What Tippet to use?

[alltoys]

What Tippet to use?

I have been fly fishing for some time now but never really thought about the meaning of the " X " in say 2X, 3X, 4X for that matter.

I have always bought a formed tapered leader used it till it was to short then put on another one. Now that I am tying my own flys and the best part is the fish are actually hitting them. Fantastic I remember the first time a fish rose to engulf my fly I pulled it away I didn't want the fish to destroy it. Of course times have changed.

My next step is to make my own furled leaders from 8ft to 12ft.

What does the " X " mean and what is the rule when using say size 8 hook?