Loon Outdoors Quick Picks
- Best All-Around: Loon UV Clear Fly Finish - The resin most tiers reach for first, in Flow, Thin, and Thick viscosities so you can lock in thread, coat a body, or build a head from one bottle family. Unlimited work time, and it cures in seconds under a Loon UV light.
- Best Gel Floatant: Loon Aquel - A silicone gel floatant that keeps the same consistency on cold mornings and hot afternoons and leaves no oily slick on calm water. It is the official floatant of Fly Fishing Team USA.
- Best for Reviving a Drowned Fly: Loon Top Ride - The powder guides call Shake and Bake, a drying agent and floatant in one jar. Drop in a soaked fly, shake, and it comes out dry and dusted, through a wide cap that takes big foam patterns.
- Best Nipper: Loon Rogue Nippers - Stainless blades, a matte black rust-resistant finish, a comfy grip, and an eye-cleaning needle. A good nipper you will not mind losing in the river.
- Best UV Light: Loon UV Bench Light - Loon's best-selling do-it-all curing light, with a push button and a single AA battery in the box. Enough output to cure heads and wing cases at the bench without fuss.
How to Choose Loon Outdoors
Match the floatant to the fly and the conditions
Action: Carry two floatants, a pre-treatment and a revival powder. Aquel or Lochsa goes on a dry fly before the first cast; Top Ride brings it back after a fish or a dunking.
Best for: CDC flies, the Loon Lochsa Floatant. Most gels mat CDC fibers, and Lochsa is formulated so they keep their natural buoyancy, in summer heat or winter cold. For treating a whole box at once, the Loon Fly Dip works on all flies including CDC, dries quickly, and revives soggy flies without the smell and flammability of older dips.
Resins, cements, and the light to cure them
UV Clear Fly Finish comes in three viscosities. Flow is as thin as water and works as a head cement for midges and thread bodies. Thin builds small heads and wing cases while still coating low-profile bodies. Thick is for big heads, bodies, and wing cases. The Loon UV Colored Fly Finish adds hot spots and translucent color in twelve colors.
Best for: A traditional finish without UV, Loon Hard Head Fly Tying Cement, a thick, odorless, water-based cement in black or clear that dries hard and glossy and is good for painting poppers. Water Based Head Cement is the thinner brush-on version for everyday heads.
Tip: The UV Bench Light on one AA is the right light for most tiers. Step up to the UV Infiniti Light if you cure a lot of thick resin and want adjustable output and a rechargeable USB battery. On the water, UV Knot Sense coats knots so they slide through the guides and cures in direct sunlight.
Streamside tools, weight, and organization
Best for: One tool instead of two, the Loon Rogue Scissor Forceps, a 5.5-inch hemostat and scissor in one with a rust-resistant matte finish and a double-dipped grip that works wet.
Best for: Nymph anglers, Loon Tin Drops split shot. They are non-toxic tin with a matte camo or black coating that will not spook fish, and the double-cut design opens and closes by hand so you can reuse them. Buy a twist pot in your main size, a refill tub, or the 4- and 6-division multi-packs for a full range.
Why Trident Carries Loon
Loon makes the small stuff that gets used on every trip and every tying session, and makes it well. The floatants work, the UV resin line is the one most of our staff tie with, and the tools are priced so you can replace a lost nipper without wincing.
Care & Maintenance
- Keep UV resin out of the sun: Sunlight cures it. Cap bottles right away, wipe the threads so the cap does not glue itself shut, and store resin in a drawer rather than on a windowsill.
- Keep floatant caps closed: Gels dry out and powders clump when left open. Close Top Ride and Fly Dip after each use and keep them out of the rain pocket on your pack.
- Rinse tools after saltwater: The Rogue finish resists rust, but salt still works into the forceps hinge and the nipper spring. A fresh-water rinse and a drop of oil keep them moving.
- Pull batteries for the off-season: Take the AA out of the UV Bench Light and top up the Infiniti Light before storage so a dead cell does not leak.
Complete Your Setup
Related Gear
- Split Shot, Indicators & Floatants - Indicators and other floatants to round out the nymph and dry fly kit.
- Fly Tying Cements, Epoxies & Glues - Compare Loon's resins and cements with the rest of the bench adhesives.
- Fly Fishing Nippers & Zingers - More nippers and retractors to keep tools where you can reach them.
- Fly Fishing Pliers & Forceps - Hemostats and pliers for hook removal and barb crushing.
Related Guides
- How to Tie a Perdigon Nymph
- How To Tie The Mil Spec Perdigon
- How to Tie an Elk Hair Caddis Dry Fly
- How to Tie the Parachute Adams Fly
Loon Outdoors FAQs
Q: What is the difference between Loon Aquel and Lochsa?
A: Both are temperature-stable gel floatants. Aquel is the general-purpose gel for hackled and hair-wing dries. Lochsa is formulated for every dry fly including CDC, which it will not mat the way a standard gel does.
Q: Which Loon UV resin should I start with?
A: UV Clear Fly Finish in Thin. It is thin enough to coat small nymph bodies and thick enough to build a wing case or a streamer head. Add Flow when you want a resin that doubles as head cement, and Thick for bigger heads and bodies.
Q: Do I need a Loon UV light to cure Loon resin?
A: Loon's resins are designed to cure with Loon's UV lights, and direct sunlight will also cure UV Knot Sense.
Q: What is Loon Top Ride used for?
A: Drying and refloating a fly that has been fished or has taken a fish. The powder pulls water out and leaves a fine floatant coating. Most anglers use gel before the first cast and Top Ride every time the fly gets soaked.
Q: Is Loon Tin Drops split shot legal where lead is banned?
A: Tin Drops are non-toxic tin, which is why Loon makes them. Rules vary by state and water, so check local regulations, but tin shot is the standard answer in lead-free fisheries.
Q: Are Loon products safe for fish and the water?
A: That is one of Loon's main priorities. The floatants are formulated to be safe for fish and fisheries, Aquel leaves no oily residue on the surface, Fly Dip avoids the smell and flammability of older dips, and the split shot is tin instead of lead.
Loon Warranty & Resources
Loon states that no matter how hard you use its gear, it will guarantee it, and that if you are not 100 percent satisfied for any reason it will make it right. Loon describes two ways to make a claim: return the product to the retailer where you bought it, or, for US and Canada residents, submit a claim through Loon's warranty form, noting that shipping fees may apply for products that need to be replaced.
Learn More from Loon
- Loon Outdoors Warranty
- Loon Help Center - Product how-to articles on floatants, fly tying products, and gear care.
- About Loon - The company's background and its environmental commitments.