It is a tapered leader made from twisted thread or super light mono that you can tie your tippet material onto. The thread ones in particular are very soft. And they aren't too hard to build from my understanding using a drill, 1 paperclip, some 6/0 tying thread and a jig made from 1-8 foot 2x4, a dowel, and some cup hooks. You can buy them for $8-10 online, cheaper than that if you look on ebay. I bought 2 thread and 2 mono ones to try them out and I'm sold on them. I'll probably try to make my own from now, though. If you are interested in trying to make your own, let me know and I'll get you a website or 2 that shows the process pretty well.