Monofilament vs 444 Peach Fly Line: which is safer?
Ande Monofilament is the clear pick. Cortland 444 Peach Fly Line carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Our pick
Ande
Monofilament
PFAS grade
Excellent 85/100
Overall grade
Excellent 81/100
Verdict
Buy
Hazard flags
⚑ 1
Material
Monofilament nylon fishing line
Confidence
72%
PossibleMicroplastic shedding during use
Cortland
444 Peach Fly Line
PFAS grade
Poor 40/100
Overall grade
Bad 24/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 4
Material
PVC-based fly line with proprietary coating
Confidence
35%
PossibleCoating degradation and microplastic release
PossibleUndisclosed plasticizer or surfactant leaching
PossibleThermal instability of PVC core
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Microplastic shedding during use on the Ande and not on the Cortland.
- We flag Coating degradation and microplastic release, Undisclosed plasticizer or surfactant leaching, Thermal instability of PVC core and Aquatic bioaccumulation of coating compounds on the Cortland and not on the Ande.
- The Ande is Monofilament nylon fishing line where the Cortland is PVC-based fly line with proprietary coating, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Ande is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Cortland grade, at 35% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric, which covers materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →
More fishing line, see the full ranking