Snare wire can also be used for improvised repair. The fishing-specific items are small in space, weight, and price. The sewing thread doubles as a fishing line, thereby saving space and weight. And, as Doug said, the fishing-specific items exist for marketing reasons.

Jeanette Isabelle
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I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday