Korda Developments

SubLine

When Korda entered the line market with Adrenaline a couple of years ago, there was lots of talk about it between anglers. The problem with Adrenaline was that it was like Marmite - anglers either loved it or hated it. Most of the criticism that anglers gave Adrenaline was that it didn't sink as well as a lot of other lines on the market. Korda took the criticism on the chin and rather than get upset with the way that some anglers were talking about Adrenaline on various web forums, they sat down and developed a line that ticked most of the boxes as Adrenaline but sank well.

Enter SubLine.

When we took the SubLine out of the box, the first thing that we noticed was that it was supplied in a superb protective tin (same as Adrenaline) which means that the line will be as good as new if kept stored for a while or on the shelves of a tackle shop.

Upon opening the tin, we were presented with a large diameter spool (which is something that we like to see) which means that there will be less line twist upon loading onto a reel spool. The spool itself has a smooth edge on the label side which means that loading the reel correctly is made much easier and that the line coming off the spool will not suffer any damage due to the spool edge having ridges or cuts. As with Adrenaline, SubLine also has markers every 250 metres so you know exactly how much line is loaded onto the reel as well as knowing how much is left on the spool itself.

The line itself is supple and comes off the spool relatively straight requiring only a light run through the fingers to straighten it. This is something that we are pleased to see with regards to the lines claimed strong points. When running it through the fingers, no discernible lumps or bumps were detected and this was backed up with our micrometer test.

UKMA was sent the 15lb version of the line and the stated diameter is 0.40mm. This is greater than the same breaking strain of Adrenaline and something that I found a little strange compared to the marketing for Adrenaline where it was stated that Korda didn't want to release a line that was understated with regards to diameter to breaking strain. After reading through the included leaflet in the SubLine tin, I noticed that Korda have stated that SubLine is under rated with regards to its diameter to brekaing strain so that the angler has a "safety buffer". This allows anglers to tie a bad knot (we all do from time to time and anybody that says they don't is a liar!) and still retain at least the stated breaking strain at the knot.

When placed between the jaws of the micrometer, the average diameter across the ten measurements taken was 0.398mm, which is close enough in my opinion to the stated 0.40mm. The next test was the breaking strain. I actually carried out 20 tests on the breaking strain instead of the normal ten as I was shocked at how much the SubLine broke at. The average breaking strain for the 15lb version was a staggering 22lb 2oz!!!! This gives a "safety buffer" of almost 50% of the stated breaking strain on the tin!!!!!

After loading the line onto a spool as directed by the leaflet in the tin (allow the line to soak in water for 24 hours before loading with the label side of the spool upwards), it was taken to a local lake to put through casting performance. As expected the casting performance was not up to Adrenaline standards but it was far from disappointing. The line literally flew off the spool as smooth as silk, and even as the spool emptied down it was not noticed that the line was struggling to come off the spool lip which is what happens with some other lines that are less supple.

The line also sank very well. Granted it did not sink as well as a fluorocarbon, but it was easily within the leagues of other superb sinking monofilaments. A lot of lines sink by absorbing water and swelling slightly which is something that can be a problem on the bank, especially if you have loaded up your reels to maximum capacity as the swelling over a long distance of line can cause the spool to be overfilled after retrieval from a long cast that has been left in the water for a while. The swell test was done after leaving it to soak before loading, and the diameter had not changed at all.

Overall Conclusion

SubLine perfomed exactly as it said on the tin (literally!). I haven't used it for long obviously as it has just hit the market, and even if it performs at just below the initial tests after several months, it will still be one of the very best lines that we have had come through the UKMA office. Breaking strain, diameter, casting peformance, knot strength, etc were all in excess of what I would have classed as acceptable from a quality line.

Whether or not I received a "super spool" of line, I don't know but I will be obtaining another spool from a local shop to repeat the tests just to be 100% sure. If everything is as I found with the spool sent by Korda, then it will be very hard to top!

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