TRILENE BIG GAME vs Fishing Line: which is safer?

BERKLEY TRILENE BIG GAME is the clear pick. Berkley FireLine Fishing Line carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.

Our pick

BERKLEY TRILENE BIG GAME

Berkley

TRILENE BIG GAME

PFAS grade

Excellent 85/100

Overall grade

Good 63/100

Verdict

Buy with care

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

monofilament nylon fishing line

Confidence

72%

LikelyUV degradation and embrittlement

PossibleMicroplastic release during use

Berkley FireLine Fishing Line

Berkley FireLine

Fishing Line

PFAS grade

Good 50/100

Overall grade

Poor 28/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 4

Material

Braided polyethylene core with proprietary coating

Confidence

45%

PossibleProprietary coating composition (unknown chemical exposure)

PossibleMicrofiber/microplastic shedding from coating degradation

ReportedEntanglement and wildlife ingestion risk

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag UV degradation and embrittlement and Microplastic release during use on the Berkley and not on the Berkley FireLine.
  • We flag Proprietary coating composition (unknown chemical exposure), Microfiber/microplastic shedding from coating degradation, Entanglement and wildlife ingestion risk and UV stabilizer or antioxidant leaching (thermal/light-induced) on the Berkley FireLine and not on the Berkley.
  • The Berkley is monofilament nylon fishing line where the Berkley FireLine is Braided polyethylene core with proprietary coating, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 35 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Berkley is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the Berkley FireLine grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric: 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