Palomar vs Uni

Hi,

I've been using both, understanding that both have their place - Uni is little bit stronger (there are bunch of videos comparing them), and Palomar is somewhat easier to tie. Frankly, I liked Uni more, and it anyways it seemed to be a way to go to tie a larger piece - flasher, lure or weight.

Then I've kind of started suspect that what I tied with Uni breaks more frequently, and I did some testing. Then I got worried and did even more testing with all mono lines I have.

Results, while not scientific by any means, were consistent and surprising. Uni consistently underperforms Palomar, on all 6 different mono lines (20-40 lbs) I tried - almost always breaks first, usually - just above the knot.

Now, this could be b/c of my hands or ability to comprehend all those knot videos I watched, or lines, or stars - but I still thought I'd share these fascinating results.

Oh I always thought that Palomar is stronger...
Maybe Uni need more little more dressing to make perfect, but Palomar is simple enough that comes out as good as it gets every time?
Good to know though!

You should try the San Diego jam knot. As a user of uni knot all the time I must say it's stronger and pretty easy to tie.

You should try the San Diego jam knot. As a user of uni knot all the time I must say it's stronger and pretty easy to tie.

Looks good, thanks! I also found Miller knot I might try out.

Believe it or not, the Palomar knot can be tied incorrectly, resulting in losing a fish. I use the San Diego jam knot.

I use to tie the Palomar wrong years back and was losing fish on the hook set on sturgeon. Would put the loop over the tag end and it would cut itself on a hard hook set.  I corrected my mistake and no more popped knots on the hook set ! I only use the palomar on braid and never failed on a fish since. I use barbless circle hooks on Dino’s now and just let them hang themselves in heavy current.

Thanks for recommendations on San Diego jam - I've just done couple of tests, it seems to be stronger than Uni and only a bit more complicated to tie (I'm sure it will be easy after more practice).

Still, in my quick tests Palomar beats it. But San Diego jam was very close .

Now, time to re-tie couple of rigs

be sure to lubricate the knot well when you're tying it -- cinching down a uni knot generates heat and will weaken the knot a lot.

I'll look into the jam knot. I use the palomar for braid all the time and it hasn't failed yet.

Cheers,
Brad