Recently, there have been a couple of topics on this forum concerning certain (blue) metallic thread fading over (a relatively short period of) time. Although I have a stock of different colored metallic thread, I rarely use them in favor of less flashy wraps / accents, but that is just my preference; there is a place and time for them.
I started a topic concerning rod wrapping thread a few months ago but it was directed more to the “fuzzies”, minor as they may be, produced while wrapping. But since there appears to be some concern, possibly consternation, with different aspects / properties (and brands) of wrapping thread, I am posting this in hopes of discovering, and hopefully sharing with all, the “Ultimate Brand of Wrapping Thread”.
It is obvious that we all have found the thread which works the best for our own requirements and consequently may be a bit biased in our opinion. Some of you may have tried / tested / evaluated every brand available while others (like me) simply started with one brand and have stuck with it. Nonetheless, the more builders responding with their own observations, experiences and preferences will provide a better, more complete base from which all of us can learn.
To avoid making the questionnaire too complex with different, designated parameters, how about simply listing the thread you like BEST and also the one you like LEAST (if applicable); a brief explanation would be a benefit. That way, any “superior” product would be easily recognized as a “stand-out” as would be the inverse.
To start the process, I started with ProWrap simply because that is what my tackle store supplied, had nothing to compare it to, it worked, and I have accumulated an inventory of over 70 spools of A and D; while complacent with the quality, I remain open-minded.
Without “spoiling the pot” by naming names, I have recently heard high praise of a couple other brands. What's yours?

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I prefer Hitena. I like they offer a lot of thread in size b. While it is a little thicker than a on the rod it is not noticeable. For me all the characteristics are extremely close to that of gudebrod size a other than being slightly thicker. To me it feels like I am working with gudebrod. Now I am not one of these guys that worships gudebrode and thinks the world nearly ended when it was discontinued. I took a rather long break from wrapping. Only thread I had ever used was gudebrod and a little bit of Clemens. So I just went with familiarity which hitena provides. Honestly I can say I have not found anything I don't like about hitena.

I have also recently used pacbay and fuji threads. Like them both wish fuji offered more colors. Pacbay only real complaint I have is no one seems to have a good color chart. Can't think of any color I have tried that is not noticeably different than the color chart.

No for my don't like. Prowrap. I will say that my dislikes are probably partially user error. With my normal techniques I had a lot of thread twists and breakages with prowrap. In time if I learned how to work with the thread might not of been an issue. Other issue I had was very inconsistent finishing. Have a coupe rods wrapped in lighter colors that ended up very blotchy even with cp. Again user error maybe. Using same cp with other brands on various colors including light colors have come out perfect. Never took the time to try and figure out the problems. Other options worked so I moved on from the prowrap.

No question about it; YLI 100 weight is the best of the best. Everything else is exactly that - everything else.

Michael,
Thank you for the reply. It is safe to say that most of the veteran wrappers praise the old Gudebrod thread even though the world almost stopped when its production stopped. The only negative I have heard is that it was notorious for knots in the middle of the spool.
A good selection of colors (and that match the color chart) is a definite plus.
As you, I have had some thread-twist issues with ProWrap but no breakage or “blotchy” issues and I do not care for CP so rarely use it.
Donald,
Thank you for your reply as well. I have not heard of YL1 100; please provide more info = I am very curious.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark: YLI (upper case letter I - not the numeral 1) is a Japanese silk made in Japan and formerly in the U.,S. (I've not heard that the SC plant has re-opened.) 100 weight means it is about 1/2 the density (mass) of 50 weight which is nearly the same diameter as size A nylon. Said another way 100 weight silk is sort of skinny. Silk is strong so despite the small diameter compared to size A nylon you get more turns of silk per unit of wrapping distance thus there is not a lot of strength give up.

YLI 100 weight is great for making translucent wraps, the color #212 is the go to thread for making clear / ghost wraps, has very limited to no fuzzies, has very limited to no splices, well accepts Al's Color Rite, and wraps very well once you get the thread tension (not too tight) and packing routine in gear.

Kimono silk is also great thread but is not generally available in as many colors.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2021 08:10PM by Donald La Mar.

“Ultimate Brand of Wrapping Thread”.

Depends on the individual's personal priorities, is subject to the vagaries of their own process differences relative to other wrappers, even though they all think they are doing it the same way. Blotching can be due to a thread problem, a CP problem, or a wrapping/packing problem. Maybe more. Of course knots in the middle of a spool is pretty clear, but that's about the only "deficiency" that I can think of that is without influence of opinion and process differences.

A noble goal. But futile.

Here comes my opinion, no more worthy of belief or respect than any other: Anyone having trouble with ProWrap, Fuji, or Hitena is having trouble because of their process, not due to the quality or characteristics of the thread. I have little to no experience with other brands.

I have to agree with Michael Danek, I have not had problems with any of the various brands of thread I have tried. They include Gudebrod, Prowrap, Fuji, Makoi, PacBay, Hitena, and Fish Hawk. I think they are all good. I probably use more Hitena and Prowrap just because they make a size B thread. Have not tried the silk threads, but I would guess they are also quite good.

Norm

I've only used three different manufacturers thread over the 5 or so years that I have been building rods. For one of my builds I used the Fuji Ultra Poly, and really liked it. I wrap with pretty high thread tension, and it just seemed to pack a little easier than others I have used. Less fuzzies. I've used FishHawk on a couple of my rods. It wraps nicely as well, but it's pretty much the same as Pro Wrap. I get fuzzies with it. I know the fuzzies I get are the result of my high thread tension, Some times my burnishing tool will slip when packing wraps.

All the other rods I've built, I've used Pro Wrap. I've had some issues with thread that looks like it's unraveled coming off the spool, and I have one rod, one of my first builds, where the wraps are starting to look streaky. I don't use CP, so it's not a CP issue.It was a lighter shade of grey that turned to a beautiful charcoal color on the blank. Over the last year and a half, the streaks have shown up even more. It could be like Michael said, and it's something I did that made it eventually start streaking. All of the wraps on my other rods, except for two, I have used plain old black thread as the main wraps. The other two rods were shades of brown. One of them being Pro Wrap, the other being the Fuji Ultra Poly that I mentioned earlier.

I know metallics probably aren't consider in this topic, but the nicest metallic thread I have used is the Alps metallic thread. And it isn't even close, The Alps is great stuff. I just wish they offered a greater selection of colors.

David the light grey was the same color that gave me issues even with CP. Other was mid shade of tan.

There are obviously, and rightfully so, preferences and bais to certain brands of thread as I stated in the original post. However, if this post can generate enough supportive replies containing which brand each builder likes / dislikes accompanied with a brief description as to why, it could very well afford a “base of information” for many newbies and veterans alike to view in hopes of discovering their own “Ultimate Wrapping Thread”.
While I personally have limited experience of different thread brands, I would think that they are all pretty dang good and perform their task admirably, only slight variations on the same theme. Although the difference between brands may be splitting-hairs, I have not found more profound hair-splitting than within the rod building craft; more than any other endeavor I have pursued. Don’t get me wrong; it is one of the things that attracts me to rod building and is meant as a compliment rather than criticism. Furthermore, most potential custom rod buyers are probably more in-tune with what constitutes a good-looking wrap rather than if the rod is 1/10g less than another.
So please help me at least attempt to provide a base from which others can view and decide which might just be their Ultimate Wrapping Thread.
KEEP THOSE REPLIES COMING!!!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Michael, the Pro Wrap 831 Silver Smoke, is the color I am having the trouble with. As far as the trouble with the mid shade tan you mentioned, that kind of makes me worry about my most recent build. I used Pro Wrap 755 Chestnut on it. I will be seriously bummed if it ends up streaking eventually, because it turned out to be a gorgeous deep brown color with a goldish sheen to it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. I'm going to be looking more into the Hitena thread that Lynn mentioned in my thread about blue metallic threads fading. It looks like Hitena offers a lot of thread types that have UV fade guarantees.

Yep that was the grey shade. The tan was the 722 almond. Hopefully the chestnut holds up for you. In my case the blotcheness showed up immediately after the epoxy coat.

David & Michael,
Are you guys using regular nylon thread with or without CP? I have not experienced any “blotchy” effects after applying thread finish. Basically, I only use colorfast, NCP thread because I do not care for CP, just my personal preference.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Was standard thread with CP. Specifically it was Chromaseal CP. In the past I had always used Flexcoat CP. At the time Chromaseal was all I could get. Was that a factor, don't know. But numerous rods later with other brand of thread and my usual CP I have not had one issue.

I always use CP with colors that I want to be true because the final wrap has more sheen and depth than No CP thread. I also now and then use regular nylon with no CP to get special colors or effects. As in not using CP with regular nylon Gudbrod garnet which yields a nice "riipe sweet cherry" color.

The regular Gudebrod garnet with a thin silver metallic trim is one of my favorite colors. I rarely use CP or NoCP thread, I like the looks of the regular thread when finished with epoxy, it darkens and goes translucent. I will use metallic or some NoCP threads only for trim wraps, they give a nice contrast with the the regular thread.
Norm

While the use, or not, of CP will remain a debated topic, it really shouldn’t be = it is simply personal preference to obtain a certain effect. I rarely use it because I have more confidence filling my tunnels with epoxy rather than CP and it adds another step to the build process, but that’s just me. As Norman stated, regular thread without CP can produce a very nice translucent wrap, especially when contrasted with NCP accents.
But back to the main topic, I wish more would reply to which thread they like best and least to create a base for all to view. But as Mr. Danek mentioned, maybe it is futile; that would be a shame.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Mark, I would not worry about what’s the best thread out there. In my opinion they are all good. Some variations in color and thread thickness between the different brands. So pick the colors you like from the various brands. For example, one brand may have a blue you like the best, other may have a garnet or red you like best, etc. I’m sorry but for me it is just personal preference.
Norm

"The regular Gudebrod garnet with a thin silver metallic trim is one of my favorite colors." Me too, Norman. I've done a number of special rods with this theme, always a handsome rod. One of my favoites is a Quickline gloss black fly rod.

Hard to find an exact match for the Gudebrod garnet, some are very close but not quite the same. Luckily I still have a few more one ounce spools left, should last me awhile, I hope.
Norm