Berkley Trilene Big Game Nylon Monofilament Product Review

Line Review

Does Berkley Trilene Big Game Still Stack Up?

Date:	5/21/16
Tackle Type:	Fishing Line
Manufacturer:	Berkley Fishing
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 8.00 - GREAT

Introduction: When it comes to fishing line, few brands are as popular as Berkley Trilene. Yet, within Trilene, there are several choices, 100% Fluorocarbon, XL, Cold Weather, TransOptic, BigCat, the list goes on. Here at TTHQ, one Trilene brand stands tall and that's Big Game - the go to line for our Editor in Chief, Zander.

It's time to take another look at Berkley Big Game.

Berkley Trilene Big Game Specifications
Line Type	Nylon
Colors Available	Clear, Coastal Brown, Green, Solar Collector, Steel Blue
Colors Tested	Clear, Green
Line Weights	10lb - 130lb
Line Weight Tested in Lab	10lb
Line Weights Fished	10lb, 15lb, 20lb
MSRP	$8.99/1500yd

Big Game comes in a variety of different spool sizes.

Quality : Berkley Trilene Big Game is the epitome of nylon monofilament from a big, house brand. By that I mean it is easily available and very affordable. At $8.99 for a 1,500 yard spool, we're talking less than $0.01/yard and when you go through as many new reels as we do each year, this savings can be significant hence it's attraction to our Editor in Chief.

Applications from true Big Game ...

All that aside, pulling a length of line from a Big Game spool off and running it through my fingers, I can feel some inconsistencies in the line diameter but nothing too major. The line's surface is smooth, but not the smoothest or most supple I've felt.

... to big mouth bass.

Taking out our micrometer and measuring the line's diameter along 5 points on that length of line I get an average reading of 0.298mm. The advertised diameter for 10lb Berkley Trilene Big Game is 0.300mm (within 0.74%!).

Quality Ratings for Berkley Trilene Big Game
Consis-tency (1-5)	Surface (1-3)	Spooling (1-5)	Published Diameter (1-3)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
3	2	3	3	13	16	8.13

This used to be Zander's go to line even on spinning gear.

Performance: Big game handles very predictably on both casting and spinning gear. The line's sensitivity is about average when it comes to nylon monofilaments but perhaps its best asset is manageability. Whether making an overhead or sidearm cast, or sitting back and pitching to target, there are no unexpected hiccups caused by Big Game as you fish..

TackleTour's Mono/Copoly Performance Index (MCPI)
	Quality (20 points)			Strength (30 points)			Stretch (10+ Points		Abrasion Cycles	F P I
	PW	DIA	TS v RS	MS	KS v RS	KS v TS	STR	DR	Abrasion Cycles	F P I
Max Points	5	5	10	10	10	10	5+	5+	No Limit	-
Big Game (10lb/ 0.298 mm dia)	0	4.1	8.2	4.8	9.4	7.9	3.1	2.9	7.0	47.4
M/C Average (~0.30 mm dia)	1.3	4.3	7.2	5.2	10.8	8.5	3.1	3.0	6.8	50.2
PW = Precision Wound : DIA = Diameter : TS vs RS = Tested Strength vs Rated Strength : MS = Material Strength : KS vs RS = Knot Strength vs Rated Strength : KS v TS = Knot Strength vs Tested Strength : STR = Stretch : DR = Deformity : For a full explanation of our FPI table, please read our FPI Introduction article

Sensitivity is not the line's strong suit.

Back at the lab Big Game lasted on average, seven (7) cycles on our abrasion machine which is right at the average of our 17 different brands. For knot strength, our 10lb test line broke at 94% of the line's rated strength but 79% of it's actual tested strength of 11.8lbs. The average scores were 96% and 85% respectively, so Big Game is a hair under average in this category.

Performance Ratings for Berkley Trilene Big Game
Cast/ Pitch (1-5)	Sensi-tivity (1-5)	Abrasion (1-5)	Knot Strength (1-5)	Manage-ability (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	3	3	3	4	17	25	6.8

Zander started using Big Game in saltwater.

Next Section: Big Game Features