Originally Posted by
Longs for Cutts
You get what you pay for with hackle, ALMOST now including the saddles again. They are starting to reappear in fly shops at just above their previous price. A contemporary genetic hackle, even a neck hackle, will tie at least 2 flies, and the saddles can tie close to a dozen, all with much thinner stems, heavier barb density, glossier barbs, and less web than either older genetic hackle or Indian gamecock necks, which is what the imported stuff is. There's a reason a lot of old fly patterns call for 2-4 hackles even when they were the same color, and it's because they were using non-genetic hackle and could only get 2-3 turns out of each feather.
That said, if you don't tie thousands of flies per year for retail sale like I do, there's no reason to go top of the line or even buy full skins. In fact, most commercial tyers I know don't even do that. Look at the #3/Bronze grade stuff out there, the new Whiting High & Dry series (what they used to sell to 3rd party vendors), and half-necks. Buy necks or half necks rather than saddles for a wider range of hook sizes, and if you find yourself tying a whole lot of one size of something and require more hackle in one color/size, get a few Whiting 100 packs.