Durable colored beads

[Ed007]

I wanted to see what everyone's opinion was for an affordable and durable tungsten bead. I've tried light pink metallic beads from an ebay vendor and Muunn but the color is coming off so fast I might as well just tie them with a silver bead. What brands are everyone using so I can try them. My buddy uses Fulling Mill which are great but they are about .31 cents a bead and that seems a bit much. Any help would be appreciated. Thank guys

 

[JLB]

Tactical fly fisher. 50 for 7.25-9.25 depending on size. Have had some of the metallic black beads fade. They have fluorescent colors but haven’t used them.

 

[falcon]

Allen Fly Fish has / had a sale on beads on their website.

 

[nfrechet]

Tungsten Beads | Wholesale Fly Company

Lowest Prices on Tungsten Fly Tying Beads

www.wholesaleflycompany.com

 

[poopdeck]

Any painted bead will chip off fast when dragged through rocks. Don’t believe marketing that may say otherwise. Nothing you can do about it except keep them out of the rocks, which makes no sense. Can’t help you with affordability, I don’t buy tungsten beads.

 

[GANGGREEN]

I've had pretty good luck with Saluda Beads and they're reasonably priced as well.

 

[Ed007]

Has anyone tried the First drift fly company beads? They have a nice assortment of colors and are priced reasonably. Just curious if the color holds up on them?

 

[gibsygoldtop]

I just use regular tungsten beads (gold or silver) and then use my wife's nail polish and paint them myself. Between her and my daughter the colors are endless LOL. Most times I just wanna tie two or three of something to see if it works and I don't have to buy a bunch of beads in different colors. I have had good results, but they do chip just like any other bead when they hit rocks.

 

[KeviR]

I like the quality of Driftstone beads, but they didn't have pink the last time I bought from them. I just checked and they now have light pink. These are the best quality beads I've used. And the are not expensive. For 50 3.0mm pink beads it's $7.95, so roughtly $0.16 per bead.
I have also used an ebay vendor "hardydeluxe" for pink metallic beads and they have held up well - I've never noticed the finish flaking off with lots of bottom bouncing. Again, not expensive - $4 for 20 beads, so $0.20 ea. Price goes down a bit for higher quantities. (both cases don't include shipping, which increases the price substantially if you're buying a small amount.)
The painted colored beads don't hold up nearly as well - all the ones I've tried the color chips off after a while. I don't use this variety much, but the ones I have used with wooly buggers from hardydeluxe have held up pretty well. Probably because with how I fish wooly buggers, they aren't bouncing on the bottom too often.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Disclosure: I don't do this. I rarely fish beads, but if I had a desire to use colored beads, this would interest me.

 

[tomgamber]

Disclosure: I don't do this. I rarely fish beads, but if I had a desire to use colored beads, this would interest me.

Junk jewelry store in the mall has lots of colors of teenie bopper nail polish that I use on poppers. Would work here too.

 

[salmo]

Walmart employees wonder why I'm always buying cheap nail polish. I will say though that the better brands do seem to go on better with less bleed through.

 

[nfrechet]

nail polish and craft store paints arent permanent and will eventually chip off.

get the anodized ones from wholesale fly co

Tungsten Beads | Wholesale Fly Company

Lowest Prices on Tungsten Fly Tying Beads

www.wholesaleflycompany.com

 

[tomgamber]

nail polish and craft store paints arent permanent and will eventually chip off.

get the anodized ones from wholesale fly co

Tungsten Beads | Wholesale Fly Company

Lowest Prices on Tungsten Fly Tying Beads

www.wholesaleflycompany.com

Not really worried about permanence in a tree limb or stuck under a log. It lasts long enough for it to be fine to need to tie some more. Feathers and fur aren't real durable either. It's a price point snd I can ho get it right now if I want it. And my flies don't look like yours.