I've been using ready-made braided loops for a while now, but I've gone through an evolution in how I use them. I no longer buy those that come with shrink-wrap tubing: the tubing is too big for the job at hand and catches easily on guides. Also, it is too easy to damage the braid itself when heating up the tubing. So I now buy loops from Orvis and Rio: they come with much smaller diameter non-shrink tubing. I put on the loop and cut the tube in half. I push one half down to the end of the shrink wrap, put a dab of super glue, and cover the point at which the shrink wrap ends. I then push the other half of the tube over the tag end of the fly line inside the shrink wrap, once more putting a drop of super glue on the shrink wrap at that spot before seating the tube over it. The reason for the second piece is to provide a fail safe backup to the first piece and to help protect the braided loop from the fraying often caused by the tage end of the line. The tubing provided by Orvis and Rio is thin enough to easily pass through the guides in my rods.