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[Tadpole]

Lb test is not very reliable and Maxima lines distributed in BC are oversized. If you compare average thickness line 10lb in Seagur, P-line and similar, it would be 0.20mm diameter. 10 lb Maxima  is 0.31mm thick. Just a sales gimmick I guess. I personally use micrometer to compare my lines, and there is no reason to use leader material thicker than 0.25mm and main 0.30mm. Recently I used 0.20 Gamakatsu line as a leader (European purchase) with good results.

[DionJL]

Lb test is not very reliable and Maxima lines distributed in BC are oversized. If you compare average thickness line 10lb in Seagur, P-line and similar, it would be 0.20mm diameter. 10 lb Maxima  is 0.31mm thick. Just a sales gimmick I guess. I personally use micrometer to compare my lines, and there is no reason to use leader material thicker than 0.25mm and main 0.30mm. Recently I used 0.20 Gamakatsu line as a leader (European purchase) with good results.

The way they test the lines to measure its strength is different depending on the company. Most companies will pull their line till the breaking point a thousand or so times and take the average of all those test. Maxima tests their line a fraction as many times, but they don't average the results; they take the lowest breaking strength. This is why Maxima is significantly thicker than any other line of the same LB. rating.

[bigblue]

The way they test the lines to measure its strength is different depending on the company. Most companies will pull their line till the breaking point a thousand or so times and take the average of all those test. Maxima tests their line a fraction as many times, but they don't average the results; they take the lowest breaking strength. This is why Maxima is significantly thicker than any other line of the same LB. rating.

I didn't know that Dion.
I have been using Maxima Ultragreen 15lbs leader for both salmon and steelhead fishing this season and don't recall having a break off.
And I have landed a lot of salmon this past season.
I have had gammie hooks bent open when foul hooked a fish in strong current, but that was about it.
It was kind of odd but never gave much tought to it.
Now I understand the reason.
I guess I do have room to move down to a thinner line.
Thanks for a valuable tip.

[Danube Boy]

P-Line Cxx extra strong is even thicker than Maxima (.35mm vs .30mm in 10lb test). Tried it once and the memory was most I've ever seen in a mono, but it was stupid strong.

[skaha]

--there are many systems to measureline...one standard is IGFA used for their line class records... a sample of the line used to catch the fish is sent in with the applications and the section of line is tested.
--many European lines are measured by diameter with an estimated pound test sometimes given on the label.

--I would like to see some industry standard similar to what happened with fly line.. each company used to have their own labeling system however the industry listend to their customers that wanted a standard weight measure.

--I prefer the IGFA standard which indicates the Max breaking strength with a tight tolerance.

--Would like to see some standard measure including break strength... abrasion resistance.. stretch and flexibility so we could compare lines..
--This is not as simple as it would seem as there are many ways to measure each of these.. including stretch when dry vs saturated with water.. we all know early problems with knot strength being much less than the actual line strength on some braids
--Some lines do not perform well in cold water etc.

--10 lb rated stealth fluorocarbon  is 0.31mm, lo-sretch 6kg test is 0.28mm, classic  12lb test is 0.30mm , platinum  15 lb test is 0.30mm and super-100 20lb test is 0.31mm

--- industry also need randome testing.. just like drug test as no point in trusting industry to  just send in a sample of their own best pre tested line.

[azafai]

I wont take a risk here.  20 mono and 15 fluorocarbon.

[marmot]

4lb flouro tippet.

[dan-o]

6 pound fluorocarbon tippet just got me my first wild cheakamus steelhead on the fly.

[CohoMan]

12lb main and 10lb leader.

[skaha]

The way they test the lines to measure its strength is different depending on the company. Most companies will pull their line till the breaking point a thousand or so times and take the average of all those test. Maxima tests their line a fraction as many times, but they don't average the results; they take the lowest breaking strength. This is why Maxima is significantly thicker than any other line of the same LB. rating.

-- platypus pre-test is measured 3 times every 1000m and test result is hand written on every spool

-- thicker line is more abrasion resistant all things being equal... think about it... cut through a 2x4 vs a 2x6 same wood.. which would take longer to cut through.
-- my pet peeve with some line companies  is they make a 2x6 put a 2x4 label on it and say they make the strongest 2x4 on the market

[skaha]

--PS: I like and have  used Maxima UG , French Tortue, German DAM and of course Australian Platypus.

[Riverman]

None of this matters if the line is old and or has been exposed to excessive u/v.I found out the hard way years ago.Now I try to make sure the line I am using is not brittle before I get to the river.

[Danube Boy]

Absolutely hate seeing the line go all pale and dry looking, which is why I stopped using Maxima UG, although still use it for leaders. Having said that, there is no doubt about its toughness/strength.

Another line that is even worse as far as drying and deterioration goes is Ande Tournament. It's hard to find a sourse that says anything bad about it, which is why I'm here to say it. Diameter wise, it's slightly thinner than the bulging Maxima UG and although it's supposed to be "limp/soft", it is not! In fact, maybe even worse that UG. The worse part though, is the line going pale and dry looking after one or two outings. Add to that the fact that an occasional snag would result in 16lb Ande losing out to an 8lb Maxima UG leader. Two emails to Ande never resulted in a response either. 

[deepcovehooker]

15 lb main and either 8 or 10lb leader.

[canso]

I change my main line every year using 20lb UG I always tie 12lb leader.
these fish arn't leader shy.