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I've been given a large quantity of monofilament nylon hand-tied leaders and leader/tippet material that I think are at least eight years old. They've been consistently stored in a dark, dry area at room temp.
I'm wondering if this material has a shelf life...Do they get "old"?
To my understanding you have done the right thing as far as storing. Some manufacturors with tell you that it will last a life time if stored properly. I would test it before using. Just my 2 cents
IMHO eight years is a long time. I would think mono would have some break down even if stored properly. You can test them as hb suggested, but I don't know if I would use them. Only you can decide that.
I have bulk spools of mono (Ande, Berkley Big Game, Strun original) and Maxima tippet spools more than 15 years old and some Orvis Super Strong tippet at least 12 years old (1999 use by date on spool) that are still good and have tested with a breaking strength greater than what is on the spool, which would be normal for a new spool. This stuff has always been kept inside in a dark space. I also have some spools of Climax and Scientific Anglers tippet material at least 10 years old that also test out well. Last October I used a spool of Orvis Super Strong 7x tippet that I bought in 1996 and it was just fine.
Its possible that other brands may not be as durable or that mono stored where it is exposed to heat may not hold up as well.
I use old mono for a lot of my day to day fishing and rarely have a problem. Still, if on a special trip I use new stuff.
Mono always seemed to last a lot longer before they added expiration dates...
...so did beer!
I'm with Tailingloop!
I think they will still be good.
You can test them by comparing the tippet diameter to your tippet spools to find the identical X size and then test the new tippet and the old leader tippet for strength. If the old leader tippet is much weaker, just cut the old tippet off and tie on the new. You can then still use the leaders.
The real question would be how strong is strong?
I'd not fish these without testing them. In any normal test, the thinnest portion should break first...if that breaks at a higher test than the tippet you are going to use, then age deterioration, even it it exists here, doesn't matter.
But, if the testing shows a failure above the tippet end, then I'd not use the leader at all, regardless of where it broke.
And with leaders this old, I'd not assume all were equal. Since you didn't tie them, you can't be sure they were tied at the same time or were from the same age materials. I'd test each one separately.
Or you could just give each one a good tug, call it okay, and fish with it...if it breaks, what have you really lost?
Buddy