Polyproplyene yarn is there another name for this

[petelangevin 0]

I wonder if the center of those shoe laces is the same as 550 paracord. I have a bunch of cut offs from that stuff

[flytire 0]

The center of the shoe lace is where John Betts got zlon back in the 80s. So the story goes.

[Crackaig 0]

Its not the same stuff. Not sure what it is but nothing like the strands in para cord.

Cheers,

C.

[hairwing 0]

Polypropylene was introduced as a fly tying material back in the seventies for spinner wings and no'hackle dubbed bodies because it has a Specific Gravity less than water. Fly-Rite was the major supplier. Treated with a paste float-ant the no-hackles tied with pp would catch fish after fish even when they were covered with fish slime as opposed to flies tied with natural furs which quickly became sodden and had to be hung out to dry. Swisher and Richards had a lot to do with making PP a great fly tying material.

Nylon became popular when Gary LaFontaine introduced the Emergent Sparkle Pupa. The quality most desired from the tri-lobal nylon was the sparkle it lent to the body which in the minds of anglers imitated the trapped gas of the emergent pupa as it rose to hatch. The nylon was heavier than water and made it the right stuff for nymph and wet fly applications.

All of these synthetic materials will "crossover" and can be used for all different categories of flies but I like to use the properties to full advantage and tie my dry flies with PP and wets, nymphs and streamers with nylon. When I hit the craft stores I don't consider any of the sales help to know about fly tying, so I read labels. The label will tell you what it is that you have and it's up to you to judge what usefulness the material has for your fly tying.

Unknown synthetics I test in a bowl of water and look for the qualities I want in a fly material....simple as that for me. Parachutes (as in WWII jumping out of an aircraft not the fly pattern) and nylon go together. Snip some and toss in a bowl of water and the stuff will show it's sinking properties.

My advise to you is that if you find a synthetic material that works wonders for you get a life time supply and then some. The fabric, yarn, fiber industry is fickle and constantly is changing. Natural furs and feathers regenerate like rabbit is rabbit and will still be rabbit when you and I are gone, stuff like z-lon and Sawyers 477 are of passed legend and way overpriced on the rare fly tying commodities market because they are no longer being made.

Here's a rope I pulled apart I got from Harbor Freight....lots goin' on with this material. The golden glow next to the brilliant blue stuff is a scary imo of golden pheasant crest.