1. The finer the hair the more motion it will have in the water. However, fine materials are more prone to foul when used in longer lengths.
2. Crinkled hair will provide the appearance of more bulk, the crinkle gives a scale appearance too. It also is less prone to foul or snarl and it is more wind resistant.
3. Natural materials are less prone to snarl. This is because natural hair has a taper to it and most synthetics are a straight diameter.
4. Thicker, stiffer hairs are more durable and offer a better silhouette but will have less action.
5. The longer the wing the more motion you will get out of a material.

It is important to match these characteristics to the size and style of fly. On a small streamer, you should use a fine, soft material to make it come to life and on a long barracuda fly it would make sense to use coarse material. When stripping in a fly against a heavy current, sometimes a stiffer material is beneficial. A very soft fiber may be mashed against the hook, while the thicker material will still have some motion.

Taperized scissors can give synthetic hair a natural look.

When synthetic hair is cut, the ends will be blunt. This doesn't look right. Add taper to your wings with your scissors or use taperized scissors for a naturalized look.

Marabou. Marabou is a traditional material that is used for Woolly Bugger tails and streamer wings. It has lots of motion even without a retrieve. It is also a good choice on stillwater flies. It is usually tied in as a plume and will have a broad profile when dry.

Acrylic Craft Fur. The stuff Teddy Bears are made from also makes great streamer wings. It's one the closest things I've seen to imitating the sheen of polar bear hair. It may also be listed as Fish Fuzz and Polar Fibre. It is built like actual hair and has underfur in it. It comes in a ton of colors and is found in fly shops and craft stores. It has a nice action in the water and is very easy to tie in. It is used on many bonefish flies.

Wingfiber. This product from Dan Bailey's is a straight, fine-acrylic fiber with fine mylar strands mixed in. It will absorb water as soon as it lands and will release water as soon as it is false cast. It is best used on wings under 1 1/2". It makes a great floss substitute than won't change color when wet.

Widows Web from Worldwide specialties, Polar Aire, from Spirit River, and Poly Bear, from Angler's Choice are similar fibers. They are fine hairs with a crinkle. They are the least prone to foul of the fine synthetics. Poly Bear has Angel Hair mylar mixed into it. They can also be used as dry fly wings.

SLF(Synthetic Living Fiber), Fluoro Fibre, and Gator Hair are very shiny, translucent materials. They have a sheen much like actual Polar Bear. They are better used in wings under 1 1/2". Also try them for spinner wings, shucks, or blended as a seal dubbing substitute.

Calf Tail. This natural material works great on bonefish, steelhead, and streamer wings. It is dyed into a full range of good colors. Look for tails with longer hair because it is more durable than bucktail and a good substitute on small Clouser Minnows.

Squirrel Tail, fox tail, fox body, and badger are traditional tying materials. They are used on streamers, salmon flies, tarpon flies and flats creations. They have a beautiful natural barring and can be stacked with a hair evener. Dyed colors will also display the barring. I like dyed squirrel on my deceivers. Soft fine Arctic fox is used on salmon and steelhead flies. It is sold in white and dyed colors. Arctic fox can be used to wing wets and drys, and can be used as dubbing too.

Top to bottom: Bucktail, Bozo hair, yak hair, Fishair, course Ultra hair.

Bucktail. Bucktail is one of the most common streamer wing materials. The Mickey Finn, Clouser Minnow, and Lefty's Deceiver are all tied with it. Look for tails with straight hair. The finer hair, on the upper 2/3 of the tail, will make the best wings. As the hair gets thicker, it will flare and be less durable.

Bozo Hair and Saltwater Yak Hair are my favorite wings on large bass, pike, and offshore flies. They are like having a coarse calftail with 12" hair. They have a crinkle so creating a bulky fly requires very little hair. You can tie a 12-inch fly that won't foul or snarl and that weighs nothing.

Fishair is the oldest of the commonly used synthetic wings. Originally made for conventional jigs, it is a straight nylon fiber and very durable. Manufactured tips are intentionally left slightly uneven to simulate real hair.

Coarse Ultra Hair and Super Hair are crinkled nylon fibers. They are 2X - 0X nylon fibers with a wave set in them. They are the least flexible fibers I use but the most toothproof. They are used in patterns such as Surf Candies. When putting these flies in your boxes, keep the hair straight, to prevent an unwanted set. Unique Hair, Slinky Fibre, and Kinky Fibre are finer versions of Ultra Hair.

Double Bunnies made with assorted rabbit strip colors.

Rabbit. I've decided to list rabbit in its own category since it is usually used on the hide. Zonkers, the Jack Dennis Kiwi Muddler, and my own Double Bunny are all tied with rabbit. A common myth about rabbit is that the longer the hair the better. Rabbit fur that is 3/4" to 1" long will give you 99% of the action of longer hair. It will be much easier to cast and sink quicker. Rabbit is sold as hides or strips. Zonker strips are about 1/8" wide and cut with the grain. Kiwi Strips (Rocky Mountain Dubbing) and Magnum Strips (Hareline) are 1/4" wide strips that are cut with the grain. Cross-cut rabbit strips are cut against the grain and wrapped like hackle for patterns like bunny leeches. This will make the rabbit fur angle back.

I like to buy my own hides and strip them with a plastic box-cutter knife with break away blades. Set the blade out 1/8", clip the hide to a table with the hide side up, hold the top end tight so that it stretches and run the blade tip to tail. With a little practice, you will be able to cut any of the above mentioned strips. Don't use a razor blade as this is too sharp, and it will cut the hair off the hide.

For Double Bunnies, I laminate the hides together and then cut 3/16" wide strips. When tying zonkers, instead of tying the rabbit strip down in the back, I glue the hide to the mylar tubing. Use Goop or other flexible adhesives.

Rob Mclean sells bar-dyed rabbit strips. They give the appearance of parr marks or side barring on baitfish imitations. Wapsi now has tanned squirrel and mink strips for "mini bunny" flies.