For those who don't tie FG knots because it's 'too difficult'... I have been tying the FG knot since I found a youtube clip showing a simple method of holding the braid under slight tension with my teeth, and looping the trace 'this side, that side., then simple granny knots on only the braid, only the trace, 3 grannys over both, then 3 over the braid before trimming tag end. It was worth the effort to perfect because I can comfortably fish 4lb braid knowing that its weakest point is the breaking strength of the 8lb flurocarbon. This is can be tied in my kayak, on a boat or back on land with light braid, light traces or at the heavy braid / heavy trace. This is pretty quick to tie and this great knot comparison chart proves that my opinion was correct. It also slides through the runners when casting so smoothly.
I started with the teeth method but found it waaaaaaaaay easier to use the method of wrapping the braid onto your reel handle IMO. You have 2 hands free to work the leader and it's easy to do on the boat, search on youtube for it.
@@Scott-ji2tu I seem to struggle using the hand method with 4/6 lb fluorocarbon traces and light braid. At the end of the day, do it it whatever method works for you, provided the end result is a quality fg knot. We both agree that it is THE knot of choice for getting the most out of your braid/leader and it glides through the runners beautifully. Tight lines my friend.
perfectly put together for a fisherman looking at knots, it answered a genuine question that always bugs me . Braid to leader is always a tricky knot, it is just such an important one that can get messy and lumpy( and weak now I know ! ) if not right. When I want chaos and loud scenes then it's a big game boat, when gentle, a beach vid. You give it exactly as wanted for finding out these knots, info only, brilliant. ( now for a big arse blue fish trashing a boat LOL !! )
Great content as always! I’m an FG user, I tie it with the same rizzuto finish, but I add 4-5 half hitches before that and for lines up to PE3 I do at least 30 wraps. I knew that type of FG is 90% more less, but I honestly expected the PR to be stronger and close to 100%. That’s surprising!
Awesome video - I’m a soft plastic fisherman and always used the Alberto on heavier hard body setups but I found the not failing with smaller braids and leaders like almost daily until I switched to the fg and haven’t had a single failure yet - that was two years ago and I fish everyday!!! So I can categorically backup your research with field results!
not only on youtube... the author knows how to test things and process results the right way, pretty much like you would in an actual scientific experiment, and on top of that it's exactly the things which are important as far as fishing lines are concerned that are tested. this makes this work truly precious. I don't know of anybody else doing this, at least for public consumption.
Thank you very much ! The results were actually as expected by me.... Alberto is my go to knot specially when I need a fast knot on water ...FG my preferred one if I do it at home ...
I use the same strategy, which means that when I'm out fishing, I mostly use the Alberto (I use 11 wraps up and back). Since I began using the Alberto (15 years ago) ... knock on wood... I've never had the knot fail.
Definitely best channel on UA-cam regarding the fishing lines. Personally I use Alberto knot when fishing for pike-perch, pike and perch. I never had a problem with a knot it's usually braid or FC that break. On the other hand when I was fishing catfish in Spain (Ebro river), I have used FG (catch my PB 69kg.). Never for a second had a doubt on his performance. You should have include GT knot, I have seen somewhere (think it's YT) it's strongest knot in the world. Keep up the good work. Best regards.
btw this caught my eye too, if you meant placing the dynamometer on a fixed platform and using two moving ones to place the line between, then hooking up the dynamometer to one of them. what would be the problem with doing it in a different way that you apparently referred to?
@@Loveforfishing007and that's the key word if done properly you can't tell if you're tired to properly until it's too late in my opinion is your bait and a fish are gone so that's why I don't use it
This is a very good video. Your methods and testing are robust and will stand up to independent scrutiny. The results are what they are. Thanks for sharing.
That was a very detailed description of these knots. Thank you for your test. I have been watching videos on this subject your test confirmed that the FG knot was the go to knot
Try the uni to uni with the braid looped 8 times and the leader wrapped 5 times. Thats how I always do it and I’ve never broke the leader even when breaking off my lure on a snag. Great video though thanks for taking the time to test that.
it would be very interesting to see the SC knot tested. it's one of the "no knot" category, that is, there's no actual knot on the mono line, similar to FG and PR. the difference from FG is that it is considerably easier to tie, and, since there is no doubling of the leader line, it has chances of having a similar strength to FG, and these two properties combined may obviously make it a top choice for many. just imagine if it comes out as strong as FG or only a little weaker. I'm considering using it myself, but not before I test its strength myself or see someone trusted test it.
Excellent The knots certainly seemed very well tied to me. I struggle with FG and would struggle in the field to tie it. The Alberto knot is sort of my go to. The Uni-knot I indeed find easy to tie BUT I didn’t think it was as good Thanks for doing this and sharing It’s very interesting and helpful
ua-cam.com/video/ZPTzkep9xlI/v-deo.html try this way of tying the FG knot, super easy when on a boat as well as long as your rod is in a rod holder. Tension is every thing when tying an FG knot, oh and making sure your braid is wet before cinching.
I bought a "Knot Assist 2.0" for my FG ...it's fantastic and I can tie it in minutes. I use it at home to tie my leaders but if I need to tie one while fishing (I float tube, so not taking it with me), I'll use the Alberto.
@@PickinDoc check out the SC knot. same idea as FG (no doubling of the mono, braid is held by biting into its surface), but much easier to tie esp. when out in the field. one catch though: no data on breaking strength yet. no idea how it will compare to FG.
@@PickinDoc "6-8lb" is meaningless, as it can mean anything, as was clearly demonstrated in the very video that we're commenting under. what's the diameter? diameter is the best reusable, so to speak, in terms of comparing apples to apples, parameter to refer to for mono lines. but, generally, yes, the thinner the leader, or, rather, the thinner the leader relative to the braid, the more difficult it is to tie this type of knots. I used to tie a #0.3 braid to a 0.14 mm (or was it 0.18 mm? can't remember now) fluoro with FG before I stopped because it was too fiddly to tie with those thin lines, and that braid was weak enough for any snag to mean a lost lure regardless of the knot used. but the knots came out good and they were strong per se. the SC knot is new to me. I've only tried to tie it with a 1.0 mm mono and #6 braid so far, and it worked well (but I haven't used it on the water and haven't tested its breaking force yet). I'm sure there has to be a way to tie it with thin(ner) lines too, of course experimenting with the number of wraps etc. will be necessary.
I've been using mostly Albright (not improved) knot since before it existed.. Cam up on my own when braid first came to market in USA and it's never failed me. I have used a few other knots recommended but always come back due to speed, thinness and no failure. Fg knot just takes too much time. I used to burn the tag ends decades ago but gave up. I periodically will use glue over.
ill gladly accept 3rd place for the alberto knot its my personal go to knot for braid to mono and ive never had issues with it i started FG knots with braid when i first did bumpers but it takes so long and is not exactly easy to do on the bank when you have to completely redo a set up so i choose the alberto knot for its speed and strength i had done the double uni knot before and had issues but the alberto knot never seems to fail me so im happy with it
@@diemos322jones9 Further to your comment about changing lures out, looking for bass, I like to pre-tie (with Palomar knot) a size 0 Mustad dual lock snap to the 10lb and 16lb fluoro leaders I use for bass fishing, so I can change lures out much faster than retying the lures. BTW I always tie Alberto knot for braid to leader (and do it at home before leaving for the water).
Good decision. I recently bought the FG knot tool, just waiting for it to arrive but even with that I might still end up with the Alberto, just easier.
Well first off that double uni knot is for ridiculously tied in this video but I stick with knots that I can type very fast when I'm in a hurry out on the water and the double uni is a fastest for me and I've yet to have it fail if I tied every trip or so I tried the FG knot out but if you are in a hurry it is not the not to try and you truly never know if you haven't tied right if you haven't tied wrong it'll cost you
Another great testing video - thanks. I always use the FG if I have time to tie it, with a braid-doubled alberto as an on-water backup. Good to know that the alberto is > 60% breaking strain.
Glad to see someone using real testing equipment, not buckets of water, tug of war, etc. Unfortunately, Warren duToit across the pond stopped his knot testing. Check him out sometime.
I had missed this video… I did a lot of tests on my own years ago. I had abandoned the double unit knot and the Albright due to significant loss of strength and poor passage through the guides. I’ve been using the FG for more than 10 years now. By the way, I don’t see anyone talking about this, but like you, I had many questions and did tests to understand it. One of those questions was why a knot goes through the guides well or poorly. I realized that there’s something more important than the knot itself. In fact, even with micro FG knots, it sometimes went through very poorly. It’s actually quite simple: it’s just a matter of the flexibility of the fluoro compared to the braid. If there’s too much difference in stiffness between the two, for example, very stiff 29/100 fluoro against an 8-strand PE 0.8 braid, the difference in flexibility is huge and creates an incompatibility. If you switch to an extra-flexible nylon of the same diameter, the knot will pass much more easily and snap a lot less. The ideal is to have nylon as flexible and as thin as possible.
I liked it and the video was convincing. I would be very interested to know the results of the Mahin knot, as I use it a lot on thinner braids , but I haven't found any data on it yet.
Thanks for all that work, you can see that's all done very seriously. Now I wonder the differences while using lighter lines, like a 12/16 lb fc leader. My guess is that the % gap between the knots will be minor, like the "poor" performance with the double uni is due to the big diameter of the fluoro squeezing hard on the braid
Very well made video and testing, but for most if not all bass fishermen out there, I would suggest using a leader size that is smaller then the braid, preferably what is most commonly used, like 20lb braid on 12 lb leader. THAT would be interesting (although FG will win) and more realistic. Thanks.
I was thinking this same thing. The FG has not been my go to when attaching a 6lb leader to 8lb braid. Because the knot doesn't hold well with such thin materials. Best knot I've found so far was the double surgeon's knot. Everything else slipped and untied under tension.
@@EthosAtheos interesting I've been using the Alberto knot on my 20lb braid to 12lb leader and have only had the knot fail before the leader on one occasion 100's of times the leader breaks at the lure tie on but the leader knot nearly always holds. I'll pay a lot closer attention to the lighter lines though thanks for sharing.
Is it safe to assume you mean "lower breaking strength" and not "smaller"? The former makes sense, for a lot of reasons. The latter - meaning diameter - would be virtually impossible for any practical application.
@@FurtherNorth I mean lighter line, and the leader is always lighter than the main line, is it not? Maybe some experts out there that have different opinion. But most would agree, I think.. Most people would have, for example, a 20 lb braid with a 10-12 leader. Or 60 lb braid with 20 lb leader. I want to see someone (I'm not asking you personally) to make a video where they actually use the real line on light line, like a 12 lb braid on 6 or 8 lb line, instead of using cords to show how to make the knots. We can all make those knots with fat cords, that's not the point. The point is how do you do it with mini-line you can barely see and that won't fold over so easily like a fat cord will do.
@@pmm422 I love the alberto as well, most practical and quick while I'm on the boat, but trying to master the FG as I know it's better, albeit slightly.
I love the FG knot and I use it for braid to mono, braid to fluorocarbon, and braid to coated multi-strand wire bite guard...but it doesn't work on single strand uncoated nickel-titanium bite guard...the wraps have nothing to dig into. It also doesn't work for a mono main line to a wire bite guard of any kind at the line sizes I use. I use the Alberto Knot for those.
i’ve done similar test at home , ow outcomes are similar, fg knot is my go to if i’m in a rush 6x surgeon knot (30% less then fg) ,followed by the double uni 55% below fg breaking strain.
Very nice and interesting this one. Great job. I did noticed that for the double uni know you made only 3 leader loops and braid 5. I use to make 9 loops on the braid and 6 in the leader ,and i use this knot with 8 pound braid and 10 pound leader just for not very big fish ,Trout, Australian Salmon, and stuff like that. Said that could you please try this one just to see how does it goes??? Ps:for serious fish i use the FG knot and never had a problem so far...thanks in advance 😊
Thanks that was very informative, I would love to see if this holds true (I expect it will) if the two lines have similar diameters (maybe braid/braid). Would also be awesome to see a slowmo side view. Great work thanks as always!
Excellent and informative video. Validates my go to knot ie the FG knot . Just a query: Here in South Africa we tie the double uni by doubling the braid first and then tying the knot with 8 turns of the doubled braid and 4 turns of the fluorocarbon. I know many fishermen who swear by this knot. Perhaps you can test this. It would be great to know the strength of this knot.
Glad I found this channel. Great job preparing and administering the tests. I express my deep gratitude. Please continue your work so that both you and we can learn new things and learn new details about how to improve our equipment.
How about testing the yucatan knot and the triple surgeons knot. These are easy and quick for older folks with not so nimble fingers and not so great vision to tie in the boat in a hurry. Also the slim beauty knot which is what I use when i retie at home with plenty of light and no wind. But, watching these tests I am probably going to switch to an Alberto knot. I am also thinking you will probably test terminal knots in the future.
I've tied all of these. I can't stand tying the PR and FG though haha. I ordered the FG knot tying tool so I will test that out when it arrives but Alberto is my favorite from this list.
I use the alberto knot for freshwater fishing. With a 15lb flouro leader I have never had the knot fail. The leader always snaps first on bad snags. I can also tie it off in 1 minute, vs the FG which usually takes a few tries and a bit of swearing to get it right. I'd like to see this test done over with a more normal strength leader for freshwater/bass fishing. Having thin braid tied to a thick leader like that is going to have a significant impact on the integrity of the knot. It makes sense that the FG came out ahead in this test, though, since it is more suited to tying off on thicker leader line.
When I was planning this test, I started with a much lighter leader but the leader kept snapping in the middle of the knot. I had to up the leader strength until it was just stronger than the braid and the samples you see in this test are the results of a lot of testing. The goal of this test was to test the braid knot strength so I couldn't let the leader fail first.
Been using the FG for a while- there is a longer learning curve to tie this on the boat- but if you keep using it it's surprising how much easier it gets to tie- these results speak for themselves...
Amazing test. One thought, that maybe with these kind of strong thick lines it is hard to put a lot of tension before half hitch, maybe only if a man is a bodybuilder, I believe it is possible to do more than 90% on fg. x4 braids seem to work better for me, especially braid to monofilament. Also, many years ago I spent all day with ygk x3 to swivel knots . And one time got 100% but it was double lined clinch with 25 or 26 wraps. (Pe 0.25 or 0.6 can't remember)
FG knot was the first line to leader knot i learned for offshore fishing (bottom bashing) and i have never lost a fish from the knot failing, even with a shark has been on the line
Oh hell yea UA-cam finally recommends me a channel I want to see more of! Any other braid comparison chart I’ve seen has Yo-Zuri Superbraid making all other braids look weak, pretty please add that to your testing? I’ll send you some new spools of the line if you want me to!
I can't help but wonder if the mechanism of failure would be different for a light leader to a heavier braid, which is often the case for bass or walleye fishing. Perhaps 15 or 20 pound braid to 10 pound fluorocarbon. I would guess the results would be different.
The results would most likely be different as you are testing a different situation. When you use a leader that is lighter than the braid and the leader fails first, and i will specifically relate this to friction-type knots like the FG as that's where most of my experience lies, is that you will see that the leader gets crushed and pulled apart in the middle of the knot. So what you end up testing here is the resistance of the leader to those forces, the stretch and crushing exerted by the braid. This is a totally valid test, but it was not the combination i was focusing on in this example.
Fg is great but only if you get it right, I've had too many slip but can tie the Alberto much more consistent so best knot for me is the one I can trust and tie
One of BEST videos i have watched for braids!!! now im using varivas 8 and thinking to try varivas avani casting. (do u have list off all braids that u tested? just want to see if and how daiwa tournament performance)
Good test sir. May I ask, did you try a 5 wrap leader/10wrap braid for the dbl uni? The uni numbers seem very low. Also, I hope you plan on following this up with a test with nylon instead of fluorocarbon. Something like a Platypus hard armour or Schneider would be lovely to see. Thanks for your work!
Dear Sirs, thank you very much for sharing your test: it's a really well performed test, following a good metrological scheme ... perhaps 3 times are not a real good sample size, for instance in SPC the usual sampling requires 5 measures, but I appreciate your efforts. I regret, as angler, only one thing: you did not test the SC knot and several Japanese tests have already demonstrated that SC knot is stronger than FG one, furthermore SC knot is easier and quicker to tie ... would you like try it, please?
I try to do odd numbers because the way the knot cinches is cleaner and inline with the main line more often. Heavier lines i also do less wraps due to the size of the knot. I like the uni to uni for more finesse applications.
Love the tests! Any chance of testing shock vs regular leaders? Like shock nylon leader and shock fluoro leader against non shock variants? Seems like there’s an increase in pushing shock leaders in the current market. Sometimes it feels like a scam/marketing hype.
I actually generally finish with half hitches also for when I do the testing on this channel, and when I am tying an FG in the water. I am not convinced a rizzuto is stronger, but it definitely seems to make a nicer knot. I will need to test to see if there is an actual difference.
I'd love to see a knot-tying shootout vid between a few people who think they tie the best versions of these knots. A test of technique (and skill?). Great test vid here btw
Would love to see a similar test on light gear - eg 6-8lb braid of a good quality like J braid (fine), with 8lb fluorocarbon of top end Japanese quality (3X - 4X). Ie the tackle one would use for larger trout on spin gear or light salt eg whiting etc. on spin gear/eggbeater reels I've not seen a test yet on the light materials, all seem to be heavy salt water oriented. The finer materials seem to change the results a lot - this could just be the difficulty of timing good knots with really fine braid etc.
@@thelinelaboratory there was a time when I used FG knot on ultralight tackle (think e.g. PE #0.3 braid to 0.14 mm fluoro). I didn't test its breaking strength, but it _felt_ stronger than any other knot. gave up on it eventually because it was too fiddly to tie on those thin lines. so yeah, it would be _very_ interesting to see this test conducted for lighter lines to see if the knots strength in percents of the original line(s) strength will remain the same as with the heavier lines or the situation will be different (and then there will be the question of the threshold at which the change happens). sounds like a valid motivation for another piece of research to me.
hola all my fg's lol 😂 also a lighter to melt the tag of the fg leader tag to a cup shape helps reduce line catching on rod eyes 👍 moisten lines first 👍
For those who don't tie FG knots because it's 'too difficult'...
I have been tying the FG knot since I found a youtube clip showing a simple method of holding the braid under slight tension with my teeth, and looping the trace 'this side, that side., then simple granny knots on only the braid, only the trace, 3 grannys over both, then 3 over the braid before trimming tag end. It was worth the effort to perfect because I can comfortably fish 4lb braid knowing that its weakest point is the breaking strength of the 8lb flurocarbon. This is can be tied in my kayak, on a boat or back on land with light braid, light traces or at the heavy braid / heavy trace.
This is pretty quick to tie and this great knot comparison chart proves that my opinion was correct. It also slides through the runners when casting so smoothly.
I started with the teeth method but found it waaaaaaaaay easier to use the method of wrapping the braid onto your reel handle IMO. You have 2 hands free to work the leader and it's easy to do on the boat, search on youtube for it.
Pescadores Tamora does a great tutorial
@@Scott-ji2tu I seem to struggle using the hand method with 4/6 lb fluorocarbon traces and light braid. At the end of the day, do it it whatever method works for you, provided the end result is a quality fg knot. We both agree that it is THE knot of choice for getting the most out of your braid/leader and it glides through the runners beautifully. Tight lines my friend.
The consistency you got in the breaks for each knot shows how much you have perfected tying that particular knot to how you tie it. Well done!
FG all the way and this is my favorite fishing line test channel 👍
Thanks for taking the time to test the knots and make the video!! Much appreciated!
Excellent video. I’ve been using double uni knot and now it looks like I need to teach myself the FG. Thanks
Thanks for a great video! Interesting showing where the knots broke.
These videos are pure gold! So much effort and so much information presented for free! Thank you!
perfectly put together for a fisherman looking at knots, it answered a genuine question that always bugs me . Braid to leader is always a tricky knot, it is just such an important one that can get messy and lumpy( and weak now I know ! ) if not right. When I want chaos and loud scenes then it's a big game boat, when gentle, a beach vid. You give it exactly as wanted for finding out these knots, info only, brilliant. ( now for a big arse blue fish trashing a boat LOL !! )
Great content as always! I’m an FG user, I tie it with the same rizzuto finish, but I add 4-5 half hitches before that and for lines up to PE3 I do at least 30 wraps. I knew that type of FG is 90% more less, but I honestly expected the PR to be stronger and close to 100%. That’s surprising!
Awesome video - I’m a soft plastic fisherman and always used the Alberto on heavier hard body setups but I found the not failing with smaller braids and leaders like almost daily until I switched to the fg and haven’t had a single failure yet - that was two years ago and I fish everyday!!! So I can categorically backup your research with field results!
Best fishing line testing channel on UA-cam and best explanation and gets to the point 10/10 for your efforts mate 👏👏
Thanks 👍
not only on youtube... the author knows how to test things and process results the right way, pretty much like you would in an actual scientific experiment, and on top of that it's exactly the things which are important as far as fishing lines are concerned that are tested.
this makes this work truly precious.
I don't know of anybody else doing this, at least for public consumption.
"Being proficient in the knot is just as important as picking the right one"
Probably the best lesson in this video. Thank you.
Thank you very much !
The results were actually as expected by me.... Alberto is my go to knot specially when I need a fast knot on water ...FG my preferred one if I do it at home ...
I use the same strategy, which means that when I'm out fishing, I mostly use the Alberto (I use 11 wraps up and back). Since I began using the Alberto (15 years ago) ... knock on wood... I've never had the knot fail.
As usual EXCELLENT testing! I have confidence in the FG. The knot has never broken on me. It has been a break below the knot. You’re right, PRACTICE!
I use the FG solely. I don't do the ricotta finish lol. My line never breaks at the knot.
That is about the most scientific method I've seen used to test knots. Lots of variables as you said. Practice.
Excellent video. From a QA/QC background, your application and method looked sound to me.
same here from someone with a physics and material science background (education-wise only, but still).
Definitely best channel on UA-cam regarding the fishing lines.
Personally I use Alberto knot when fishing for pike-perch, pike and perch.
I never had a problem with a knot it's usually braid or FC that break.
On the other hand when I was fishing catfish in Spain (Ebro river), I have used FG (catch my PB 69kg.).
Never for a second had a doubt on his performance.
You should have include GT knot, I have seen somewhere (think it's YT) it's strongest knot in the world.
Keep up the good work.
Best regards.
First test I've seen where someone tested the knot and not the anchor to the test platform. Excellent job with testing and amazing test rig.
btw this caught my eye too, if you meant placing the dynamometer on a fixed platform and using two moving ones to place the line between, then hooking up the dynamometer to one of them.
what would be the problem with doing it in a different way that you apparently referred to?
Dedication, proficiency. Keep up good work! Respect!
I had a feeling the FG knot would come out on top, great testing 👍🏼
FG is the best if done properly, I use it and it never unravels or break at the knot 💪🎣
@@Loveforfishing007and that's the key word if done properly you can't tell if you're tired to properly until it's too late in my opinion is your bait and a fish are gone so that's why I don't use it
This is a very good video. Your methods and testing are robust and will stand up to independent scrutiny. The results are what they are. Thanks for sharing.
That was a very detailed description of these knots. Thank you for your test. I have been watching videos on this subject your test confirmed that the FG knot was the go to knot
Try the uni to uni with the braid looped 8 times and the leader wrapped 5 times. Thats how I always do it and I’ve never broke the leader even when breaking off my lure on a snag. Great video though thanks for taking the time to test that.
Informative and helpful. I’m pleased with the performance of the Alberto and will stick with it. Thanks!
Me too mate. Its the fastest knot i cld tie up in a minute. I also usually let the drag on my Vanford do a lot of the work. 60% I'll take it.
@@imanibrahim6268 that’s what drag is for….. and the Vanford can take. Great reels.
it would be very interesting to see the SC knot tested.
it's one of the "no knot" category, that is, there's no actual knot on the mono line, similar to FG and PR.
the difference from FG is that it is considerably easier to tie, and, since there is no doubling of the leader line, it has chances of having a similar strength to FG, and these two properties combined may obviously make it a top choice for many. just imagine if it comes out as strong as FG or only a little weaker.
I'm considering using it myself, but not before I test its strength myself or see someone trusted test it.
Great video. Need to do a test with the yacatan knot with rizzuto finish
Excellent
The knots certainly seemed very well tied to me.
I struggle with FG and would struggle in the field to tie it.
The Alberto knot is sort of my go to.
The Uni-knot I indeed find easy to tie BUT I didn’t think it was as good
Thanks for doing this and sharing
It’s very interesting and helpful
ua-cam.com/video/ZPTzkep9xlI/v-deo.html
try this way of tying the FG knot, super easy when on a boat as well as long as your rod is in a rod holder. Tension is every thing when tying an FG knot, oh and making sure your braid is wet before cinching.
I bought a "Knot Assist 2.0" for my FG ...it's fantastic and I can tie it in minutes. I use it at home to tie my leaders but if I need to tie one while fishing (I float tube, so not taking it with me), I'll use the Alberto.
@@PickinDoc check out the SC knot. same idea as FG (no doubling of the mono, braid is held by biting into its surface), but much easier to tie esp. when out in the field.
one catch though: no data on breaking strength yet. no idea how it will compare to FG.
@@s_s-g4d Thanks, I tried that, but I couldn't get it right with my 6-8lb leaders...it scarred the leader no matter what I did.
@@PickinDoc "6-8lb" is meaningless, as it can mean anything, as was clearly demonstrated in the very video that we're commenting under. what's the diameter? diameter is the best reusable, so to speak, in terms of comparing apples to apples, parameter to refer to for mono lines.
but, generally, yes, the thinner the leader, or, rather, the thinner the leader relative to the braid, the more difficult it is to tie this type of knots.
I used to tie a #0.3 braid to a 0.14 mm (or was it 0.18 mm? can't remember now) fluoro with FG before I stopped because it was too fiddly to tie with those thin lines, and that braid was weak enough for any snag to mean a lost lure regardless of the knot used. but the knots came out good and they were strong per se.
the SC knot is new to me. I've only tried to tie it with a 1.0 mm mono and #6 braid so far, and it worked well (but I haven't used it on the water and haven't tested its breaking force yet). I'm sure there has to be a way to tie it with thin(ner) lines too, of course experimenting with the number of wraps etc. will be necessary.
I've been using mostly Albright (not improved) knot since before it existed.. Cam up on my own when braid first came to market in USA and it's never failed me. I have used a few other knots recommended but always come back due to speed, thinness and no failure. Fg knot just takes too much time. I used to burn the tag ends decades ago but gave up. I periodically will use glue over.
1:47 been saying it forever, best braid on the market
For heavy fishing always FG knot...its simply the best,very good job my friend
ill gladly accept 3rd place for the alberto knot its my personal go to knot for braid to mono and ive never had issues with it i started FG knots with braid when i first did bumpers but it takes so long and is not exactly easy to do on the bank when you have to completely redo a set up so i choose the alberto knot for its speed and strength i had done the double uni knot before and had issues but the alberto knot never seems to fail me so im happy with it
Yep. It's fast and easy to learn. I spend a good amount of time changing lures out, looking for bass.
@@diemos322jones9 Further to your comment about changing lures out, looking for bass, I like to pre-tie (with Palomar knot) a size 0 Mustad dual lock snap to the 10lb and 16lb fluoro leaders I use for bass fishing, so I can change lures out much faster than retying the lures. BTW I always tie Alberto knot for braid to leader (and do it at home before leaving for the water).
Good decision. I recently bought the FG knot tool, just waiting for it to arrive but even with that I might still end up with the Alberto, just easier.
Well first off that double uni knot is for ridiculously tied in this video but I stick with knots that I can type very fast when I'm in a hurry out on the water and the double uni is a fastest for me and I've yet to have it fail if I tied every trip or so I tried the FG knot out but if you are in a hurry it is not the not to try and you truly never know if you haven't tied right if you haven't tied wrong it'll cost you
Great video explaining where tue knot breaks. You get an understanding or more reasons why I have ended up using an FG for all
Another great testing video - thanks. I always use the FG if I have time to tie it, with a braid-doubled alberto as an on-water backup. Good to know that the alberto is > 60% breaking strain.
For short leaders 10' or less I started using the super easy Surgeons knot. 4 wraps, no spit, no nonsense. Tight lines!
If you're tying braid to mono then that knot will be pretty weak, the braid digs into the mono.
Fluorocarbon. I caught an 8-3 the first time trying it. 15 braid to 12 leader
Greatly appreciate the time to do this! Mahalo
Great video. Thanks for sharing your work.
excellent video, professional technique and methodology, I only wish that you included the SC knot in the tests. thank you
Glad to see someone using real testing equipment, not buckets of water, tug of war, etc. Unfortunately, Warren duToit across the pond stopped his knot testing. Check him out sometime.
I have watched quite a bit of their stuff and it's great. But yeah they have seemed to of dropped off lately
Best test video I've ever seen 🎉
I had missed this video… I did a lot of tests on my own years ago. I had abandoned the double unit knot and the Albright due to significant loss of strength and poor passage through the guides. I’ve been using the FG for more than 10 years now.
By the way, I don’t see anyone talking about this, but like you, I had many questions and did tests to understand it. One of those questions was why a knot goes through the guides well or poorly. I realized that there’s something more important than the knot itself. In fact, even with micro FG knots, it sometimes went through very poorly. It’s actually quite simple: it’s just a matter of the flexibility of the fluoro compared to the braid. If there’s too much difference in stiffness between the two, for example, very stiff 29/100 fluoro against an 8-strand PE 0.8 braid, the difference in flexibility is huge and creates an incompatibility. If you switch to an extra-flexible nylon of the same diameter, the knot will pass much more easily and snap a lot less. The ideal is to have nylon as flexible and as thin as possible.
Really great point!
I become FG knot believer since i know this knot, never disappointed me.
I liked it and the video was convincing.
I would be very interested to know the results of the Mahin knot, as I use it a lot on thinner braids , but I haven't found any data on it yet.
awesome. thanks for proving and having proof that the FG is the best
👏👏👏
Gracias, es tremendo el trabajo que has realizado.
FG es el mejor, sin duda
thanks for the dedication in making this vid ,
👍👍👍👍👍
Just subscribed!!
Maybe a video testing spliceable hollow core in the future?
And the final comments is great advice, thank you.
This is why I keep my old Stradics with two spools.
If I bust off, I just change the spool.
And keep fishing.
FG all the way.
Wise words at the end. Thankyou
You did good mate, thank you for all the videos. very interesting.
Very consistent results
Thanks for all that work, you can see that's all done very seriously.
Now I wonder the differences while using lighter lines, like a 12/16 lb fc leader. My guess is that the % gap between the knots will be minor, like the "poor" performance with the double uni is due to the big diameter of the fluoro squeezing hard on the braid
Excellent execution. I use Alberto as its works “good enough” and is fairly easy to do when waded out.
The best fishing related channel out there!
Great video. And remember, “a lot” is two words. Seeing that over and over at the end was 😂
I have to admit, I was guilty of this for YEARS.
@@dspivey4284 Alot of years! 🤣
@@wadepatton2433a wholelot!
alot looks and sounds better... some might think a lot is a lot... haha or is that ha ha
Very well made video and testing, but for most if not all bass fishermen out there, I would suggest using a leader size that is smaller then the braid, preferably what is most commonly used, like 20lb braid on 12 lb leader. THAT would be interesting (although FG will win) and more realistic. Thanks.
I was thinking this same thing. The FG has not been my go to when attaching a 6lb leader to 8lb braid. Because the knot doesn't hold well with such thin materials. Best knot I've found so far was the double surgeon's knot. Everything else slipped and untied under tension.
@@EthosAtheos interesting I've been using the Alberto knot on my 20lb braid to 12lb leader and have only had the knot fail before the leader on one occasion 100's of times the leader breaks at the lure tie on but the leader knot nearly always holds. I'll pay a lot closer attention to the lighter lines though thanks for sharing.
Is it safe to assume you mean "lower breaking strength" and not "smaller"?
The former makes sense, for a lot of reasons. The latter - meaning diameter - would be virtually impossible for any practical application.
@@FurtherNorth I mean lighter line, and the leader is always lighter than the main line, is it not? Maybe some experts out there that have different opinion. But most would agree, I think.. Most people would have, for example, a 20 lb braid with a 10-12 leader. Or 60 lb braid with 20 lb leader. I want to see someone (I'm not asking you personally) to make a video where they actually use the real line on light line, like a 12 lb braid on 6 or 8 lb line, instead of using cords to show how to make the knots. We can all make those knots with fat cords, that's not the point. The point is how do you do it with mini-line you can barely see and that won't fold over so easily like a fat cord will do.
@@pmm422 I love the alberto as well, most practical and quick while I'm on the boat, but trying to master the FG as I know it's better, albeit slightly.
I pulled a good size Tarpon with a double uni knot
I love the FG knot and I use it for braid to mono, braid to fluorocarbon, and braid to coated multi-strand wire bite guard...but it doesn't work on single strand uncoated nickel-titanium bite guard...the wraps have nothing to dig into. It also doesn't work for a mono main line to a wire bite guard of any kind at the line sizes I use.
I use the Alberto Knot for those.
i’ve done similar test at home , ow outcomes are similar, fg knot is my go to if i’m in a rush 6x surgeon knot (30% less then fg) ,followed by the double uni 55% below fg breaking strain.
thanks for all tests you do for us, keep going!
Very nice and interesting this one. Great job. I did noticed that for the double uni know you made only 3 leader loops and braid 5. I use to make 9 loops on the braid and 6 in the leader ,and i use this knot with 8 pound braid and 10 pound leader just for not very big fish ,Trout, Australian Salmon, and stuff like that. Said that could you please try this one just to see how does it goes??? Ps:for serious fish i use the FG knot and never had a problem so far...thanks in advance 😊
Thanks that was very informative, I would love to see if this holds true (I expect it will) if the two lines have similar diameters (maybe braid/braid). Would also be awesome to see a slowmo side view. Great work thanks as always!
Excellent and informative video. Validates my go to knot ie the FG knot .
Just a query: Here in South Africa we tie the double uni by doubling the braid first and then tying the knot with 8 turns of the doubled braid and 4 turns of the fluorocarbon. I know many fishermen who swear by this knot. Perhaps you can test this. It would be great to know the strength of this knot.
Glad I found this channel. Great job preparing and administering the tests. I express my deep gratitude. Please continue your work so that both you and we can learn new things and learn new details about how to improve our equipment.
Best video for testing line. Thanks a lot bro!
Fantastic video!!! This was very well done 👏 👍
How about testing the yucatan knot and the triple surgeons knot. These are easy and quick for older folks with not so nimble fingers and not so great vision to tie in the boat in a hurry. Also the slim beauty knot which is what I use when i retie at home with plenty of light and no wind. But, watching these tests I am probably going to switch to an Alberto knot. I am also thinking you will probably test terminal knots in the future.
There is an improved version of the Alberto where before tightening the knot on the final loop you wrap through the eye 3 times.
Would love to see close-ups of the knots during the testing. Otherwise, awesome!
This is fantastic! Thank you! Solid video
Try the SC knot which is very similar to the FG knot, but is easier to execute.
imho SC can slip on U/L rigs
Excellent tests, is it possible to test "yucatan knot" and "surgeon knot"?
Great vid. Would like Palmer knot tied to swivel for comparison
Great testing.
Nice test and I have to learn the FG !
I've tied all of these. I can't stand tying the PR and FG though haha. I ordered the FG knot tying tool so I will test that out when it arrives but Alberto is my favorite from this list.
I use the alberto knot for freshwater fishing. With a 15lb flouro leader I have never had the knot fail. The leader always snaps first on bad snags. I can also tie it off in 1 minute, vs the FG which usually takes a few tries and a bit of swearing to get it right.
I'd like to see this test done over with a more normal strength leader for freshwater/bass fishing. Having thin braid tied to a thick leader like that is going to have a significant impact on the integrity of the knot. It makes sense that the FG came out ahead in this test, though, since it is more suited to tying off on thicker leader line.
When I was planning this test, I started with a much lighter leader but the leader kept snapping in the middle of the knot. I had to up the leader strength until it was just stronger than the braid and the samples you see in this test are the results of a lot of testing. The goal of this test was to test the braid knot strength so I couldn't let the leader fail first.
Been using the FG for a while- there is a longer learning curve to tie this on the boat- but if you keep using it it's surprising how much easier it gets to tie- these results speak for themselves...
Amazing test. One thought, that maybe with these kind of strong thick lines it is hard to put a lot of tension before half hitch, maybe only if a man is a bodybuilder, I believe it is possible to do more than 90% on fg. x4 braids seem to work better for me, especially braid to monofilament. Also, many years ago I spent all day with ygk x3 to swivel knots . And one time got 100% but it was double lined clinch with 25 or 26 wraps. (Pe 0.25 or 0.6 can't remember)
FG knot was the first line to leader knot i learned for offshore fishing (bottom bashing) and i have never lost a fish from the knot failing, even with a shark has been on the line
Oh hell yea UA-cam finally recommends me a channel I want to see more of! Any other braid comparison chart I’ve seen has Yo-Zuri Superbraid making all other braids look weak, pretty please add that to your testing? I’ll send you some new spools of the line if you want me to!
Yes i have just received some Yo-Zuri samples so we will test it soon.
I can't help but wonder if the mechanism of failure would be different for a light leader to a heavier braid, which is often the case for bass or walleye fishing. Perhaps 15 or 20 pound braid to 10 pound fluorocarbon. I would guess the results would be different.
The results would most likely be different as you are testing a different situation. When you use a leader that is lighter than the braid and the leader fails first, and i will specifically relate this to friction-type knots like the FG as that's where most of my experience lies, is that you will see that the leader gets crushed and pulled apart in the middle of the knot. So what you end up testing here is the resistance of the leader to those forces, the stretch and crushing exerted by the braid. This is a totally valid test, but it was not the combination i was focusing on in this example.
I wonder if varying the amount of wraps on each knot would have drastic differences.
This deserves millions of views..thanks for the effort and for that,u got a new subscriber!!
unfortunately (or not) most people tend to be more interested in beliefs and emotions rather than objective numbers. oh well.
Fg is great but only if you get it right, I've had too many slip but can tie the Alberto much more consistent so best knot for me is the one I can trust and tie
Please add a test of the Yucatan knot
One of BEST videos i have watched for braids!!! now im using varivas 8 and thinking to try varivas avani casting. (do u have list off all braids that u tested? just want to see if and how daiwa tournament performance)
Yes on the website, there is a braid summary menu with everything that has been tested so far
Seems like a strong case for if you aren’t using a perfectly tied FG your better off using thinner lower lb line and going straight mono or floro
Please test the four-turn spider hitch sometime.
Gran trabajo,gracias por el video.❤
Good test sir.
May I ask, did you try a 5 wrap leader/10wrap braid for the dbl uni? The uni numbers seem very low.
Also, I hope you plan on following this up with a test with nylon instead of fluorocarbon.
Something like a Platypus hard armour or Schneider would be lovely to see.
Thanks for your work!
thanks for all tests !!!
Dear Sirs, thank you very much for sharing your test: it's a really well performed test, following a good metrological scheme ... perhaps 3 times are not a real good sample size, for instance in SPC the usual sampling requires 5 measures, but I appreciate your efforts. I regret, as angler, only one thing: you did not test the SC knot and several Japanese tests have already demonstrated that SC knot is stronger than FG one, furthermore SC knot is easier and quicker to tie ... would you like try it, please?
why only 3x5 wraps on the double uni? i usually do about 6 on each side, would that make a difference?
I try to do odd numbers because the way the knot cinches is cleaner and inline with the main line more often. Heavier lines i also do less wraps due to the size of the knot. I like the uni to uni for more finesse applications.
Love the tests! Any chance of testing shock vs regular leaders? Like shock nylon leader and shock fluoro leader against non shock variants? Seems like there’s an increase in pushing shock leaders in the current market. Sometimes it feels like a scam/marketing hype.
Yeah that's definitely an interesting one that we will look into.
I tie the FG but end it with half hitch knots, not the rizzuto, not sure if it makes a difference. I may be tieing a weaker FG knot if it does.
I actually generally finish with half hitches also for when I do the testing on this channel, and when I am tying an FG in the water. I am not convinced a rizzuto is stronger, but it definitely seems to make a nicer knot. I will need to test to see if there is an actual difference.
@@thelinelaboratory i look forward to the results. This was a great and informative video.
Thanks!
I'd love to see a knot-tying shootout vid between a few people who think they tie the best versions of these knots. A test of technique (and skill?). Great test vid here btw
Funny you say that, I have been working through an idea that is along those lines.
@@thelinelaboratory Awesome! I look forward to seeing what you come up with
Would love to see a similar test on light gear - eg 6-8lb braid of a good quality like J braid (fine), with 8lb fluorocarbon of top end Japanese quality (3X - 4X).
Ie the tackle one would use for larger trout on spin gear or light salt eg whiting etc. on spin gear/eggbeater reels
I've not seen a test yet on the light materials, all seem to be heavy salt water oriented. The finer materials seem to change the results a lot - this could just be the difficulty of timing good knots with really fine braid etc.
Yep great point and something that I have been considering. I normally fish those light lines around 8lb so I am actually curious to.
@@thelinelaboratory there was a time when I used FG knot on ultralight tackle (think e.g. PE #0.3 braid to 0.14 mm fluoro).
I didn't test its breaking strength, but it _felt_ stronger than any other knot.
gave up on it eventually because it was too fiddly to tie on those thin lines.
so yeah, it would be _very_ interesting to see this test conducted for lighter lines to see if the knots strength in percents of the original line(s) strength will remain the same as with the heavier lines or the situation will be different (and then there will be the question of the threshold at which the change happens).
sounds like a valid motivation for another piece of research to me.
Great video, would you mind doing one on loop knots with light line?
Please try Climax braided line & Berkley Trilene Big Game. Thank you
hola all my fg's lol 😂 also a lighter to melt the tag of the fg leader tag to a cup shape helps reduce line catching on rod eyes 👍 moisten lines first 👍