those snaps are crap ! i used 1 out of a package i bought loas the snap & a good deer hair diver all on the first cast… needless to say i threw the rest of the snaps out in the rocks & throwed the package away… believe ill just stick to knots…
yeah bugman. Sounds like you were as disgusted as I was. I got rid of them as well I was so po’d.
Warren, not thinking heating the snap to the point of melting solder would work. Loose the tinsel strength of the wire.
Moose…might work. Unique idea. But, I use a furled leader with tippet ring. From tippet ring, to 4x to 3x to a snap…sounds kinda wierd. Maybe…maybe not.
Think I will just continue without the fas snap. Haven’t missed them at all since I got rid of them.
Gemrod
Best plan Gem !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
The ‘fast snap’ can solve many problems, but brings some of it’s own.
You can change flies easier.
You can use a better knot, like the palomar (much stronger than the imporved clinch, but uses up more tippet) to attach it once, and not have to rety it.
For those of us (and you know who we are 
) who have trouble with tying good knots on the water, you can tie ONE good knot at home, test it even, before you hit the water.
Don’t underestimate the value of the fly being able to move freely. Almost all subsurface flies will work better and catch more fish, espeially warm water species, if you use a snap or a loop knot. Many of us know this, but loop knots can be tiresome to tie in the boat or on the stream, so we just make do with the ‘easy’ knots.
There are probably other ‘advantages’, but these are main ones as I see it.
The disadvantages are:
Using them with the imporper size tippet. If the tippet will slide through the gap, then either use a thicker tippet or give them a squeeze with your hemos or a pair of pliers before you use them (the things are mass produced, just like hooks are-we’ve all seen unclosed hook eyes, why should these be any different). If you really need 6x tippet, the fast snap, even the small one, is probably too big for the fly anyway.
That piece of metal hanging off the front of your fly. Whether or not it matters to the fish, to many of us, it just don’t look right. They say it will float with a dry fly. But will it really? Maybe with a foam hopper or a size 8 stimulator, but will it drag down or change the attitude of my size 16 Adams? Do you want to have that thingy showing in front of a size 14 nymph in a clear river? Will it effect YOUR confidence?
You don’t have to rety to change flies. Both a benefit and the strongest argument against them. How often do you ‘rety’ a fly without having lost it, having it destroyed by fish, or having decided to try a different fly? Most of don’t, so if you are going to use something like this, you need to check your tippet for nicks and wear occasionally and remember to rety to a fresh section as required.
I don’t use them, but I’m considering them for some applications. I fish a large lake in Colorado where it’s mostly sinking line, large steamers, and you can use heavy tippets. We catch a lot of fish, and the flies get shreaded some. Having the ability to change the fly out without having to rety might be an advantage here. I know for some folks that have shared my boat, it will a BIG advantge because they keep losing fish to poorly tied knots…and they cahnge flies a lot, which agravates the problem.
Could be a useful tool.
Buddy