I promised a report when I got any of the new Mustads, and I received 100 S70 hooks today from Hook and Hackle. While the hooks are not quite the same, the news is not all bad.

The big difference in the new hooks and the old are first, the color, the new ones are a bit lighter, and second, the shape. But for the most part, the shape is OK. I'm relieved to report that the shank is identical, and where the bend starts is identical and well defined. The difference is right at the bottom of the bend. The new hook is straight on the bottom, with a smaller barb. The old hook has a much more "classic" feel to the bottom, which curves gracefully around and up, with a larger barb that almost looks like it has "gutters". The new needle point hooks look technically quite good, but lack the ellegance of the old hooks.

Now for the good news. The eyes are much better, much more consistent. The sides of the hook around the bend appear to be flattened slightly, mirroring the 94840 dry fly hooks, a look I've always liked. Here is a shot of both hooks, the original 3399 on top, the S70 below. No, it's not exactly the same, but things could be much worse. I, for one, can live with these.
Eric