If you have never had the pleasure of casting Daiwa's Samurai braid, then you may not fully understand the quality of braid that the Daiwa team is able to produce. I've personally been using it for the past 3 seasons, and other then some line bleed it truly is one of if not the best braid I've ever spooled up.. so when I heard that Daiwa was releasing their all new J-Braid, a strong 8 strand weave that will be retailing for $14.99USD.. they had my utmost attention.
Although I can't be sure (it's not like I asked) I believe J-Braid was created to fill a large gap in the affordable braid market. Since taking the industry by storm not that many years ago the prices on braided line seem to have sky rocketed, each year a company introduces a new line that sets a new benchmark for price. And although currently braided lines do start around $14.99USD it's usually lower end no bells and whistles, while as you add features (like an 8 Strand weave) the prices strart to go up and can find themselves up over $40USD. Many quality lines can be found falling in around the $17-$25USD mark. For us Canadians its rare to find a braid under $20 a spool, even the entry level lines like SpiderWire and PowerPro can command this price or more.
With this in mind Daiwa introduced J-Braid a high end tournament grade line with weekend warrior's wallet in mind. Constructed in Japan using a high quality 8 strand braid, J-Braid is stronger, softer and smoother than many braids retailing at twice it's price. This line shares many similarities with this sister brand (Samurai) and even bests it in one area.. line bleed. When you give J-Braid a close look (yes I used an eye-loupe) its has almost a rope line consistency that helps give it its strength. This also provides J-braid with its perfectly round profile and gives you that superior casting distance you and I both crave.
I will warn you that J-Braid has a thicker diameter then Samurai, and you will notice the difference when re-spooling pound for pound. With this in mind in my opinon J-Braid lends itself to certain techniques, like frog fishing or jig fishing as well as flipping and pitching. This is where it's strength really supports you fish after fish. But when it comes to faster or more finicky techniques in which you are consistently retrieving at higher speeds or over longer distances, I still prefer to use Samurai, it just seems smoother to lay day and I feel it better lends itself to finesse techniques (hell ya, spinnerbait can be considered finesse)
Be sure to check out J-Braid in both the dark green and high vis chartreuse. When it's all said and done, Dawia has another winner here, and both your reels, and your wallets with thank you.
Available in 8lb-80lb Spools
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