Regal, Renzetti, *any other brand

[NCVirginian]

Hey everyone, I'll apologize in advance if I'm opening up a huge can of worms here, but I would really appreciate any/all insight you all may be able give me.

Now that life has slowed down a bit, for a multitude of reasons, I'm starting to get back out fishing more, and thus tying more flies. It's becoming painfully obvious that my beginners tying kit vise isn't going to cut it any more, so I've been looking at upgrading. There-in lies my dilemma.

I realize this may not be terribly dissimilar to the ages old Coke v. Pepsi, Ford v. Chevy debates, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the various vise brands, more specifically what you've used and why you like it. If you're comfortable, advantages/disadvantages to particular vises would be great. While it will play a factor in a final decision, cost does not outweigh functionality, i.e. I'm looking for something that will last so I'm willing to spend the money but I'm also not a firm believer that higher price = better product.

Thank you all for any input you're willing to share.

[Cliff955]

I've never been smart enough to avoid a can of worms.....so;

I have a Regal and a couple Renzetti's on (or near) my desk. I find myself using my Renzetti Traveller about 90% of the time just because I'm so comfortable with it. I like the Regal for it's ease of use, no adjusting for different hooks, but it's not a "true" rotary.

For ease of use the spring loaded jaws on the Regal are hard to beat. They offer a range of jaws, so choose the ones that suit your tying. I have the stainless Steel jaws that hold everything from #10 to 20 with no problems - I rarely tie anything outside that range so I'm happy. I go to the Regal when I'm tying hairwing flies because the design allows me to get the material positioned tightly and level on the hook.

I have an older Renzetti Presentation, but the cam jaws on my Traveller are so much better I seldom use it. If you like the Renzetti range I strongly recommend the cam jaws! I wasn't sure about the rotary function when I got the vise, but I use it quite a lot now. It's probably the reason the Traveller is my go-to vise. At around $200 it is, IMO, really good value for the money!

If you tie a lot of streamers, or like to spin hair, the Dyna King jaws are probably worth a look.

HMH, like Dyna King make solid, well engineered vises, there's nothing I can say was bad about either of them, but I never got completely comfortable so they don't live here anymore. Your mileage may vary......

In an ideal world, which we certainly don't live in right now, I'd say go to your local fly shop and handle a few brands/styles, see if you can tie a couple flies on whatever you're considering, and buy the one you feel most comfortable with. Unfortunately that may not be possible until ????

Hope this helps!

Cliff

[nfrechette]

my renzetti traveler has lasted for me since 1988. it my recommendation

[James Smith]

I've owned tied on the Regal, the Dyna-King Barracuda, and the NorVise. Once I tied on the NorVise I sold the other two and never looked back. For me, the NorVise is the best vise for my style of tying and the patterns I tie. Like you said, a lot of this is simply personal preference, but I would encourage you to watch a few videos on the Norvise system before you make your final decision.

Jim Smith

[jcampbell]

I can't offer much more than has been discussed, but after owning several of the vises mentioned, I am a Regal fan. I do have a rotary body on my Regal and substitute all the jaws. I have a midge jaw, big game jaw and the newer stainless steel jaw that I use 90% of the time. I don't think you will be disappointed, but do recommend you try several in your fly shop to select the one you are most comfortable using. They are all good.

[lee s]

I do strongly second James and the Norvise. We have 3 or 4 of them around here that get their use. The Regal, the Barracuda, and some others are pretty much drawer bound. I would only add that Norvise concepts and procedures will seem strange at first, depending on your time with "normal" tying, but well worth the venture.
I sure do miss Norm and Ruthie at the shows!
....lee s.

[James Smith]

Yes, I really miss speaking with Norm. Great guy to talk with and he stood behind his products 1000%. I stopped by the NorVise booth at the Atlanta show this year and quite frankly, it wasn't that impressive. The main NorvVise guy spent his time talking with one of the other people in his booth while the guest Norvise tyer tried to help me with my purchase. We even both had to stand there waiting for the "main guy" to stop talking with the other employee just to get a price on the items I bought. That said, the products are great and I'll just chalk this experience up to people getting bored sitting in a booth for 10 hours per day.

[gqualls]

I've got a couple of Regals and a Danvise. Regal works great for me with the types of flies I tie. The first vise I bought was a Regal clone; bought it at a fly show for 35 bucks about 19 years ago. Both Regals have midge jaws and when I need to tie something larger I use the clone and it works like a charm.

[sagefisher]

I used a Griffin Patriot vise for years until I switched to the Nor-Vise. The Griffin was a very good vise.

Larry ---sagefisher---