw minimal difference between the two lines when throwing the same bait on the same rod and reel. Sure it has low memory, but when you get up into the 12lb range it begins to take on the characteristics of Fireline Crystal, it has that same feel (a bit more waxy then Fireline) it begins to loose the limpness and pick-up a more of that ridged feel that Fireline is known for

As with anything I would recommend giving it a shot and see how it compares to your current brand. For me it really left me wanting more and wondering with all this hype.. where's the beef?