Snowbee XS Floating Fly Line > Reviews > Snowbee XS Weight Forward 7 Floating Line

Author's product rating:   

Durability	Excellent
Ease of Use	Very Easy
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Slick, shoots VERY easily, presentation, durability
Disadvantages:	Discolours

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have fly fished for many years now (not going to say how many as it makes me feel old!) and I have used, abused and thrown away more floating lines than I can remember. Until now

I bought my first Snowbee line 5 years ago just as they started hitting the market. I had used many brands of lines up until then - Cortland, Lureflash, Airflo and was currently using a Shakespeare Worcestershire, and then I bought this 'new' line from a company who, at the time, mainly made waders

The lines were simply called Snowbee Prestige lines then. At the time, the Prestige line felt good. Easy to cast, shot through the rings well and was reasonably durable. It floated high on the water and served me well for 4 seasons before it was time to change. Of course, in this time the Prestige had become the XS and cost a little, but not a lot, more. Could it live up to the Prestige line I had grown fond of over the last 4 season?

I had no need to worry!!!!!!!

The XS is simply superb!!!! This is without a doubt the best floating line I have ever used. With this line I have added an extra 5-6 yards onto my cast with no extra effort.

The line is supple and has a very, very smooth finish to it. The head of the line is very thin which lends itself perfectly to a delicate presentation of the fly. In fact, I would put this line up against a double taper any day for presentation.

The belly of the line feels a little thicker than other lines, which seems strange at first but does not effect the presentation of the line at all. In fact it is this belly that enables the line to shoot effortlessly through the rod rings and gain those extra, sometimes critical, extra yards

The line is perfectly balanced. It has a 8.5ft head, 23ft belly, 11ft rear taper and a 47.5ft running line.

The line comes with 2 braided loops and a bottle of Line Slick included in the price. The line slick is a specially formulated line treatment which lubricates, cleans and extends the life of the fly line. After a few trips, clean the line with the Line Slick and the difference is noticeable immediatley

I cant really find any fault with this line but if I had to find one minor, and I do mean minor, fault then it would be the way the line discolours.

I use the Ivory White line (although it is also available in Hi Viz Orange) and with it having a soft, supple finish, the line turns from white to greyish white fairly quickly as it picks up the pigment from the mud and dirt. This doesnt effect the performance of the line at all and can be easily elimanted by using a line tray instead of dragging the line through the dirt.

Put simply, this line is the best floating line I have ever used, outperforming many more expensive lines. At around £37, including braided lops and line slick, the line is at an affordable price and is worth every penny. Look after it and it will serve you many seasons