J-Braid 8 Grand vs. PowerPro Braid (Knot Strength & Casting Distance)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
PowerPro has been consistently winning our braided line contests…
But we have a new winner with record-breaking numbers!
Although the testing is not over, there have been some serious surprises so far.
Check out the knot strength test and casting contest below for PowerPro Original and Daiwa J-Braid 8 Grand!
PowerPro vs J-Braid 8 Grand Knot Strength [VIDEO]
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In this knot strength test, I used the Uni knot to a swivel and the FG knot.
The results are in and we have a new record!
It’s pretty impressive that a 10# braid had a breaking strength of over 25 lbs.
If you want to try out these lines for yourself, you can get them from our online tackle shop here:
Here are the full results of this test:
Uni Knot:
PowerPro
Average of 5 Rounds: 17.94 lbs.
J-Braid 8 Grand
Average of 5 Rounds: 16.80 lbs.
FG Knot:
PowerPro
Average of 4 Rounds: 19.45 lbs.
J-Braid 8 Grand
Average of 4 Rounds: 22.40 lbs.
PowerPro vs J-Braid 8 Grand Casting Contest [VIDEO]
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Click here to check out all of our Casting Contests
For the casting contest, I did two rounds of 6 casts for each line.
Overall it appeared to be a draw and both lines cast at relatively the same distances.
The one thing to be aware of is that PowerPro Original is a 4 strand braid and J-Braid 8 Grand is an 8 strand braided line.
8 strand braid has a tendency to decrease in casting performance over time.
As I perform more tests and casting contests, we’ll see if the J-Braid holds up!
Conclusion
Before we say that J-Braid is the best line ever, we still have more testing to do…
But for now, my favorite PowerPro may take a backseat to J-Braid 8 Grand.
Make sure you bookmark this post so you can reference this as we add additional test results.
You can find both brands of line in our tackle shop here:
I am always on a quest for everyone to know the best quality lines on the market.
Do you have any lines you’d like me to compare?
Have you had similar experiences with these two braided lines?
Let me know down in the comments!
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Have you all tried Diamond braid?
Would be awesome to get feedback on comparison to the Daiwa and PP
Not yet
I tried D Grand to cast surface iron and poppers and I did not like it at all.
I test it also at the park and it came apart
This are my own personal results
I don’t represent any company.
Just plain So California fishing
What in particular did you not like about the 8 Grand line? When you say it came apart, can you please explain?
Is there an abrasion test comparison? Or can you do one?
I recently made the switch from sufix 832 to original PowerPro and have no complaints but also no significant differences noticed. I’ve tried j-braid 8g on my baitcasters for bass when it first came out and it seemed to fray very easily just from normal use and I went back to sufix in fear of losing fish on the frayed j-braid
Hi Luke,
Have you tried Varivas or Jigman braid from Japan. When I was involved in a research program on Samson Fish here in Western Australia they were THE go to lines, ( Power Pro probably next) at the time (10-15 years ago or so) BUT Varivas PE8 was about a dollar a metre. I still have a few reels with it and Jigman still on and it is still like new except for some fading. Compared for with Jbraid8, they are thick for stead breaking strain, but whereas Jbraid seems to go at about the stated bs the PE8 Varivas is about 120lb. Love the Jbraid for conventional sand fire line for light (4-6 lb) spinners.
Kind regards,
Howard
I have not yet tried either of those braids… will be sure to keep an eye out for it on future shopping sprees.
Recently bought some Shimano Ocea 30lb. So far I am amazed at how wellit is doing. Zero wond knots or twists so far. Knot tying is super smooth compared to other braids I have tried.
Down side is Ocea only comes in small spools, so I can’t use on my larger baitcasters or overheads.
Can you do a Power Pro / JBraid Grand / Ocea test?
I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for the Ocea line… I haven’t yet tested that line before. Do they make it any lighter than 30 lbs?
Sadly no. Not in the new Ocea line. 30lb is 0.19mm though, smaller than both J Braid Grand and Power Pro’s 20lb, the same diameter of both Power Pro and J Braid Grands 15lb.
I have emailed both Shimano Australia and Shimano Japan asking if they can make it in lighter lines. I would 100% prefer to use that, unless J Braid Grand can balance the field. The Ocea is something else. Sadly can only stock 300mtrs of the 30lb. Which is actually the perfect amount for a Stradic CX5000 Compact, incidentally.
So far, while I have noticed some line twist on the Power Pro 5lb, none at all on the Ocea. And the feel is so different. Ocea is like silk, both to the touch, and when tying knots. While Power Pro sometimes feels dry or janky.
I have tried to find J Braid Grand in lighter variations in longer ranges, but I can only get 500mtr+ in the 20lb J Braid Grand, and 20lb is what I use off the rocks or beach for Mulloway or Tuna, or other larger species. So will probably get some and put at least 1 overhead on J braid and see how it compares.
But even a Stella FK 1000 will hold about 460-500mtrs of J Braid Grands 6lb braid. So you can only half fill it with 6lb. Only option really is the Power Pro, or mono.
Though a Diawa rep did tell me if a fish is going to take 200/300mtrs of line out, I should just run a heavier line instead of fishing as light as possible….
So tempted to run PowerPro 3lb on my Beach Salmon spinning set up and see how much fun that will be. Using 5lb feels like skull dragging them in, even the 2kg+ Salmon.
Anyway, here’s to hoping for bigger spools of bulk Braid in lighter varients. Even if you will have to special order them like with Power Pro
Thanks so much for sharing the helpful details Tony! The .19mm line diameter is very impressive for a 30 lb line.
Hi Luke, thanks for the videos on line testing, very informative. I use a lot of 3-6 lb class braid for lake trout fishing. The new Spro finesse 6 lb has approximate diameter of PP 3 lb and breaks around 10 lbs. It is a little pricey but is probably sk71 izanas second generation. I have tried/tested most of the japanese braids and this one is tops. Used to use seaguar smackdown 10 lbs but they increased the diameter from .128 mm to .206mm.
I would like to know how Spider Wire Ultra Cast matches up
I’ll be sure to give that a try next chance I get.
I think that a fairer comparison would be the J Braid grand x8 vs the Power Pro V2 super slick. Similar price and diameter I believe. I’d be curious to see that test.
Here’s a test of PowerPro Super Slick V2 vs. regular PowerPro: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/powerpro-super-slick-vs-original/
I like doing tests against my favorite line (PowerPro original) so I can see how the line I’m testing compares to a known control.
I’ve been using Berkley X9 Jordan Lee with good success the last couple of years, Could you do a test on it? Also what is the difference between Jbraid 8 and Jbraid 8 Grand? Thanks. P.S. thanks for the tests including Vanish fluoro line and Stren mono for leaders, you’ve saved me and others lots of money!
Hey Luke, I know I’m a little late to the party on this post, but have you guys tested the newer toadfish braids at all? They make a 6 strand 10# that is thinner than the 10# J-braid 8 grand by almost half, and also make a 15# 8 strand that is .01mm different. Curious to see casting vs strength on the two. Love toadfish’s mission, and have picked up a couple of their rods so far, understanding the sacrifice in a little extra weight. Other than that I think they feel the bite great! Wondering if they took the same care in their lines and had a solid product made, or if it is more gimmicky for the teal color?