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I'd love to hear people's opinions on vises, especially what they thought the best buy for the money was. Anyone use regals, or thompson cobras? Or, Griffim cam mongoose?
On another note, anyone ever hear of the gatsby vise? http://www.gatsbyvise.com/ Looks like a serious piece of machinery.
For under $100, the Danvise always wins when people do magazine or internet reviews. In the under $200 range, I really like Dyna-King & Renzetti- they both hold a hook well, the Renzetti is a "true" rotary, and the Dyna-King is very simple to operate. Never heard of the Gatsby vise you mentioned. I have used a Regal, and they have their pluses & minuses. Hold a hook great, a very fast & simple to get hooks in and out of. Downside- they can squish/break smaller hooks if you are not careful when putting them in, and sometimes the jaws chip over time- although that is a warranty issue and I think they would replace for free. They are fine down to about a #20 hook or so. Hope this helps. Oh, BTW, I learned on a basic Thompson vise and I hated it- slow to adjust and the hooks slipped all the time.
I use a Renzetti Traveller right now. I used to hate it when it had the dual adjustment knobs (hooks would slip under even slight amounts of tension), but I upgraded to the cam locking jaws and it's like a different vise. Mucho holding power - no slippage. Now that I've learned to use the true rotary feature for tying in material, it would be REALLY difficult to go to a vise that didn't have that feature - like the Regal.
I have a buddy who has a Regal, and loves it. He's not a small fly guy so it suits him fine. In my opinion, it's OK. I mean you can flip your fly over to inspect it, or to tie in on the bottom of the hook, but it's not a true rotary. Why would you buy a vise for basically the same price as a Renzetti that didn't have full rotary? Personal preference I suppose.
Like Torrey - I started on a Thompson as well (who didn't?). I liked it fine until I got my hands on a real vise. Haven't used one since.
I like some of the upper end vises, very sexy and all, but for me, they're just too much money for something that holds and spins a hook. I mean does anyone really need to spend $500 on a vise? I suppose if you have that kind of loose green, you're not worried about it, but to me, I just can't rationalize it.
The traveler with the cam is a great deal. Very high quality. I know some guys who tie on the Danvise(Dave @C&C-so my guess is he likes it, he doesnt put up with poor quality). I am trying to get my brother to ditch his HMH-glorified Thompson, for the Danvise. I tried it and it is a very good vise. FYI most guys who buy the rotary never learn what you can really do with them-if you do learn then you'd never go back to a std vise. The only reason to actually have to spend more $$$ would be if you do a lot of big saltwater flies(bigger than 2/0 consistently). I do so I bumped up to the dynaking barracuda. It handles everything from tiny to huge with ease. The traveler and Danvise are better for #10-20 trout flies.
I looked at the Gatsby-it looks really nice but the hook in the vise looks to be a serious saltwater hook probably 2/0 or bigger-looking at the proportion of the vise to the hook I dont know if I would seriously consider it without tyring it first. I think there would be some issues with accessing a small trout hook with your hand(clearance around the vise looks spotty). One thing I have found when tying smaller trout flies is that I want the hook holding part of the jaw to be as far away from the mechanics of the vise or to have the mechanical part of the vise to be very low profile. Thats a stubby little jaw on that vise. When you are posting a wing for a parachute you will know what I mean.
I also learned on a Thompson, and also bought a midge jaw. For the past decade, I have successfully used the Regal, and everything Nymphmeister says is true. For tying streamers and spinning hair, it is the best. For really small stuff, I still use the Thompson since hook-holding power is not such as issue when tying below Size 20. My next vise will be a Dyna King.
i have the barracuda jr trekker and it holds the hooks so well. awesome vise and it wont break your budget. the hooks will break before they slip!! alan you will love the dyna king!!!
anyone ever tie on a peak rotary vise?
Regan.... I just asked Torrey and he never heard of it ... so the "bookworm" himself cannot help you out on that one ;)
Huh, that's funny. That Flyfisherman magazine article rating vises says its the best in the under $250.00 category. You should check it out. See if you can't test drive it for us and then give us a review Predator!