It’s time to retire the old vice and move into the rotary age. I’ve been looking at the Renzetti Traveler and the Dyna-King Barracuda Junior Trekker.
Does anyone have any thought about one over the other. They both seem to be very good vices with the main difference IMO being that the Dyna-King is about $50 more.
Thanks for your thoughts
Wheatworth,
Both are excellent vises. Both companies have outstanding reputations in the industry with fantastic customer service.
Making such a decision is entirely subjective. Once you get past the basics of whether or not the vise will hold the hook sizes you want to tie on (both will), then you have to examine how YOU tie. Look closely at things like clearances around the jaws, adjustment hardware that my be in YOUR way. Does the vise rise to the height you like? Will it be too high? Does the jaw color offend? Is it too shiny? Too dull? Does it sit solidly if you go with a pedestal? Lots of these kinds of questions no one but you can answer. Maybe none of it matters that much to you, and you just want a good vise…
If you’ve not been tyng too long, then you can easily ‘adjust’ to a new vise and likely won’t notice any little quirks. However, if you have been tying for many years, then the vise needs to either ‘fit’ or be able to adjust to YOU, or you’ll hate it.
Either one will let you tie flies well. One isn’t inherently ‘better’ than the other. Which one fits you is the question, and only YOU can figure that one out.
Good Luck!
Buddy
Are you near a shop where you try each of them?
Or are you close to other tiers who have these and you could tie a few flies on each?
Rick
Wheatworth,
Rick and Buddy have given you good advise. If I may ask, why have you already narrowed your search to the Renzetti and Dyna-King? I have a friend who is EXTREMELY good behind the vise and he uses the Renzetti Traveler. He had been a Dan Vise user for a long time. He speaks very highly of the Renzetti. I have recently acquired the Griffin Montana Mongoose. I too was a Dan Vise user, and I really like the Mongoose! It adjusts to my hieght, style, etc. I would suggest that you follow what Rick suggests…try out ones that you are interested in before you buy. I would add that you may not want to discount any top vise before you try it. Good Luck and Best Regards…
i am biased to toward the renzetti and others will be biased toward the dyna-king. the best thing for you is to go to a fly shop, locally if you have one and try them out for yourself.
If you are looking to tie using the rotary method, I would suggest you also look at the Nor Vice. I don’t own one, but from what I have seen it does everything the Renzetti and DynaKing does and more. In my opinion the Nor Vice was designed for rotary tying while the others are limited and don’t give tyers the functionality they need to truely tie rotary effectively (and efficiently).
If you have narrowed your search to Renzetti or DynaKing, either vice will give you a lifetime of tying, but as Rick Z mentioned try them for fit. The only issue I see is with the Renzetti. A friend of mine aways carries an extra o-ring for his. He had one break after about 10 years of hard use. Not really an issue, but something you should be aware of.
Let us know what you end up with.
All good advice so far, except maybe for the Norvise digression (not a bad vise, just not germane to the discussion).
Having both a Renzetti and a Dyna-King, what would force me to choose between one or the other would be the type of flies I tied the most. I tie mostly trout flies, so the Renzetti gets the most use. If, however, I spent most of my time tying bass or saltwater flies, I’d definitely use the Dyna-King the most.
You can’t really go wrong with either, regardless.
I noticed in the Christmas FeatherCraft catalog. That the traveler now only has a one year warranty on it. I was surprised to see this.
My bad. 
care to explain the “and more”??? what “more” does the norvise do over the other 2???
Normand,
The Nor Vise can be spun at very high revolution making dubbing, ribbing and hackling a lot faster. I have also seen folks take dubbing out of the packet and catch it between the thread and hook thus locking the fibers and make a rope then apply it directly to the hook for a nice strong tappered body in a few seconds! I have yet to see someone do this with any other vise. It is what caught my attention. If you are wondering why I don’t buy one is that I have two other vises (DK Barracuda and Voyager II) that work fine for me at this time.
I wouldn’t worry about the O ring on the Renzetti. It is a standard O ring found in most hardware stores for less than a buck.
I think it is up to Wheatworth to determine whether a discussion of the Nor-vise is germane or not.
A friend of mine, who has been designing and tying flies for a long time, has a Nor-vice and can do things on it that are no way possible on a Renzetti. Basically, it is a true rotary which allows for spinning of the hook on a true axis, and up to incredible speeds. Rather than wrapping material around a hook, you spin the hook at whatever speed you want to add whatever material you are putting on the hook.
What Harley can do with the Nor-vice is very simple to do, and almost impossible to describe. Rather than try to describe it, I’ll just refer you to their website www.nor-vise.com, where you can find some videos that will show some of the things you can do.
I learned on a Renzetti and I am quite satisfied with it for the limited number and types of flies I presently tie. But when it goes, or if I start tying more and/or different types of flies, I will definitely take a good hard look at the Nor-vise.
or any of the screws on the vise. all can be found at the local home depot or lowes or your local hardware store
Both good vises, Don’t think it would be a good idea to buy a Nor-vise unless:
That said, I Have or have had most of the high end vises, I put a hook in the Nor-vise over any of my others, Renzetti, DK, HMH, Griffin…
More specifically pertinent to your question, Renzetti recently changed to a One year coverage on the traveler, I’ve seen about as many Unhappy comments about there Customer Service as I’ve seen Happy. Which seems to leave some question on Renzetti’s ability to make the customer happy. Can’t say I’ve seen that being a problem on any other vise including a low dollar Danvise.
After all that is said, get somewhere, sit down, try them out, and try all possible, not just limit yourself to Renzetti and DK. Can be just some minor differences which may just make a BIG difference in your choice. If the rotary feature is a major purchase point make sure to consider the Nor-vise for my tying style it kicks the snot out of any of the others.
Several hours ago I would have recommended the products of either company. However, after I read a thread about Renzetti’s over-the-top ‘shipping fees’, I will not recommend that company regardless of the product.
Deezel
I make dubbing ropes with my Traveller and directly apply it to the hook as well. It’s not difficult at all, you just need to learn the technique.
I borrowed a Nor-Vise from a friend to try out for a weekend, and gladly gave it back to him. It’s a marvelous vise, but it’s one of those things in life that you either love it, or you could care less about it. For my tying style, I could care less. I had already tied for about 4 or 5 years on traditional vises when I tried the Nor-Vise, so that probably affected my decision because it was so different, not to mention cumbersome for traveling. I take my tying equipment on the road to shows, Fish-Ins and even camping/fishing trips, so vise design is important to me. I can break down my Traveller and put it in the top shelf of my tying box, my light & extension cord in the bottom, everything else in between, and I’m self-contained in one box. Not so with the Nor-Vise, so if you buy one, think about traveling with it or keep your existing vise for traveling.
Joe
You can’t spin dubbing onto the thread like a Nor-vise can, litterally a second is all it takes. I’ve used “traditional” vises for 30+ years, has little to do with making a decision on a Nor-vise or any other, all about personal preference and if you want to learn some new tricks to really speed “some” tying up… I don’t see anything cumbersome about traveling with a Nor-vise, can even use more “traditional” c-clamp if you so desire, and if you choose the most bulky method (board) it doesn’t need to be big at all. Many reasons not to tie on a Nor-vise, or any other vise, and most of the valid ones all come down to personal preference.
And Agreed on the the jacked-up shipping fees, if you have to make your dollars padding shipping fees something is wrong.
Perhaps you can give us a lesson sometime. Having a DK Barracuda I would like very much to learn to make better dubbing ropes by employing my vise. What intriqued me about the Nor Vise is the ability to make a dubbing rope without a thread base. With the Nor Vise, you can quickly spin a rope from just the dubbing material, wind it on the hook and then for added durability run a thread rib and all of this in a few seconds.
Actually, the vise is an easy travel vise. My friend built a board with two countersunk holes in the bottom which houses wing nuts for quick set up and breakdown. The vise, base, lamp and other accessories along with tools fit into a Halliburton (sp?) attache case.
I have heard many say it is a love it or hate it type of product as you mentioned.
Bottom line for the poster, try the vises you are considering. It is the only way to truly know what vise fits you.
and to really appreciate what a rotary will do, borrow a self-retracting, or automatic, bobbin when you try the vises out. close your ears to the protestations that you don’t need one, or that they are sissy to use. Nor-Vise has one to go with the vise. Ekich is a site sponsor.
and apologies if this is considered a hijack. automatic bobbins just seem like butter to the rotary vise bread, if you get my drift. made a huge difference to my tying!