What are Copolymers and Cofilaments?
Prior to the mid 1970s, nylon tippet material was made from nylon 66, one of the original nylons developed by DuPont. It was sometimes blended with other kinds of nylon, where the raw nylons were melted together before they were extruded. In the 70s, monofilament manufacturers began offering two types of products. The first was a cofilament, where one type of nylon is sheathed with another type. The better product is a copolymer, where the nylons were chemically bonded to form larger polymers. All top quality nylon tippet materials, including Orvis Super Strong, are now copolymers. We know that most of these copolymers are a mixture of nylon 6 and 66 combined with some other kinds of nylons and resin systems. The exact formulas are kept secret by the nylon manufacturers, and even if you have an exclusive with a particular formula of tippet material, you have no idea exactly what is in it. When we test tippet materials, we will be given a range of formulas to test with arcane designatio
