3 advantages: 1) The wire around the body makes the fly way more durable than a thread-based dubbing loop, which is essential for Pike/Muskie flies. 2) You can mix multiple materials of varying length more effectively 3) You get better portion control and can build tapers into the loop more easily
I made a brush combining schlappen and ice dub. Gunner Brammer has a video on it. It took me a few tries, but they turned out pretty well after some practice.
I tie the majority of my flies using composite loops. I'm going to attempt to turn my loops into brushes because I think it will help with speed and more importantly consistency. Consistency, as any good fly tier knows, is one of if not the most important aspect of fly tying.
