Rio says this has been designed for windy conditions. Considering where (Scotland) and when (January) I tested it, that seems appropriate.

Out of the box, the Windcutter is a twin coloured line: sage (pale olive) head; bright yellow running line. Load it on a reel in the usual way, attach a leader to the pre-formed loop on the tip and away we go.

Rio describes the Windcutter head as having a tip one weight lighter and a body one weight heavier than the nominal line size. Read the specification more closely and that seems a little misleading, the front taper is stepped and the light bit is really only the first 16ft or so. Before anyone starts claiming Rio are playing fast and loose with AFTMA standards, fly lines are only measured (weighed) at 30ft, beyond that makers can do more or less what they want. The Windcutter is made to standard.

And so to casting. I really can’t say I felt this line was unusually light when short casting maybe loops were fractionally tighter than normal – extremely hard to be certain. I was surprised that the factory made loop on the tip turned over so well. I prefer to nail knot leader to line, but decided to stick with Rio’s loop for the duration.

So, get the whole head aerialised – the head is 42ft, which is not much longer than average. I guess the WIndcutter felt slightly heavier than my usual lines, maybe my rod felt fractionally more heavily loaded. And let fly!

The WIndcutter impressed me every time I tried it with its long shoot and very clean turnover. The head length seems OK – when I restrict myself to the head alone – and the running line is thick enough to allow quite a bit of overhang.

As with all the Rio lines, I’ve used there is a degree of stiffness in the PVC coating. When I first strip line from the reel it has slight coil memory, soon sorted by casting or with a stretch. However, that same stiffness helps when I want to carry a long line. The coating is smooth, not as slick as some lines but it certainly seems to fly through the rings – again, slight stiffness helps when shooting line.

So, the Windcutter? In my opinion this is an excellent general-purpose line. Depending on your thinking Rio have used clever tapers to add weight or to push weight to the rear of the head, either way that helps (in windy conditions too) and makes for a very nice roll-casting line.

• Price £44.95
• From Rio stockists