One of the newest fluorocarbon monofilaments. Snowbee have this made in Japan, using high quality materials and manufacturing, designed specifically for fly fishing. This sample is 0.25mm thick, with a nominal breaking strength of 10lb or 4.5kg – the sort of stuff I use for low-water salmon fishing in this country and have used for on tropical saltwater flats.

This looks good, the 100m spool is generous and I like the diameter of the spool, the tippet surface is smooth but not as glossy as monofilaments can be, and that surface sheen can be dulled a little with a rub of a Fullers Earth based degreaser. In my fingers, this stuff feels stiffer, springier than comparable non-fluorocarbon tippet stuff, e.g. Snowbee XS Copolymer. I tried a few knots with this, starting with simple conventional knots. My very non-scientific test leads me to think this is slippery; simple knots can pull out, use a tucked half-blood knot rather than a simple half-blood knot and my knots hold fast and knot strength seems consistent and strong.

Using this with tube flies that tucked half-blood seem to be the order of the day, with flies tied on hooks I used a small loop knot and flies seemed to move, to swim a little more.

High quality stuff, certainly worth a try.

  • Price: £14.00 for 100m 0.25mm 10lb/4kg BS (spool prices vary with diameter/size).
  • From: Snowbee stockists. See www.snowbee.co.uk for details