PRODUCT REVIEW - Fire Line new color (and other spectra lines)

Whoo-hoo!

For the people like me who use Spectra lines exclusively, the lack of
color choice has been a bit of a drawback. PowerPro comes in white,
moss green or lurid yellow (it fades a little, which is a blessing),
and Fireline comes in charcoal gray, a faded chartreuse and now
magenta!

I bought a spool of the "pink" (those fishing guys have so little
imagination), and have been using it with beads in the
pink/plum/purple/peach range. It adds a nice dimension to my work,
though I wouldn't recommend it with any peach color that you want to
keep subtle. It has all the other good qualities of Dyneema
(Spectra) lines.

I haven't noticed the pink coming off on my fingers, but I suspect
that the pink color will mellow a bit over time, like the yellow and
the fluorescent green. This leaves me with a reasonable pallette of
colors of Dyneema beadweaving threads: I buy the Powerpro in white
and run the thread over a Sharpie permanent marker to make it match
if the thread looks obvious.

The charcoal gray is my most used color, because it blends in so
well with nearly any dark colored bead. Even in projects with visble
thread, the charcoal seems to melt into the background, and I don't
see it. I've asked other people to look at a project and tell me
what color thread I used. Usually, they cannot tell, even though the
charcoal is staring them right in the face. BTW, I buy the 4lb.
Fireline in the 1,000 yard spools and double the thread. The 4 lb
will fit through a size 15 beading needle with room to spare, and is
more than strong enough for my beading projects. (Even the ones that
the Mandanator goes near)

The white 8 lb PowerPro is my next most used color. PowerPro doesn't
come in smaller diameters than 8 lb, and the thread will fit through
a size 13 beading needle. The main benefit to the white is that a
few quick runs over a Sharpie turns this thread into any color you
want it to be. I can't guarantee that it will be that color in a
century, but by then it will be someone else's problem.

I noticed that there have been a few more more Spectra lines
developed recently, and are now for sale on the Cabela's web site.
I'll email the manufacturers of each and ask for a sample, then
report back to you guys. I'd purchase small spools of the new lines,
but they all come in 150 yard spools or bigger. For a test, that's
just more line than I need.

I'm not holding out tremendous hope for any of them though - the
lines all seem to come in very large diameters, and they only come in
lurid yellow or moss green. The less expensive PowerPro and FireLine
come in nice, small diameters, and have my lurid yellow and moss
green needs nicely covered already, thank you very much.

Your intrepid reporter,

Kathy N-V

Hey Kathy, thanks for the review. Do you have any pictures? Inquiring minds
need to see.....
Thanks!

-Bethany (gwacie)
www.gwaciebeads.com
www.bethanyadams.com


-
"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...
Whoo-hoo!

For the people like me who use Spectra lines exclusively, the lack of
color choice has been a bit of a drawback. PowerPro comes in white,
moss green or lurid yellow (it fades a little, which is a blessing),
and Fireline comes in charcoal gray, a faded chartreuse and now
magenta!

I bought a spool of the "pink" (those fishing guys have so little
imagination), and have been using it with beads in the
pink/plum/purple/peach range. It adds a nice dimension to my work,
though I wouldn't recommend it with any peach color that you want to
keep subtle. It has all the other good qualities of Dyneema
(Spectra) lines.

I haven't noticed the pink coming off on my fingers, but I suspect
that the pink color will mellow a bit over time, like the yellow and
the fluorescent green. This leaves me with a reasonable pallette of
colors of Dyneema beadweaving threads: I buy the Powerpro in white
and run the thread over a Sharpie permanent marker to make it match
if the thread looks obvious.

The charcoal gray is my most used color, because it blends in so
well with nearly any dark colored bead. Even in projects with visble
thread, the charcoal seems to melt into the background, and I don't
see it. I've asked other people to look at a project and tell me
what color thread I used. Usually, they cannot tell, even though the
charcoal is staring them right in the face. BTW, I buy the 4lb.
Fireline in the 1,000 yard spools and double the thread. The 4 lb
will fit through a size 15 beading needle with room to spare, and is
more than strong enough for my beading projects. (Even the ones that
the Mandanator goes near)

The white 8 lb PowerPro is my next most used color. PowerPro doesn't
come in smaller diameters than 8 lb, and the thread will fit through
a size 13 beading needle. The main benefit to the white is that a
few quick runs over a Sharpie turns this thread into any color you
want it to be. I can't guarantee that it will be that color in a
century, but by then it will be someone else's problem.

I noticed that there have been a few more more Spectra lines
developed recently, and are now for sale on the Cabela's web site.
I'll email the manufacturers of each and ask for a sample, then
report back to you guys. I'd purchase small spools of the new lines,
but they all come in 150 yard spools or bigger. For a test, that's
just more line than I need.

I'm not holding out tremendous hope for any of them though - the
lines all seem to come in very large diameters, and they only come in
lurid yellow or moss green. The less expensive PowerPro and FireLine
come in nice, small diameters, and have my lurid yellow and moss
green needs nicely covered already, thank you very much.

Your intrepid reporter,

Kathy N-V

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 12:07:10 -0500, Gwacie wrote
(in message ):

Hey Kathy, thanks for the review. Do you have any pictures? Inquiring minds
need to see.....

All the lines we're talking about are he

http://snipurl.com/c7r6

As for photos of beadwork, sorry. I rarely, if ever, photograph my
work. It generally doesn't stick around long enough to be
photographed.

Kathy N-V