Kapok Magic Or...?

[@alexargyros7186]

Extremely informative video. And a very enlightened way of approaching the issue at hand.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

glad to hear that. Sometimes materials are my inspiration. Kapok, deserves to be well presented. Cheers.

[@knottastu]

Excellent work as usual - thank you so much for these great vids

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Thank you so much for your kind comment. Glad you are enjoying videos. Cheers 🍻🍻

[@JosephOng]

Thanks for the video. Good research. In my part of the world, at least in my childhood, kapok was used to make pillow filling. It was readily available on trees and it's cheap compared to down feather. It's also airy & is cool to use in the tropical heat without air conditioning.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Thank you so much. I live in southern china, we have kapok around here. First i tried raw kapok, directly from the tree. Then i tried one they sell for stuffing pillows...both are much better than dyed one. Dying it decreases its good properties. I never tried it for pillows...i will buy some and give it a go 😀😀

[@jtahoe5672]

As a young boy, in my neck of the woods (north-central USA) it was the standard filler material for boating life jackets. It was packaged in sealed plastic then sewn into the orange nylon (?) yoke shape that went over your head. To this day I still remember the sort of crunchy feel the preserver had when squeezed. I've never seen it offered as a material for fly tying. Thanks for this video and the enlightenment!

[@JosephOng]

@@Oholisfliesandfishing I'll buy a bag of raw kapok the next time I see it - but it's very bulky for a fraction of the price of dyed ones. At the moment I also use natural bunny sheddings from my pet bun in addition to simi seal, etc. Natural fur still gives the best results.

[@clivelangham435]

Thank you very much for this video. Great fly and useful info.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Glad you like it. Thanks for watching 🍻🍻

[@MarcTelesha]

Antron in the States is seen more for caddis nymphs and tail material for Sparkle Duns. I really like Kapok for a lot of dries. I am finding that using a dubbing loop on small flies and make it spike up by brushing it like its a nymph makes it float like a cork.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

In a brush is great. Especially with thin gsp thread. Makes things more durable.

[@turninflat]

Amazing body creation. wow.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Thanks, its really great material.

[@yuriydzhura9563]

Awsome! Thanks!❤

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Thanks so much 😀🍻

[@philholyday3037]

Nice video. I have been playing with kapok with a similar pattern, egg laying hotspot and kapok for thorax so it dips towards the tail. Have found quality can be an issue, especially with the compact dispensers, so thinking of moving the colours I use to box type or bags. Like your chapter in FM2.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Thank you so much. Kapok has big issue with water. Its highly water repellent. Because if it its very hard to dye it. After getting it wet and dying fibers get clumped. And best way to untangle fibers are hands...i tried brushes, coffee grinder.,. It all failed. Hands work the best. Now, regardless of all of the issues, its still an amazing dubbing.

[@harryhthenorwegian476]

Great tips about KAPOK-dubbing. Thanks 😀

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

thank you so much for watching. Cheers :)

[@jonathonstephenson8170]

Hi & thanks for the vid. I was just wondering if you have tried using fly-rite poly dub? It can be bought in individual colour packs or can be bought in a pack containing all 45 colours which are all natural colours ( no pink or purple or blue) just natural. I've been trying most of my flies with this now & just use Kapok for tiny flies because it is mega fine.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Hi, i tried it and its great. But its hard to get here in china. That said, kapok is the easiest one to dub. It can be shaped as it was clay or something similar.

[@Kab_On_The_Fly]

Wonderful video as always my friend. I did research as well into Kapok dubbing, and it sounded almost too good to be true. I ordered two packs of semperfli kapok dubbing and it came looking like root system. It does not look anything close to the brand you have here. I put the semperfli material into coffee grinder to fluff it out, it was semi-successful, I wrote an email and went back and forth with semperfli but at the end of day, they just stopped replying.

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Thank you so much. I havent tried semperfli kapok. First i tried was literally from a tree. There are plenty of kapok trees around here. (Chinese make soup with it's flowers). Its very water repellent. Fibers are pretty short and i would say fragile. When i tried to dye it...it was semi successful. It took me a lot of time to soak it and get it waterlogged. It didnt get color easily as other materials get it....it repels everything. While dying it it got clumped into some pretty tangled clumps. Coffee grinder helped just a bit. I tried two brushes i use for grooming my cat....also with low success. All in all, its a lot of work i would say. Thats why i decided to buy it 😂😂😂

[@helgeo.sommer584]

[@Oholisfliesandfishing]

Thank you 🙏🙏