My foray into the field of fly tying began with the Bean kit, purchased about 7 years ago. It was (and probably still is), a good value as it came with quality tools (the Thompson vice has been the standard for beginners and experts alike forever) and decent materials. However, the booklet mine came with was pretty much useless (bad photos, not many useful patterns, etc.); you would definitely be better served with more in-depth books and/or videos if you go with the kit. Depending on what you want to tie, I recommend that you just get a basic set of tools, and buy the materials as you need them for the patterns you really want to tie. That way, you don't end up with a 10-year supply of some useless material that you may never use for the type of fishing you routinely do. Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to discuss further.--Tim