bcarson4374
10-04-2009, 09:32 PM
So I have been using these products for a while now. You always hear about how this one works or doesnt work. How this one has issues and this one doesnt. So I have put together a bit of a test/example of what they have to offer. The 4 UV cured products I use as well as most people use are here... Tuffleye, Rio Knot Sealer, Clear Cure Goo, and Loon UV Wader Repair. All the flies were tied the same. Hooks are 1/0 - Fishy Fiber Tails - No Thread Wraps - Bare Hook. I tied two flies for each product to be tested. 1 to be hammered against a brick wall. The other to check if the color would change over time. The most common complaints about some of these cures is that they are brittle and that they turn yellow over time.
The Flies Are Color Coded
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020198.jpg
Tuffleye - Blue
RIO Knot Sealer - Pink
Clear Cure Goo - Black
Loon UV Wader Repair - Green
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020200.jpg
First up is the Loon UV Wader Repair. This one product is supposedly pliable after curing, which is why it is good for waders. As I applied it to the hook the fist thing you will notice is that the Loon product is very "thin" It runs very quickly to the bottom of the hook even before I have a chance to rotate it. So if you are going to use this product for larger flies be sure to move quickly. You will have a hard time getting it to the drying wheel with out some of the product coming off. The 3 LED lamp that loon uses takes a long tim to cure all the way through. For this reason- I think the Loon product is perfect for smaller flies like the Copper John or using at a head cement alternative. You could use this for larger saltwater flies, but you really need to be quick on your feet.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020205.jpg
Next up is the Rio Knot Sealer. Similar viscosity you need to move quick again, it is a little thicker, but not much thicker than the Loon. A big Issue I had was trying to get the Knot Sealer to cure. I dont know if RIO sells a proprietary light to cure this or not, but what I can tell you is that the Tuffleye lamp, the Clear Cure Goo lamp and the Loon lamp really didnt cure this product at all.. So I took it outside to set it up.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020204.jpg
Again, do to the fact that these products are so "thin" the best application for both of them is with smaller flies, i.e. trout flies or as a head cement alternative. You could use it for saltwater flies, but you really need be fast on your feet. Both the Loon and the Rio products cure absolutely clear
Tuffleye is the next one up. This product I have had for about a year or a year and a half. I havent used it in a while and was surprised that it came out of the tube with a light yellow hue to it. The Core Syringe is the one I used for this fly.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020203.jpg
The viscosity was a little on the "thin" side of perfect for me. But it was very easy to handle and use. The light provided cured to to the core in about 20-30 seconds to cure the ENTIRE FLY. The light is very bright and comes with an amber plastic tab that is supposed to fit nicely on the lamp to protect your eyes. I have never really found that to really work on the lamp. The amber shield seems to have a mind of its own and often shifts. So I dont really use it much.
Great product for larger saltwater flies, and would work well for smaller trout flies too. I think that it is a bit too "thick" to be used as a head cement alternative.
Clear Cure Goo is new comer to the group. The kit costs about half of what the Tuffleye Kit costs. The down side is that its lamp uses 3 AAA batteries that need to be changed with every two hours of use. You will notice your curing times taking longer and longer. When that time becomes unacceptable its time to change the batteries. This fly was tied using the "THIN" syringe. It is a bit thicker than the Tuffleye Core syringe. They also offer a "THICK" version that was used on the spoon fly tutorial in the tying section. The thick version is good for building up bodies, and it really is thick.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020206.jpg
The Goo cures to the core in about 3-5 seconds and cures clear.
Clear Cure Goo would be a good product for your larger saltwater flies as well as some smaller trout fly applications. I wouldnt really recommend it for a head cement alternative as it would be very hard to get it smooth in such a small area.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020201.jpg
Here is the final 8 flies. As you can see they where not put on a drying wheel, or they might have (probably - if not definitely) one fly to be destroyed the other to see how it discolors while being exposed to the sun for a week or so... ( Day 1 was today. )
Right here on day one, hour one you can see the clarity in these products. Again I want to mention that all the products are new - less than 2 months old. EXCEPT for the Tuffleye which I have had for at least a year to a year and a half.
So to test or demonstrate how these products would fair banging flies up on a sea wall, jetty or oyster bed I will use... well, my house. (shut up, I know the brick is ugly)
The first cast with all the flies is a 10 foot "soft" cast. so with a nine foot leader and with 10 feet of line out we will just call it 20 feet of so.
The Second Cast.. will have 20 feet of line plus the 9 foot leader out.. and will have some substantial line speed on it.
First up - Loon UV Wader Repair.
As to be expected, because of its advertised pliability it held up very well if the first cast.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020214.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST RESULT
next cast 30 feet with speed.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020215.jpg
Again perfect.. no dents, cracks or chips. Continue to preform perfect for 4 more casts. Never cracked
Second product tested Rio Knot Sealer
Similar results for the Rio product.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020216.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST REULTS
next cast 30 feet with speed.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020217.jpg
Again perfect.. no dents, cracks or chips. Continue to preform perfect for 4 more casts. Never cracked
Third product tested Tuffleye
Uuuut Ohhhh... Here is the major issue people have had with Tuffleye.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020210.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST RESULTS.
Shattered the top half of the fly off.
next cast 30 feet
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020211.jpg
The second cast for this fly with more line speed on it. Completely shattered the remaining Tuffleye off.
Fourth product tested Clear Cure Goo.
banged the fly up on the wall, first cast.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020212.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST RESULTS.
no chips, no cracks - very similar to the Loon and Rio products.
Next cast 30 feet.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020213.jpg
Again perfect.. no dents, cracks or chips. Continue to preform perfect for 4 more casts. Never cracked
Here is the final results...
The Rio, Loon and Clear Cure Goo where cast 5 times each against the brick wall from lengths of 20 - 30 feet and preformed very well.
The Tuffleye didnt fair as well cracking on the first cast from 20 feet and 30 feet.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020218.jpg
These flies are and will be sitting on my deck in the sun for at least the next week or longer to see if the color on any of these products yellow, or continue to yellow. And I will add to this thread with the results.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020207.jpg
Note the only product that is older than 3 months is the Tuffleye it is over a year old.
For more information you can check out the makers websites
Loon - They offer the largest selection of UV cure items on the market. From wader repair to boat repair.
http://www.loonoutdoors.com/uvcure.html
Rio Products. Offer just this UV cure and no lamp
http://www.rioproducts.com/product.php?recKey=85
Tuffleye - Offers different sizes of syringes from 10CC to 30CC. AND NEW THIS YEAR TUFFLEYE FLEX. Which should cover the cracking, shatter issue. Havent used or seen it in stores yet.
http://www.shop.wetahook.net/
Clear Cure Goo - Offers two versions of the product. Thick and Thin.
http://clearcuregoo.com/
Hope this sheds some light on the different products out there and that some of you found this informative. There is a fine line between informative and geek and Im not sure where this one lands.
More test coming aside from the week long or so sun exposure test to see if they discolor.. I will be checking if saltwater yellows the products, and if heat will melt them. Someone mentioned to me that the left their fly box in the car on a hot day and all their Loon head flies melted down.
The Flies Are Color Coded
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020198.jpg
Tuffleye - Blue
RIO Knot Sealer - Pink
Clear Cure Goo - Black
Loon UV Wader Repair - Green
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020200.jpg
First up is the Loon UV Wader Repair. This one product is supposedly pliable after curing, which is why it is good for waders. As I applied it to the hook the fist thing you will notice is that the Loon product is very "thin" It runs very quickly to the bottom of the hook even before I have a chance to rotate it. So if you are going to use this product for larger flies be sure to move quickly. You will have a hard time getting it to the drying wheel with out some of the product coming off. The 3 LED lamp that loon uses takes a long tim to cure all the way through. For this reason- I think the Loon product is perfect for smaller flies like the Copper John or using at a head cement alternative. You could use this for larger saltwater flies, but you really need to be quick on your feet.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020205.jpg
Next up is the Rio Knot Sealer. Similar viscosity you need to move quick again, it is a little thicker, but not much thicker than the Loon. A big Issue I had was trying to get the Knot Sealer to cure. I dont know if RIO sells a proprietary light to cure this or not, but what I can tell you is that the Tuffleye lamp, the Clear Cure Goo lamp and the Loon lamp really didnt cure this product at all.. So I took it outside to set it up.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020204.jpg
Again, do to the fact that these products are so "thin" the best application for both of them is with smaller flies, i.e. trout flies or as a head cement alternative. You could use it for saltwater flies, but you really need be fast on your feet. Both the Loon and the Rio products cure absolutely clear
Tuffleye is the next one up. This product I have had for about a year or a year and a half. I havent used it in a while and was surprised that it came out of the tube with a light yellow hue to it. The Core Syringe is the one I used for this fly.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020203.jpg
The viscosity was a little on the "thin" side of perfect for me. But it was very easy to handle and use. The light provided cured to to the core in about 20-30 seconds to cure the ENTIRE FLY. The light is very bright and comes with an amber plastic tab that is supposed to fit nicely on the lamp to protect your eyes. I have never really found that to really work on the lamp. The amber shield seems to have a mind of its own and often shifts. So I dont really use it much.
Great product for larger saltwater flies, and would work well for smaller trout flies too. I think that it is a bit too "thick" to be used as a head cement alternative.
Clear Cure Goo is new comer to the group. The kit costs about half of what the Tuffleye Kit costs. The down side is that its lamp uses 3 AAA batteries that need to be changed with every two hours of use. You will notice your curing times taking longer and longer. When that time becomes unacceptable its time to change the batteries. This fly was tied using the "THIN" syringe. It is a bit thicker than the Tuffleye Core syringe. They also offer a "THICK" version that was used on the spoon fly tutorial in the tying section. The thick version is good for building up bodies, and it really is thick.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020206.jpg
The Goo cures to the core in about 3-5 seconds and cures clear.
Clear Cure Goo would be a good product for your larger saltwater flies as well as some smaller trout fly applications. I wouldnt really recommend it for a head cement alternative as it would be very hard to get it smooth in such a small area.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020201.jpg
Here is the final 8 flies. As you can see they where not put on a drying wheel, or they might have (probably - if not definitely) one fly to be destroyed the other to see how it discolors while being exposed to the sun for a week or so... ( Day 1 was today. )
Right here on day one, hour one you can see the clarity in these products. Again I want to mention that all the products are new - less than 2 months old. EXCEPT for the Tuffleye which I have had for at least a year to a year and a half.
So to test or demonstrate how these products would fair banging flies up on a sea wall, jetty or oyster bed I will use... well, my house. (shut up, I know the brick is ugly)
The first cast with all the flies is a 10 foot "soft" cast. so with a nine foot leader and with 10 feet of line out we will just call it 20 feet of so.
The Second Cast.. will have 20 feet of line plus the 9 foot leader out.. and will have some substantial line speed on it.
First up - Loon UV Wader Repair.
As to be expected, because of its advertised pliability it held up very well if the first cast.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020214.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST RESULT
next cast 30 feet with speed.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020215.jpg
Again perfect.. no dents, cracks or chips. Continue to preform perfect for 4 more casts. Never cracked
Second product tested Rio Knot Sealer
Similar results for the Rio product.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020216.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST REULTS
next cast 30 feet with speed.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020217.jpg
Again perfect.. no dents, cracks or chips. Continue to preform perfect for 4 more casts. Never cracked
Third product tested Tuffleye
Uuuut Ohhhh... Here is the major issue people have had with Tuffleye.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020210.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST RESULTS.
Shattered the top half of the fly off.
next cast 30 feet
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020211.jpg
The second cast for this fly with more line speed on it. Completely shattered the remaining Tuffleye off.
Fourth product tested Clear Cure Goo.
banged the fly up on the wall, first cast.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020212.jpg
FIRST 20 FOOT CAST RESULTS.
no chips, no cracks - very similar to the Loon and Rio products.
Next cast 30 feet.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020213.jpg
Again perfect.. no dents, cracks or chips. Continue to preform perfect for 4 more casts. Never cracked
Here is the final results...
The Rio, Loon and Clear Cure Goo where cast 5 times each against the brick wall from lengths of 20 - 30 feet and preformed very well.
The Tuffleye didnt fair as well cracking on the first cast from 20 feet and 30 feet.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020218.jpg
These flies are and will be sitting on my deck in the sun for at least the next week or longer to see if the color on any of these products yellow, or continue to yellow. And I will add to this thread with the results.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r140/bcarson4374/P1020207.jpg
Note the only product that is older than 3 months is the Tuffleye it is over a year old.
For more information you can check out the makers websites
Loon - They offer the largest selection of UV cure items on the market. From wader repair to boat repair.
http://www.loonoutdoors.com/uvcure.html
Rio Products. Offer just this UV cure and no lamp
http://www.rioproducts.com/product.php?recKey=85
Tuffleye - Offers different sizes of syringes from 10CC to 30CC. AND NEW THIS YEAR TUFFLEYE FLEX. Which should cover the cracking, shatter issue. Havent used or seen it in stores yet.
http://www.shop.wetahook.net/
Clear Cure Goo - Offers two versions of the product. Thick and Thin.
http://clearcuregoo.com/
Hope this sheds some light on the different products out there and that some of you found this informative. There is a fine line between informative and geek and Im not sure where this one lands.
More test coming aside from the week long or so sun exposure test to see if they discolor.. I will be checking if saltwater yellows the products, and if heat will melt them. Someone mentioned to me that the left their fly box in the car on a hot day and all their Loon head flies melted down.