TRILENE BIG GAME vs Ultracast Braid: which is safer?

BERKLEY TRILENE BIG GAME is the clear pick. Spiderwire Ultracast Braid 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

Spiderwire Ultracast Braid

Spiderwire

Ultracast Braid

PFAS grade

Good 50/100

Overall grade

Bad 14/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 4

Material

Braided polyethylene fishing line with undisclosed coating

Confidence

35%

LikelyMicroplastic shedding from braided structure

PossibleUndisclosed coating additives with potential leaching

ReportedUV degradation and polymer fragmentation

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag UV degradation and embrittlement and Microplastic release during use on the Berkley and not on the Spiderwire.
  • We flag Microplastic shedding from braided structure, Undisclosed coating additives with potential leaching, UV degradation and polymer fragmentation and Dermal or ingestion risk from handled coating residue on the Spiderwire and not on the Berkley.
  • The Berkley is monofilament nylon fishing line where the Spiderwire is Braided polyethylene fishing line with undisclosed 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 Spiderwire grade, at 35% 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