“I need more PLA filament… but what brand should I get?”
We’ve all been there, right? You’re looking at your first empty roll of Hatchbox filament that came with your Ender 3 Pro and you’re thinking, “Damn, I really don’t know where to go from here.” You’ve got exactly six cents to your name, but when you get your next paycheck then by God you are going to get some reasonably priced PLA.
Or, you know, maybe that’s not your experience at all and you’re just Googling what printer filament you should use, or unsure of whether it’s worth spending the money on brands you haven’t heard of. Well, by no means am I an expert, but I’ve done my research and reviewed a list of a few filaments so that you don’t have to.
HATCHBOX
When it comes to Hatchbox, in my experience it’s the best you can get when dealing with PLA. It barely ever strings, and if it does, it’s usually a machine issue, not a filament issue. Minus the faint outline of a cat hair that snuck its way onto this Oreo box, there’s no stringing to be seen. The print is sturdy, the colors are vibrant, and every time I look at this sucker I want to eat it.
Hatchbox is easy to find on Amazon and you get a lot of bang for your buck — a regular spool of Hatchbox PLA typically goes for an average of $23. It’s only a few bucks more than other brands, but it’s definitely worth it.
DIKALE
Dikale is one of the filament brands you typically see getting sponsored in every Amazon search you do for PLA. They’ve got lots and lots and LOTS of colors, all for a pretty low price when bought in bundles. I mean, who doesn’t want a big box of filament full of multiple different colors? But the question is — is it worth it?
Well, the brand has its ups and downs, so there’s no real clear answer. It all depends on what you’re willing to deal with or what is a dealbreaker for you.
THE PROS
PRICE. The price of one of Dikale’s more popular assorted bundles comes out to 12 spools for $11 each. If you’re looking for something cheap, then this is arguably the best you can get.
COLOR, SORT OF. Dikale has a wide variety of colors. As mentioned before, they specialize in their bundle, which includes, basically, the rainbow, plus some brown, black, white, gray, and glow-in-the-dark filament. While the entire bundle itself is ~$140, that’s still a lot less for twelve different colored spools than you’d find elsewhere.
THE CONS
STRING. If you’re the kind of person who gets unreasonably frustrated over your prints being stringy, then it’s probably not a great choice for you. Comparison between my Hatchbox prints and Dikale prints have revealed that it’s not my machine necessarily, just that this filament gets pretty stringy when printing.
Luckily, stringing doesn’t have to be much of a con if you’re determined to still use Dikale. Simply taking a lighter and waving it across the strands for a few seconds melts the strands away to the point you can’t tell there used to be any.
COLOR, AGAIN. The thing I’ve noticed with Dikale is that sometimes the colors are a little more… washed out than I thought they would be. This isn’t necessarily a con if you know that going into it, but when you’re expecting a print’s color to be this:
But it ends up looking like this:
it can be a little disappointing. That said, I don’t necessarily hate the creamsicle orange color it has, but my theory is that Dikale is able to provide filament so cheaply because they don’t use as much color filament when mixing their batches. It’s also worth mentioning that even though some of the colors can appear washed out, not all of them do.
SIZE. Another one that isn’t necessarily a con, but can be disappointing if you’re not aware of it ahead of time. I was under the impression that I would be getting the same amount of filament as I would with any other PLA order. However, the Dikale spools hold a bit less filament than their counterparts do.
Another point to note is that the small size only applies to the Dikale bundle — I haven’t ordered any individual spools from them, but from the prices the individuals are listed at, I would be willing to bet they’re similar in size.
FILACUBE
Having needed some flesh-colored filament for a mini anatomical model I was printing, I ordered some produced by the Filacube brand. Based on the one spool I’ve been using, I would say that I would rank it right underneath Hatchbox filament. I haven’t had any problems with stringing, and it’s just a few dollars less than a spool of Hatchbox. My only concern is that the color is possibly just a little washed out.
COOKIECAD
I would rate Cookiecad right up there between Filacube and Hatchbox, possibly even at the same tier as Hatchbox. I have had no stringing issues, and for $24 a spool, I sure would hope that it wouldn’t be washed out.
If this thread has taught you anything about me, it’s that I tend to rely on images rather than descriptions, and I probably should stop doing that. I was expecting the Cookiecad filament to be a bit more of a pink-pink than a pale pink, initially leading me to believe the color was washed out, but…
The color is fine, I think. I haven’t tried any other of their colors yet, but my guess is that they have good colors. In any case, here’s a cat phone stand keychain I printed in this color, along with a cat ring.
3D SOLUTECH
Last, but not least… well, that’s kind of a lie, actually. I don’t want to post a scathing review of 3D Solutech, but it’s… well…
This is the stringiest filament I’ve come across so far. Any pros of printing with this filament are quickly negated by the sheer amount of string that comes along with it. Melting the strings away only works up to a point — you don’t want to accidentally burn your models.
The color is good, but almost not worth it. I’m also not about to readjust everything on my 3D printer for one filament color when most others work just fine. And with 3D Solutech only being a few bucks cheaper than good brands like Hatchbox, it’s honestly disappointing that an $11 spool of Dikale filament strings less than this one does.
Obviously, my experiences are limited to myself, so I may have missed something. If I did, let me know! Definitely also share your thoughts on other PLA filaments, I like discovering the lesser-known brands as well as getting a good deal on them (wink).
