You have two methods: fusion splicing and mechanical splicing. The right choice depends on your performance requirements, budget, and the volume of splices you're performing. Fusion splicing uses a precision arc discharge between two electrode rods to heat and fuse the cleaved fiber. This guide covers everything: what fiber optic pigtails are, how they differ from patch cords, which connector and polish type to specify, how to choose between mechanical and fusion splicing, and the real-world applications where pigtails are the right call. Whether you're building out an ODF. This is exactly why most professional installers have moved away from field-termination and toward splicing. A fiber pigtail is a short length of optical fiber that comes with a high-quality, factory-polished connector already. In this guide, we cover the basics of fiber optic splicing, how to perform splicing using two different methods, and finally some best practices to perform good fiber splicing.