Is this a reliable knot? Any better options?

I use the palomar knot 95% of the time with little or no trouble.

Here is a nice link to a variety of fishing knots. Best to memorize a few.

http://www.netknots.com/html/fishing_knots.html

Rapala knot is used for lures, it's a variation of a loop knot. All I use is a rapala knot minus a step or 2, holds excellent for both fresh and saltwater species. I never tie straight braid so I don't how it would hold without a leader. If I were to rename it I'd call it an improved loopknot.

I consistently use the rapala knot with fluro and mono and its been reliable. With braid it's not reliable but a palomar knot has been. I don't know and haven't tried many other knots to be able to tell you if its the best or not. As a weekend angler I haven't found a reason to stop using it yet.

Check out the Berkeley braid knot. Fairly simple and strongest I've seen