Subject: Wulff 30 pound Oval Backing vs. 30 pound Micron bacfking
My questions for board members: Do you have experience with Wulff Oval fly line backing? Have you been able to place more Wulff 30 pound Oval backing on a reel than 30 pound Cortland Micron backing?
What prompted these questions was using my local fly shop's line machine to measure length of Wulff Oval backing I had spooled by hand earlier this year. I use Tibor Gulfstream reels and have historically been able to fit 225 yards of Micron 30 pound backing plus a WindCutter 8.9.10. This 225 average is per local fly shops line machines measurements.
Earlier this year, for the first time I installed Wulff Oval 30# backing by hand [also a first--never again, it took approx. 1400 revolutions] and had always assumed that the length was 225 yards +/-. One might ask who in hell counts reel revolutions? I can't help it, I'm an engineer!
Back to the subject. Recently I removed the WC8.9.10 and Wulff backing from a Gulfstream and today replaced them using the local fly shop machine to learn exactly how much backing was present. Suprise--296 yards!
Visual inspection of the Wulff 30 pound Oval backing shows no obvious change in dimensions as the backing is rotated, so perhaps a magnifying glass or microscope is needed. Visually the Wulff Oval backing is the same diameter as Cortland's 30 pound Micron.
I compared four types of backing and measured each one 12 times, threw out the high and low readings and averaged the remaining 10. Don't take these numbers as absolute because the act of measuring a braided line squeezes it, but I did my best. My micrometer measures to one-thousanth of an inch, not highly precise, but this isn't rocket science.
Following is the data:
Standard Backing
• Cortland 30 pound Micron [yellow]: Average diameter = 0.021 inches, range = 0.019 to 0.023 inches, a varying diameter throughout the spool of 0.004.
• Royal Wulff 30 pound Oval [chartreuse]: Avg. diam. = 0.020 inches; range = 0.020 to 0.021 inches, a varying diameter throughout the spool of 0.001
GSP Backing
• Cortland 30 pound Micronite [white]: Avg. diam = 0.016 inches; range = 0.014 to 0.018 inches, a variance of 0.004.
• Royal Wulff 45 pound GSP [chartreuse]: Avg. diam = 0.016 inches; range = 0.014 to 0.016 inches, a variance of 0.002
The averages for a couple of lines may look strange, but are the effect of rounding numbers to three decimal places.
U]Results
The Wulff Oval Backing Lines enjoy a slightly reduced line diameter of 0.001 inch in diameter and when combined with the more efficient packing of an oval compared to a circle, the fisherman has an opportunity to load more backing to his reel
One notes that the Wulff Oval line holds a more consistent diameter through a spool than does Cortland Micron, which in my opinion translates to quality.
Thirdly, Wulff Oval is as "handy, and easily and safely used as a Micron." In my case I was able to load 296 yards of Wulff Oval vs. the 225 yards with Micron.
Fourth, the Wulff Oval backing line knots well as does Cortland's Micron.
Pease give my your experience. It appears that the Wulff Oval backing gives the fisherman significantly higher reel capacity than Micron without the disadvantages of GSP.
My questions for board members: Do you have experience with Wulff Oval fly line backing? Have you been able to place more Wulff 30 pound Oval backing on a reel than 30 pound Cortland Micron backing?
What prompted these questions was using my local fly shop's line machine to measure length of Wulff Oval backing I had spooled by hand earlier this year. I use Tibor Gulfstream reels and have historically been able to fit 225 yards of Micron 30 pound backing plus a WindCutter 8.9.10. This 225 average is per local fly shops line machines measurements.
Earlier this year, for the first time I installed Wulff Oval 30# backing by hand [also a first--never again, it took approx. 1400 revolutions] and had always assumed that the length was 225 yards +/-. One might ask who in hell counts reel revolutions? I can't help it, I'm an engineer!
Back to the subject. Recently I removed the WC8.9.10 and Wulff backing from a Gulfstream and today replaced them using the local fly shop machine to learn exactly how much backing was present. Suprise--296 yards!
Visual inspection of the Wulff 30 pound Oval backing shows no obvious change in dimensions as the backing is rotated, so perhaps a magnifying glass or microscope is needed. Visually the Wulff Oval backing is the same diameter as Cortland's 30 pound Micron.
I compared four types of backing and measured each one 12 times, threw out the high and low readings and averaged the remaining 10. Don't take these numbers as absolute because the act of measuring a braided line squeezes it, but I did my best. My micrometer measures to one-thousanth of an inch, not highly precise, but this isn't rocket science.
Following is the data:
Standard Backing
• Cortland 30 pound Micron [yellow]: Average diameter = 0.021 inches, range = 0.019 to 0.023 inches, a varying diameter throughout the spool of 0.004.
• Royal Wulff 30 pound Oval [chartreuse]: Avg. diam. = 0.020 inches; range = 0.020 to 0.021 inches, a varying diameter throughout the spool of 0.001
GSP Backing
• Cortland 30 pound Micronite [white]: Avg. diam = 0.016 inches; range = 0.014 to 0.018 inches, a variance of 0.004.
• Royal Wulff 45 pound GSP [chartreuse]: Avg. diam = 0.016 inches; range = 0.014 to 0.016 inches, a variance of 0.002
The averages for a couple of lines may look strange, but are the effect of rounding numbers to three decimal places.
U]Results
The Wulff Oval Backing Lines enjoy a slightly reduced line diameter of 0.001 inch in diameter and when combined with the more efficient packing of an oval compared to a circle, the fisherman has an opportunity to load more backing to his reel
One notes that the Wulff Oval line holds a more consistent diameter through a spool than does Cortland Micron, which in my opinion translates to quality.
Thirdly, Wulff Oval is as "handy, and easily and safely used as a Micron." In my case I was able to load 296 yards of Wulff Oval vs. the 225 yards with Micron.
Fourth, the Wulff Oval backing line knots well as does Cortland's Micron.
Pease give my your experience. It appears that the Wulff Oval backing gives the fisherman significantly higher reel capacity than Micron without the disadvantages of GSP.