Do Leader and Tippet Brands “Matter?”

For the past few years I’ve fished Scientific Anglers leaders and their Absolute Trout tippet. I’ve used them on fish everywhere from Wyoming to Alaska, and I haven’t had any bad experiences with the leader or tippet breaking when it shouldn’t.

My best fishing buddy, Alex Stulce, has been using the tippet and leaders we sell at Ventures Fly Co. They’re significantly cheaper than anything you can buy from Scientific Anglers, and most other brands, as well. Alex hasn’t had any issues with his leader or tippet breaking when it shouldn’t, either.

So, that got me thinking: does the brand of tippet and leader we use actually matter? We love to develop brand loyalty in the fishing world, but it can easily be misplaced. When it comes to terminal tackle like leader, though, we want something we can trust, because there are few things as frustrating as losing a big fish because your leader snaps.

Before I made the switch to Scientific Anglers, I used Stroft and RIO. I only switched to SA because it’s what I decided to carry when running a guiding outfit a few years ago, and I’ve just fished it ever since. And in thinking back on it now, I can’t recall any instance when I used any tippet or leader from those companies and thought “I wish I had a different brand right now.”

I also remember a chat I had with a fly shop owner, years ago, who told me that all the tippet in the world comes from the same two factories. According to him, there wasn’t any difference between the brands except price and packaging. I don’t know if that’s true, but it sounds like it could be.

Anyways, I know this is all anecdotal, but I’d be curious to hear if anyone else feels this way. Does the brand of your leader and tippet matter, or will you use anything?