I was wondering if anyone had any tips / tricks / suggestions for identifying different types of braided fishing line and its breaking strength. I have two Tiagra reels in front of me (an 80w and a 50w) both of which are loaded with an unknown braid. What I do know is that the braid is hi-vis yellow, is made up of 8 strands, and is not hollow core. The only braid I have personally used is power pro so that would be my guess, but that could be a very biased answer. As far as breaking strength goes, I hastily tested a piece out in the garage and it was able to hold 75lbs of free weights off of the ground, but broke when I added another 25lbs to it.
With so many braids out there is hard to know exactly which one is which. Although, you're on the right track testing it to see what's the actual braking strength of that unknown braid. Also, bear i mind that when you do braking test on a braid, the only time that actually counts the true power of that braid is when brakes inline - not at the knot. Each knot has its own power, which usually is less then the line itself. Make sure you use a knot rated at 100%, my recommendation is a bimini knot with 30 and no more then 40 twists. You go more then 40 twists the knot will start weakening.