Sax reeds for clarinets?

[ContraGal]

I know that saxophone reeds work for clarinets like soprano for soprano, tenor for bass, and bari for contra. My section leader uses tenor sax reeds on her bass clarinet and I use a plastic tenor sax reed for mine. I was wondering what the difference is between a clarinet reed and a sax reed. Are they the same reeds with different names?

[altoclarinets]

Not quite. If you take a Van Doren (can't speak for any other brand) clarinet reed and lay it next to a comparable sax reed (i.e. Bb to soprano, bass to tenor, ASO ASF), you will find that the facing (uncut part of the reed) of the sax reed occupies a greater part of its length than the clarinet reed. It's due to the slightly different manner in which a sax mouthpiece is constructed. There are also some differences in the vamp (the slope of the cut part.) However, these are both essentially without effect on the reed's performance; I actually prefer alto and tenor reeds for my low clarinets.
P.S. unless you are playing outside somewhere that is very cold, the plastic reed probably isn't the best idea you've had all day; while they are durable and not affected by the temperature and humidity their sound is also not the most desirable.

[ContraGal]

I meant that I sometimes use a plastic reed when I march only. I always use Van Doren's otherwise.