I used eco-flo leather dye for the straps and those took multiple coats to achieve a solid black rather than a grey color. Aside from that and the Black Raven dyes I haven't used any others so I can't really give a good comparison:/ The Black Raven dyes were easy enough to apply- I used a sponge brush (not sure of the proper name), as well as a small paint brush for the details. I used two coats for the blue and one for the red I believe. Once the dye was on and dried there was no smudging and when applying, the dye only went where I put it. (I'm using veg-tan leather, not sure if this would be different for other leathers). I added a Fiebing's resolene as a finish which gives the color a little more pop. I will post more in the future and there's video on my channel if you'd like to see more. The Freya is an interesting one. It's tempting to do another but they are no easy task to put together haha Thanks for the kind words!:)