Hook strength question...What is X?

[Mr. Sandman]

You see 2X, 3X, 4X, 6X ect but what exactly is X? How is this actaully determined and is the the same between different manufactures?

Is a 4X VMC the same as a 4X Owner?

[Mike P]

This is just a guess--but I'd be willing to bet that 4x VMC vs 4x Owner has as much meaning as 20# Ande Premium vs 20# Trilene XT. Or when something like Fireline 30# is labeled as "12# mono equivalent diameter"

[fishweewee]

Oh, I thought that referred to the price premium you pay over just 1x. Marketing.

[Steve K]

I read that 4x means 4 times as strong as their 1x hook but it does not mean that a 4x Mustad is the same strength as a 4x VMC. It is a comparison between hooks of the same brand. It is the same thing with car tires where they are graded upon their abilities against other tires in their brand rather than the entire industry.

[Flaptail]

Dead on Steve K. !

[Mr. Sandman]

So that rating really means nothing to the consumer. One could have a weaker 1X hook and then create a 50X hook which could be much weaker then another company's 4X hook.

We need an independant evaluation that is like "consumer reports" for fishing gear...

I wonder if anyone would pay for this info? Hmmmmmm.

[fishweewee]

i'm no metallurgist, but "_x" is kinda meaningless to me.

i mean, how do you measure strength, above and beyond the energy it takes in foot-lbs to bend, then break a hook at its weakest point?

another thing that's equally important to consider is the brittleness. ever have a favorite expensive store-bought jig break at the shank because of repeated bending of the wire (ex. SPRO's)?

corrosion resistance is also pretty important to consider.