Sufix Stealth Skin Hooklength Material
Introduction
Sufix Stealth Skin is a strippable plastic coated braided hooklength material
available in green and gold colours with quoted breaking strains of 15 and
25lb. I’ve been using it as my main hooklength material for the last 15 months.
Properties
Stealth Skin is claimed
to have an ultra fine diameter, high abrasion resistance and a stiff removable
coating. The coating is easily removed with a finger nail, coin edge or a
suitable blunt edged implement from the central core of braided hooklength
and may be knotted with the outer core intact or removed. As always it is
best to lubricate the knots when tightening, especially when tying a knot
with the plastic core still intact, otherwise the coating may fracture and
create a hinge effect – fine when you intend it – not so good when you want
the coating to remain. It’s best to leave some excess material when you trim
the knot, as with the coating intact you may experience some slippage if the
knot is not fully tightened. The inner material is fairly limp – but not as
limp as other some coated brands available.
Knot Strength
As usual, with all lines I take a look at, I set about testing Stealth Skin
for strength. A number of hooklengths were made up using Size 6 Owner 50188’s,
Size 8 Nash Fang hooks and ESP Size 9 swivels. Knotless knots were used at
the hook end and 5 turn Grinners (twice through the eye) at the swivel end.
The coating was stripped at the hook knot but left intact at the swivel end.
Pleased to say that the 15lb rated
Stealth Skin went a few pounds in excess of the stated strain, with some evidence
of the Owner 50188’s opening. There was evidence that after severe strains
of testing, the unstripped plastic coating at the swivel had become ‘stripped’
which created a hinge. I’d noticed this when I started using this material,
but as I usually use a small length of silicone tubing over the material and
front eye of the swivel to create a stand-off, this was forgotten. Worth mentioning
anyway.
In Use
After using this material for 15 months, it’s become my general hooklink material.
The colour does tend to wash out of the central core resulting in a cream
colour. As previously mentioned the outer plastic coating can be a bit on
the fragile side.
Conclusions
A good general coated hooklength material which has become one of my firm
favourites. For this review, I will not draw the almost inevitable comparison
with Kryston Super Mantis. Both Stealthskin and Mantis are good hooklink materials
which have their uses.
Perhaps I’ll
do some critical comparisons between some coated hooklink materials at a later
date.
Price
Available from the BFW
shop at £9.75 for 20m - in both green and brown colours.
Go to the BFW
On-Line Shop
Bob Gill
29th January
2004
