I have SpiderWire on almost all of my baitcasting reels, with the exception of two, on which I have Fireline. I haven't seen any damage to my rods, but a backlash gets pretty ugly. I have cut my index finger more times than I care to tell about when setting the hook while worm fishing, and I learned to keep an old discarded hammer handle at hand should I get hung up on something and need to pull it free. I've found that once you get used to it, you'll be able to make farther casts with less effort, and unless you're fishing in rocks or rip-rap and the like, you'll find that it is surprisingly abrasion resistant.
As for knot strength, you'll need a palomar knot. The stuff is slippery. And it floats!
