Does anyone have a definitive answer to the "shelf life" of lines kept away from light, heat etc?
I doubt my answer will be definitive but I did some experiments with new and very old lines (up to and some even over thirty years). I started these experiment because I was confronted with a very bad breaking strength of the Nylon I used for my 0.08 hook lengths.
My findings (FWIW):
-only one line showed serious lower breakingstrength than specified <50%. This was a very soft line (at the time it was my standard 0.08 hook length Nylon) - of course I binned it. I cannot be sure that it was aging but I thinks so because I cannot image a vendor selling Nylon @ <50% spec
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all other lines I tested were OK! So they are stil in my stock of hook length Nylon
If you scan the internet all information is pointing in the direction that Nylon deteriorates, even when stored dark and dry. I did not find proof for this, exept in one case of an extraordinary soft line.
Most of the lines I tested are typical hooklength Nylon 0.06 - 0.16 mm diameter and 0.20 Maxima and Sensor. All tested lines where on their original spools, so not on winders or hooklength systems.
There's some more about this in the thread 'Putting Line Through Its Paces'
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