As far as the braids go the Stren is stiffer than the Fireline. Therefore the Fireline casts farther and handles better. The Stren is visible under a blacklight though and usable at night. Both are visible under water in the very clear water of a highland reservoir... however, only the fireline crystal will disapear when visibiility is around 4 ft or so. The colored water seems to help it greatly. The Stren however shows a pale blue tint no mater what the color of the surrounding water much like flouresent lines of a traditional monofilament nature. Hope this helps, I have both right now and this is what I see......