Loon vs Solarez UV Resin: Which Fly Tying Resin to Buy for Winter Tying (2026)

Every winter the same argument fires up at the tying bench: Loon vs Solarez UV resin. One camp swears Loon's UV Clear Fly Finish is the cleanest, lowest-odor resin you can buy. The other says it stays greasy until you wipe it, while Solarez cures bone hard and smells like a surfboard shop. Both camps are a little bit right, so this comparison is organized by what you tie (midge bodies, perdigons, shellbacks, epoxy minnows, bugger heads), not by brand loyalty.

Cards on the table: if you're buying one thing for a tier this December, buy the Solarez three-pack. If you tie a lot of streamers, Loon Thick is the one Loon bottle I'd put ahead of its Solarez equivalent. Everything below comes from the manufacturers' spec pages, the Fly Fish Food shootout (the only scored side-by-side I could find), and a decade of forum complaints, not from me claiming to have cured 500 flies under a stopwatch.

Why does UV resin stay tacky, and does the alcohol wipe fix it?

Tack is a chemistry problem, not a light problem. UV resins cure by free-radical reaction, oxygen at the surface competes with that reaction, and the outermost film can stay gummy no matter how long you blast it. Cheech at Fly Fish Food put it bluntly in his UV resin shootout: more exposure doesn't remove tack, and the fix is a wipe with rubbing alcohol (he prefers hand sanitizer) or a skim of clear nail polish. Keep a shot glass of 91 percent isopropyl and a Q-tip next to the vise and the problem is a two-second annoyance rather than a reason to switch brands.

Where the brands differ is how much tack you start with. In that shootout Loon scored poorly on tack except for Flow, while the resins that cured tack-free tended to be harder and, in some cases, brittle. Solarez wasn't singled out either way on tack, but the company leans into the tack-free claim itself: the Thin Hard listing says "guaranteed tack free when cured with Solarez UV light," and the whole Bone Dry line exists so you never pick up the alcohol at all.

So the wipe isn't a myth, and it isn't a defect either. It's the price of Loon's softer, lower-odor chemistry.

Solarez Fly-Tie 3-Pack: Best Overall and Best Gift

Three 5-gram tubes, one each of Thin Hard, Thick Hard and Flex, for about the price of a single half-ounce Loon bottle. That's 15 grams total, a hair over half an ounce, so the per-ounce math lands near $32 against Loon's $39.90. The viscosities map cleanly onto jobs: Thin Hard for a shellac-like coat over perdigons and shellbacks, Thick Hard for domed heads and eyes, Flex for anything that bends (Solarez pitches it for swimmers and for coating knots).

The tubes are the weak point. Cheech disliked the metal squeeze format and recommended the 2 oz bottle once you know which formula you reach for. Agreed, and that's exactly why the three-pack is the right gift: it answers "which viscosity do I actually use?" for seventeen bucks.

Who it's for

New tiers, anyone who ties across categories, and anyone shopping for a tier who already owns a vise. If you're still picking the vise, we've compared the Griffin Odyssey Spider and Peak Rotary elsewhere, and our beginner fly tying kit guide sorts out which kits hold a size 18.

Pros & Cons

• All three viscosities for roughly $17
• Marketed as tack-free with a Solarez light, low odor, non-yellowing
• Tubes are fiddly next to a needle-tip bottle
• 5 grams per formula runs out fast if you tie streamers in volume

Price: about $17.24. Check price on Amazon.

Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Thick: Best for Bugger Heads and Epoxy Minnows

This is the Loon bottle that earns its keep. Loon describes Thick as honey-consistency resin for larger heads, bodies and wing cases, and it's what I'd reach for anywhere you're sculpting a shape: Clouser and epoxy-minnow heads, sealing eyes on articulated streamers, a glossy collar on a conehead bugger. It stays where you put it, which is the whole job when you're rotating a hook under a torch trying to keep a dome centered.

Two things tip it over Solarez Thick Hard. Durability first: Cheech noted that the resins that cured fully tack-free were also the ones prone to shattering, while Loon scored well on everything except tack, and a streamer head that bounces off rocks all day benefits from a resin that gives a little. Then odor. Loon resins have almost no smell, and if you tie in a spare bedroom in January with the windows shut, that matters more than it sounds.

The trade-off is tack. Frankenfly's review called the Thick version hard to get tack-free and suggested a thin top coat as the final layer. Wipe it and it's a non-issue. Loon's product page says it cures in sunlight or under its own lights, and retailers quote about 15 seconds in direct sun.

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Who it's for

Streamer and saltwater tiers, and anyone building eyes or heads where shape matters more than a glass-smooth surface.

Pros & Cons

• Sculptable, stays put while you rotate the fly
• Durable, flexes rather than chips under impact
• Nearly odorless
• Needs the alcohol wipe for a tack-free finish
• Half ounce for $19.95 is the priciest per-ounce option here

Price: about $19.95. Check price on Amazon.

Solarez Thin Hard 2 oz: Best for Perdigons and Shellbacks

A perdigon is a coating, not a fly. The body is thread and a little tinsel; the resin is what makes it sink like a stone. That means you burn through thin resin faster than anything else at the bench, and the 2 oz Solarez Thin Hard brings the cost to about $22.65 an ounce, well under half of what a half-ounce Loon bottle costs per ounce. Solarez describes it as a shellac-like clear coat that cures hard and scratch-resistant (the full Solarez fly-tie lineup runs from this Thin Hard up through Medium, Thick Hard, Flex and the Bone Dry family), which is exactly what a perdigon or a Copper John shellback needs.

About that shellback. The Loon complaint that worries me more than tack is lift: a Paflyfish thread describes Loon Thin curing cloudy and peeling off a stripped peacock quill after a day of fishing, and the same thread notes UV resin adheres poorly to slick materials like Swiss straw and scud back regardless of brand. I don't think it's purely a Loon problem, but the harder Solarez cure seems to bite into thread and tinsel better, and it's the formula I'd trust over a flashback wing case. Either way, two thin coats beat one glob. Several Solarez retailers suggest a one-second flash, a 15-second wait, then a full cure, to cut heat and shrinkage.

If 2 oz feels like a commitment, the half-ounce Thin Hard bottle runs about $26.94, the worst per-ounce price of any single bottle here. Buy the big one.

Who it's for

Euro nymphers tying perdigons by the dozen, Copper John and Prince devotees who want a wing case that survives teeth, and anyone who hates re-coating flies.

Pros & Cons

• Best per-ounce price of anything here
• Hard, scratch-resistant cure, marketed as tack-free with a Solarez light
• Low odor and non-yellowing per the manufacturer
• A 2 oz bottle pours fast; you'll want a fine applicator tip
• Harder cure can chip on a head that takes rock hits

Price: about $45.30. Check price on Amazon.

Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Flow: Best Midge Body Coat and Head Cement Replacement

Flow is the thinnest resin Loon makes, pitched as a head cement replacement that also coats midge bodies. On a size 20 Zebra Midge you want a coat that wicks into the thread and disappears, not a glob that doubles the body diameter. It's also the one Loon formula the shootout rated well on tack, so it's the easiest Loon bottle to use without the wipe.

Opinion time: the best use for Flow isn't midges, it's whip finishes on every fly you tie. One drop, one flash of the torch, done. No waiting on head cement, no cement skinning over in the bottle.

One Washington Fly Fishing forum tier found Flow greasy after curing under a lamp until it sat in real sun. That reads like a weak light to me, not bad resin.

Who it's for

Midge and small-nymph tiers, and anyone who wants to retire head cement for good.

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Pros & Cons

• Thinnest formula here, wicks into thread without adding bulk
• The Loon viscosity that cures closest to tack-free
• UV-blocking taper-tip needles that don't clog
• Half ounce for $19.95
• Reports of weak cures under cheap lights

Price: about $19.95. Check price on Amazon.

Solarez Bone Dry: Best If You Hate the Alcohol Wipe

Bone Dry is Solarez's ultra-thin formula, and the pitch is in the name: cures completely dry, no residue, no alcohol, per the listing. It's the direct competitor to Loon Flow at the same $19.95 for a half ounce, with a glossy hard finish and a non-yellowing claim. At 491 reviews averaging 4.7 stars it's the best-reviewed single bottle in this comparison.

Where I'd pick Flow over Bone Dry: a fly that's going to get chewed, because the harder thin coat can crack on a bugger collar. Where I'd pick Bone Dry: anywhere you cure 40 flies in a sitting and don't want to wipe 40 flies afterward. Perdigon tiers who find regular Thin Hard a touch thick often land here too.

Who it's for

Production tiers and anyone already burned out on tacky Loon heads.

Pros & Cons

• Marketed as fully tack-free with no wipe
• Ultra-low viscosity for midges and thread coats
• 4.7 stars across nearly 500 reviews
• Harder thin coats can crack where a fly flexes
• Same half-ounce-for-$20 pricing as Loon

Price: about $19.95. Check price on Amazon.

Do you need the brand light, or will a cheap 365nm torch work?

A cheap 365nm torch works, and it's the better buy. Every resin here cures under UV-A (roughly 315 to 400 nanometers, the longest-wavelength band of ultraviolet), and the shootout found that essentially any purple-emitting light cured every resin tested, with more wattage just curing faster. The Loon Mega light and a generic Ultrafire 501-B both cured everything in 5 to 7 seconds; the knock-off key-fob lights were the ones that struggled. A French retailer's note that Solarez cures best at 365nm but also works at 395nm matches what tiers report, so 365 is the safer buy.

Two caveats. Solarez's "guaranteed tack free" wording is tied to its own light, so if the no-wipe promise is why you're buying, the Solarez Roadie kit bundles all three formulas with a UV flashlight for around $42. And Flex needs far more light than the hard formulas: retailers suggest five-second pulses with rests, then two minutes continuous. UV-A is the band that tans you, so aim the torch at the fly, not your eyes.

Skip Flex, and probably Loon Thin

Loon Thin (maple-syrup consistency, per Loon) sits between Flow and Thick and is redundant once you own both. Loon's UV Fly Tying Kit bundles Thick, Thin and Flow with needle tips for $90, which only makes sense as a gift for someone already committed to Loon's odorless chemistry.

Flex is the formula I'd skip outright. The shootout concluded flex resins aren't flexible enough to matter once the fly is in the water, and Solarez Flex needs more light than any of the Solarez hard formulas. The 5-gram tube in the three-pack is all the Flex a trout tier will ever use. Coating wire bite tippet knots for pike? Fine, buy the standalone Flex bottle. Otherwise spend the money on more Thin Hard.

Loon vs Solarez UV resin, sorted by the fly you tie

• Midge bodies and whip finishes: Loon Flow or Solarez Bone Dry. Flow if the fly gets chewed, Bone Dry if you won't wipe.
• Perdigons: Solarez Thin Hard, 2 oz. Volume matters more than anything.
• Shellbacks and wing cases: Solarez Thin Hard in two thin coats, flashed between.
• Epoxy minnows and streamer eyes: Loon Thick, wiped, for durability and no odor.
• Bugger heads and collars: Loon Thick again. A softer cure survives rocks.

Fish them hard enough to find out which coating actually holds, log the flies that catch and the ones that fall apart, and try Bushwhack; the pattern data makes the resin decision for you by February.

Our pick

The Solarez Fly-Tie 3-Pack is the buy for a gift or a first resin, and the 2 oz Thin Hard is the repeat purchase for anyone tying perdigons through the winter. Add one bottle of Loon Thick for streamer season and you've covered every fly in this post for under $85 before the torch. Loon makes the better streamer resin. Solarez makes the better nymph resin. Buy both and stop arguing about it.