Bug Bond is a UV cured replacement for varnish, epoxy, and head cement developed by David Edwards.  With a number of UV products out there, it begs the question: Why use Bug Bond over any of the others?  Here are a few of the differences:

First, Bug bond comes in two viscosities.  Bug Bond Original, which is thinner than most UV products on the market and Bug Bond Lite, which has a consistency just this side of water.  One thing that makes working with epoxy so difficult is that the thickness works against you.  Even when you are tying to build up a large head, epoxy has a tendency to either harden up on you half way though or not level, thus leaving a lopsided looking fly.  Additionally, epoxied flies need to be turned to keep the head from sagging.  With Bug Bond you avoid both problems.  It goes on thin, hardens in a few seconds with the UV light, and levels like a dream.  Check out the video below to see Bug Bond in action.





Second, Bug Bond hardens without leaving a tacky surface on every material I tried it on.  The issue of slightly tacky surfaces almost made me abandon UV products for good.  Some products harden just fine on synthetics, but when you put them on natural fibers they just sit there and get tacky.  Others work on natural fibers but do not bond properly with synthetics.  Bug Bond worked on everything I tried it on.  From Angel Hair to Australian possum Bug Bond set up fast and hard!  



Third, Bug Bond can be ordered with an optional "pro-tip kit", which allows a degree of control unheard of with other products.  You can place a tiny drop on the head of a size 20 nymph without any trouble. 

Finally, Bug Bond can be ordered with a UV light that is powerful enough to get the job done right.  The light I received has twelve UV LED bulbs and a solid metal casing.  The size of the light allows you to cure everything from size 4/0 pike fly heads down to as small as you want to go.  The size of the light also allows you to get good light coverage on entire surface of the head with a minimal amount of turning required.


In Sum: If you are tired of UV products that claim the world, but deliver a thick tacky surface, then without hesitation I recommend Bug Bond.  For this review I tried to find a surface that Bug Bond would not bond to and came up empty.  This stuff simply works where others do not!  Enough said.

Bug Bond can be ordered directly from Bug Bond or for U.S. customers Bug Bond is available from White Water Flies and Bear's Den.  



Disclosure- Bug Bond provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.