There are so many varieties of synthetic materials today that a guy marketing his "brand" will try to impress you that his stuff is unique when it is really close to being identical to many others. I realize that this is legitimate business but really burdens us as amateur tiers. It's hard to tell the difference between EP fibers and Congo Hair to justify a 3 to 1 cost difference. It's also tough to tell the difference between flies tied with Estaz and Cactus Chenille.
If we can't tell the difference, I question whether the fish can. Does anyone else agree?
What I'd like to see in the future is a forum devoted to tying flies in traditional manners, using historically available materials as would have been used when fly fishing was first being developed in the Catskills. (Hackles in those days were so poor, by todays standards, that two feathers were needed to tie one fly.) Instead of calling this "Minimalist Tying" I'd like to call it "Historical Tying" or Classical Tying". Not to be confused with "Hysterical Tying". Maybe I could even find a use for my half-century old Metz necks.