i have been using a vice that came with a kit from cabela’s several years ago. i would like to upgrade now without breaknig the bank. suggestions and sources of supply anyone please?
A little information
What don’t you like about the vise that your using.
You said that you tie 12 and bigger on another post, so ability to hold smaller hooks is not a high priority.
do you want a rotery vise?
Eric
Jalama,
A DanVise is a great tool for less than a hundred bucks. It will do everything you need for as long as you need it to. Al and Gretchen are sponsors here, they sell them. You’ll not regret going full rotary.
You can spend more money, of course. I love my Dyna King. Renzettis are great. Nothing at all wrong with the Griffin vises.
Up to you as to how much you want to spend.
Good Luck!
Buddy
I have the odyessy spyder from cabela’s that cost about $80 and is working very well for me tying saltwater flies from sizes 6-3/0 no plastic on it either unlike some other less expensive rotary vises I have seen
sounds like you are planning on tying the rest of your life. buy a dyna king or renzetti and be done with it.
If your going to stick with tying panfish and Bass patterns in the larger sizes and used to non rotary vises…then I’d go with a Griffin of stationary nature…If you want to add the rotary function to the new vise…Then you still might be best served by going with a griffin vise with such capabilities…I’ve used and owned the Dyna kings,Renzetti…Which I’m still using…and had I known then what I know now…I’d have just stuck with my Griffin Odyssey…and Saved myself a Whole lot of money and agravation…Love my Renzetti…But it,Nor any other vise I’ve tried does anything, any better then my Odyssey did…
You might also take a look at the “Anvil Apex” vice. I’ve used one for about 5 years now and it’s still going strong. I tie from Salt to #22’s on it and I tie about 5 days a week.
Comes with both pedestal and C-clamp and I think, still sells for around $100.00.
The Griffin Odyssey, as suggested, is also an exceptional vise at any price, but is very affordable.
Hi Jalama,
What type of vise do you have? If you have one of the no-name generic vises from India or Pakastan, then just a plain Thompson A is a big improvement over what you are using. Cabalas used to sell the imported vises under the names “Super Vise, AA vise, Master vise”, etc. These are low priced vises to learn on, but they don’t hold the hook well, and won’t hold up long term.
The other type vise that they sold in Kits, that I have seen, was the Thompson A. The Thompson A’s that they sold were the later manufacture, and I don’t think that they were nearly as good as the ones made years ago.
I use an old Thompson A and it holds the hook reasonably well. If you tie big hooks you can use the super jaws, and it holds them pretty well. Despite what the instructions say, I use the super jaws on hooks of size 4 and bigger.
If money is pretty tight, you might consider a Thompson A off of Ebay. I bought mine for about $20 to $25, and that included shipping. It was in great shape, virtually new, and had two jaws, the standard, and the super jaws. I have used it at least three or four years, and may end up using it for years, unless I upgrade with an HMH or something similar. If you use an older Thompson A that is in good shape, it will do drastically better than the imports, and will probably do quite a bit better than the newer Tompson A’s.
If you buy a Thompson A, get one that is in the red box. The ones in the red box are the older ones. The newer ones have light colored cardboard boxes. The “A” isn’t perfect, and has no frills. However, it will hold the hook reasonably well, and should stand up for a long time.
Again, if you are using one of the imports, the “A” will be a big improvement for not much money. (I know, I learned using one of the imports.)
Regards,
Gandolf
Here is a nice review with more info than I can type in a paragraph or two:
http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwvise/index.html
My first vise was a Danvise, then I bought a Peak. They are both rotary and wouldn’t have it any other way. Good luck.