I’ve tied with a Cabela’s Master Vise for some time, and it’s time for an upgrade. I’ve been looking at a Griffen Odyssey Vise and a Danvise but can’t decide which one. Can someone tell me overall which is the better vise?
I recently had the same problem, I too looked at both vises you mentioned. The danvise looked good, but I found out that the one in cabelas is mainly made of plastic for the housing. The griffith I asked my local fly shop about, and he said it was an ok vise, but they wore out after a little time. So I ended up buying the more expensive dyna-king with the lifetime warrenty. Also the jaws on the griffith have a tendacy of working loose because of the locking mechinism. Don’t get me wrong, both vises are good vises, but I wanted one that would last me for along time, and hold up to the amount of tying I do. If you only tie a little at a time and take good care of them, either vise would suit you. Just my opinion though, the ultimate choice is up to you. Good luck, Dave
www.freewebs.com/davehazeltine
Has anyone had a Danvise wear out?
about 2 years ago i bought a griffen patriot vise, and love it. i saw it in one of jack dennis’s videos, and when i went vise shopping, it cought my attention. only paid like $120 for it, and it is great. i havnt had any problems, and i use it alot.
Hey dragonfly1, where did you here it had plastic housing? I searched the web and can’t find this anywhere.
I’ve been tying for quite a few years now on a DanVise, and it’s no worse for wear. Al and Gretchen Beatty tie commercially on the DanVise, and are two of it’s major proponents. It it was bad, they wouldn’t have it in their catalog.
RG/AR…amen
I’ve been using two Danvises for several years and had a little problem with one…e-mailed Al…the only thing faster than the part replacement was his response telling me it was on the way…just as I knew it would be.
Hate to undermine fishyguts but you can get the Danvise for half of $120…if you search.
Not actualy plastic, but nylon here is a link with some info on it
http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/review/1
Again, I’m not saying they are bad vises. It was just my preference I wanted an all metal vise.
WW fly fisher --Each time this subject comes up I have the same answer. Griffin make great vises all with a Lifetime Guarantee. Ihave eight – A Odyssey, 3ARP and 6 2A’s. The 2As are for children tying classes and if they can’t break them no one can. Griffins will hold hooks from 4/0 to 28’s with no problem. I have tried many brands and still pick the odyssey any day
Danvise has Delron a space age nylon and from the review posted above they have problems with jaws. I have never had a problem in all my years of tying on Griffins. 
WWFF,
I’ve got a Danvise and I love it, especially for the small dries. I don’t forsee needing another vise in the near future. Just because it’s not made of metal does not mean it lacks endurance. I guess one of the factors is how much money you want to spend. If you wanted to stay under $80 you’d be hardpressed to find a better vice for the money — just my opinion, of course. Good luck with your vise selection.
gqualls, how long have you had your vise, and how have the jaws held up?
The Griffin has been the travel and club meeting vise for the last 3 years while the Danvise has been my go-to for about 5 years at home (I have tied approx. 2,000 flies on it).
The Griffin does have a lifetime warrantee and they did send me a new bolt (I modified one, which was a mistake) quickly and for free. They are all metal and the jaws are very stong (I also have a 2A - and they are also indestructible). However the Odyssey jaws DO NOT close parallel - you have to find the sweet spot, which gets tiresome sometimes.
The Danvise has a delrin housing it is true, but no pressure is on the housing so who cares? The jaws are finer that on the Griffin - AND CLOSE PARALLEL! The problem some people have with them is tightening the jaws too much. The cam on the Danvise exerts more pressure than other vises, so you have to start the ‘firm feeling’ when the cam is already half closed (45 degree angle), not when the cam is at 90 degrees. They also had a batch of jaws that were not tempered correctly, but that was a couple of years ago. The bobbin holder on the Danvise is a model all vises should use as it keeps the thread out of the way for manual wrapping of hackle if you want.
Another point to consider is that most vises below the top price do not have ball bearings in the sleeve of rotation. The Danvise does. All rotating vises use some form of rubber or nylon to affect friction in order to keep the jaws from flopping around. The quality and precision of these parts has as much to do with the smoothness of operation and the stability of the tool as the machined metal housing parts.
For comfort of use & for low $, I would go with the Danvise. For lifetime warrantee and easily (locally) replaced parts (?O? rings & machine screws) I would go with the Griffin.
Here is the definitive article on current vises. http://flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwvise/
3 years ago my best friend gave me a danvise for x-mas telling me that with my abilities i deserved something really great. I have tied a few thousand flies with it from size 2 to size 24 with no problems. If used as the instruction video tells you to you will not have any problems. I will replace mine when it goes out in about 20 years with another.
You will not go wrong with the Danvise. I have used one for about 5 years now and I love it. I recently purchase a Dyna-King to tie the 3/0 to 4/0 hooks that I tie the Atlantic Salmon flies and larger saltwater flies. If you tie in the normal ranges, you cannot go wrong with the Danvise. The “plastic” that is used on the Danvise is the same stuff they use on the space shuttle.
I have been tying on the griffin odyssey for over 6 years and find it to be a wonderful tool. In fact it’s my favorite vice out of a collection of 4 others. Made in the USA and has a lifetime warranty.
I am not sure what the local ‘expert’s’ remark on it wearing out is all about. Many thousand flies have been crafted on my vice and I don’t see any signs of wear other than I have rubbed most of the black finish off of the jaws.
I particulary like the low profile and small size of the vice head. I tie a lot of flies in the 18-24 size range and find I can get in nice and close with my hands.
The ‘plastic’ used on the griffin is DERLIN, a high density material used for bearings and washers. It is very durable and has given great service.
I like to use it as a travel vice and I am often taking it apart or setting it up on road trips. The screws, o rings and other components are standard ‘off the shelf’ hardware and can easily be replaced at a local hardware store. Griffin is happy to send a replacement, but if you drop a screw in the great outdoors it’s nice to be able to replace it quickly at the local ACE Hardware.
There are lots of more expensive products on the market, I paid about $80 for my vice and think it performs as well as many of the vices in the $200 range. I would recommend it to anyone with out reservations.
I use a Griffen Spider Vise. I tie flies from little size 20’s all the way up to heavy 3/0 saltwater flies. I have never had a hook come loose. Never had a problem with the rotation or operation of the vise. I have not had to have any repairs done to it. My original cost was $70 dollars. I have been using it for about 5 years and I would say I have done well in access of 10,000 flies on it. I would highly recommend it. Just my 2 cents. John
Hey,
Just thought I would drop this link by, insted of the $79 that cabelas wants for it this sounded like a lot better of a deal.
http://www.flytiers.com/data/store.asp? … egoryID=88
I’ve not owned a Danvise…But I have owned and loved the Griffin Odyssey…I sold it to another member here on the boards who seems rather happy with it…I paid like 85 bucks for that vise (Lifetime Warranty) and used it solidly for a good 5 years…NO Probs…
I sold it and got A Dyna King Supreme…and I will say DO NOT waste good money on a Dyna King Supreme!!!..Maybe it’s just this model…But It does NOT have the “Rock Solid Hook Holding Power” that is said of DK vises…I will be replacing it with a Griffin in the future!!!..I’ve tried new jaws twice…and still not remotely satisfied with the DK…
Has anyone here with a Danvise had to replace the jaws?
Yes…and it was with no questions asked and in my hands quickly.
You should realize there was an early problem with the jaws which has been rectified and is no longer an issue…at least that is my understanding…and I am pleased with the replacement…