Flawed Power Pro

[Ralph Wiggum]

I've been using PP for several years and have had good experiences thus far. Yesterday, I bought a spool of 30lb PP and started to spool it up and noticed that there were several flaws in the spool. There are little "lumps" in the line that almost seem like knots, but they're just chunks of line. I don't know if this will affect it's strength or not, but it didn't please me too much. I was just wondering if any of you have experienced this. Also, I've read about the counterfeit PP, but this is genuine PP.

I took a few photos and will be contacting Power Pro directly, too, and I'll report back what I hear.

[Guest]

Is it the line that is lumpy, or is it the dye that they color the line with? I know they use excessive amounts of dye to color the line because the material it is made from does not absorb the color..

Either way, I would og exchange the line for a new spool.. but I am guessing its built up dye, not flaws in the line itself.

[Ralph Wiggum]

No, it actually seems to be the line.

[Scoot]

I'd either bring it back to where you bought it or contact PP directly. I'd guess either or both will take care of you.

[HARPOON-OR-BUST]

I have noticed this also this year.......

[ccarlson]

Had the same thing happen just the other day. I called Power Pro and left a message. They called me back the next day.

They said that sometimes there is lint from the sprectra that forms in the process. This lint then gets coated with their top coat and becomes embedded in the line. They said that this is fairly common in the process but their quality control should catch it. Apparently they didn't catch our spools and they felt bad about that.

They took my address and are sending me a new spool right away along with a paper that they said would explain what had happened.

Although I'm not happy about having to take the time to re spool, I am happy with the way they handled the situation.

My suggestion is to look at the spool while you are in the store. If you see clumps of black, take that spool to the counter and pick out a different one.

ccarlson

[PierBridge]

It's tough to tell in the store, I just pulled my 2/10 PP off my walleye rig and yes there are a few of these blemishes.

I just re-spooled with 1/8 PP and it has the blemishes also.

Sounds like the popularity of this line and the increased production is causing some problems.

I tried breaking the line at these bad points but it seems to be holding up.

Knock on Wood "big fish pot"

[Guest]

I'm going to shoot at a wild, somewhat educated guess since I have purchased roughly 20 spools of this line in the last year.

I usually run into build ups of dye here and there just about anywhere in the spool.. they use excess because the line does not absorb the color... it will eventually be the base color which I believe is kind of a gray tone.

Anyways... this is a braided line which is going to have little hollow gaps in it here and there. If the dye gets into one of those loose gaps, its likely going to build up slightly, which would create a bump in the line(like a small snake eating a rodent).

Even if I am right, those bumps really shouldnt be there and it could be something cause by poor quality management somewhere.. possibly due to rush in production.

If you take a piece of the line and put some load on it and run it back and forth in a rod tip a couple times... does the bump go away?

As for the line that has been spooled for a while. If the line gets damaged, it is a braid, and it can create a little ball in the line if a couple tensils break.. they are going to build up somewhere. PP is very resilient to fraying.. I have rarely seen any.. but no line is perfect.

I would in no way stop buying power pro.. I have had nothing but good experience with the line and I would recommend it to anyone if their fishing situation calls for it.

If you think the line is bad, exchange it. I would go as far to contact the company on your issues and I would imagine they will do something to try to keep you happy, and a future customer.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I have also used Power Pro a long time and I ran into the same problem the other day while spooling a new reel!

This is the first time I have ever had this problem with Power Pro!

Cliff

[Ralph Wiggum]

Here's a photo for clarification. I dropped PP an e-mail this evening and we'll see what they say.

[Northlander]

Man thats terrible! I have never seen that or any other blems on my power pro. Now watch my next 5 spools will be filled with them.

[DTro]

Perhaps if someone contacts them they should link this forum/post. I bet the response will be twice as fast

Ralph....that looks horrible

I actually need to buy a couple spools tomorrow.

*crosses fingers*

[Ralph Wiggum]

That was the worst one I found, but there were other, smaller ones. If I don't hear from them tomorrow, I'll be calling them, and I'll report back what I find out.

This is the only spool I've ever had like this, so I am hoping it's just a fluke and they'll take care of me.

[PierBridge]

I don't think it's fluke 3 of my spools "1/8 2/10 35/?" have this problem I just checked my 65/16 and it seems to be okay.

TG I tried with my thumb nail to see if I could smooth it out and I don't think it helped much at all it was pretty solid.

It sounds like PP is going to send us new line.

[hanson]

Yeah Ryan,

You don't want that spooled onto your cat rods or you will soon gain the honorable title of "Mr. B.O."!

I have never seen that with Power Pro before. I will admit that a normal spool of PP is in no way of perfect & uniform diameter but a blemish like that is uncalled for. Yikes!

See if you can get me a free hat while your at it.

[Seeker of Clayface]

I found the same thing on a spool of 20 (test)/ 6 lb (dia.) that I bought at Cabelas today. Not sure what to make of it.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Quote:

---

Yeah Ryan,

You don't want that spooled onto your cat rods or you will soon gain the honorable title of "Mr. B.O."!

I have never seen that with Power Pro before. I will admit that a normal spool of PP is in no way of perfect & uniform diameter but a blemish like that is uncalled for. Yikes!

See if you can get me a free hat while your at it.

---

Don't worry, Chris, the 80lb on I spooled up for cats was perfectly fine. This line was going on a reel I bought for my dad's brithday present

You can retain the "Mr. B.O." title!

[Guest]

THere are some serious issues with that spool of line.. my bad on questioning it.. but I may have answered someone elses blemmish question I guess

I would be quite dissapointed and all over the company. I will continue to use power pro.. unless that becomes common.. If that becomes common.. call me *mono guy* for a while until another super line pops up I like.

[HARPOON-OR-BUST]

I could actually see & feel a difference in the bad spots, in the bad spots, it was thinner and I am pretty sure it won't be as strong in those spots. Trouble is I can't remember if I cut out the bad spot and decided to let it ride, and I don't remember which reel its on

I was spooling 6lb on a line counter and 8 lb on some samon rigs so I can't remember the diameter with the problem.

[Rainman]

I ran into the same problem with a spool I just Bought.

[walleyeaddict]

I completely stopped using pp. I had five spools this way and when i returned to the store to exchange them I couldnt find one that wasnt that way. Fireline all the way never had any problem.

[ccarlson]

Just got my letter from power pro that explains the problem. They are also sending me replacement line.

Here is their explanation:

"The hard spot in your line is defect that we call a "Slub." We occasionally get a lot of Spectra yarn that makes an excessive amount of lint during braiding. This lint builds up on the braiding machine, and occasionally a tuft of lint will attach itself to a yarn and become part of the braid.

During the PowerPro process, this fibrous tuft absorbs some resin, resulting in a hard spot. These hard spots can be decapitated and carefully removed from the braid. Slubs have no effect on the strength of the line since they are not part of the load bearing fibers, but it may hinder smooth casting. If you break fibers while trying to remove the tuft, then you will have an effect on the lines breaking strength."

When they use the word "Lot" in the first paragraph, I assume they mean a specific batch.

My guess is their quality control inspectors had problems this spring or winter when there was quite a bit of line put on the market. I could see the slubs on the spool so I would just look for them before you purchase a spool.

ccarlson