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Line Review

 


YGK's Tour Grade FC Has Soul

 

Date: 8/19/19
Tackle Type: Fishing Line
Manufacturer: YGK
Reviewer: Cal






Total Score: 7.92 - GOOD

Introduction:
The lore of Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) fishing tackle, specifically reels, rods, and lures is undeniable. Anglers with a preference for the unique, exclusive, hard to get, in other words, the enthusiast crowd will forever argue the grass is not only greener, but more hardy and nutritious on the other side. For those in the know, there is another category of product in the fishing world that deserves our attention. It's a little more difficult to justify, but is perhaps the most important component in your arsenal - your line. YGK is the latest of the former JDM exclusive fishing line companies to find their way to the North American Market and here now is our look at their 100% fluorocarbon product. Introducing YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon.

 

YGK G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon Specifications

Line Type Fluorocarbon
Colors Available One
Colors Tested Clear
Line Weights 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17 ,20
Line Weight Tested in Lab 12
Line Weights Fished 6, 7, 10
MSRP $23.99 - $25.99 (yds vary by line rating)

 

Introducing YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon

 

Quality : YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon is priced like a premium product and continues that impression when you have a filler spool in hand. It is not a precision wound product, but off that spool, the line feels very smooth between your fingers with no detectable variation in diameter or line shape. Pulling out a good length of line and checking its diameter at five different spots with a micrometer reveals an average deviation in diameter of 0.7% (average across the fluorocarbon lines in our FPI is 0.989%).

 


Though a JDM product, Tour Grade FC is not precision wound

The average, measured diameter of YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon in 12lb test was 0.314 millimeters. The line's published diameter at this rating is 0.31mm. Overall, this line gets good marks for initial quality.


6lb test spooled on an Abu Garcia MGXtreme spinning reel

 

Performance: Of course, we never judge a line by its initial impression, so first stop for YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon was a date with The Machine for a series of tests to determine its comparative FPI (fluorocarbon performance index). The result? Our highest rated fluorocarbon to date with an FPI of 72.2 eclipsing our previous high score of 67.1 by Seaguar's Tatsu.

 

TackleTour's Fluorocarbon Performance Index (FPI)

 

Quality (20 points)
Strength (30 points)
Stretch (10+ Points
Abrasion Cycles
F P I
 
PW
DIA
TS v RS
MS
KS v RS
KS v TS
STR
DR
Max Points
5
5
10
10
10
10
5+
5+
No Limit
-
YGK G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon (12lb/ 0.31 mm dia)
0
4.3
7.1
5.5
8.4
6.8
3.8
17.4
19
72.2
Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon (12lb/ 0.29 mm dia)
5
4.3
8.4
5.8
9.3
8.2
2.5
2.5
21
67.1
FC Average (~0.30 mm dia)
2.8
3.9
8.2
4.5
6.5
7.1
2.8
4.2
14.9
48.2
PW = Precision Wound : DIA = Diameter : TS vs RS = Tested Strength vs Rated Strength : MS = Material Strength : KS vs RS = Knot Strength vs Rated Strength : KS v TS = Knot Strength vs Tested Strength : STR = Stretch : DR = Deformity : For a full explanation of our FPI table, please read our FPI Introduction article

YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon scored well in our FPI, the numbers bear closer scrutiny as they compare to Seaguar's Tatsu. If you reference our table above, you'll see where YGK really outpaced Tatsu was the deformity (DR) score. After our stretch tests, we compare our sample lengths to their original lengths prior to the stretch. YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade FC returned to within 0.8% of its original length compared to Tatsu's 5.7% number. Otherwise most of the line's other performance numbers were below that of Tatsu.


Some fun, bluegill action on Tour Grade FC

Of course, how a line performs on The Machine doesn't tell the whole story which is why our line reviews take some time to complete. We fish the line for an extended period of time to see how it handles and performs in real world conditions. For YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade FC, that meant some time on a few different reels as both a mainline and a topshot line tied onto braid.


Spooled as a mainline on board an Abu Garcia Revo IKE spinning reel

Next Section: Exploring the YGK FC's features...

 

   

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