I use two vises, a Regal for my flytying desk at home, and a Thompson for fishing trips and on the road.
The Regal works great for the larger salmon patterns and trout nymphs that I usually tie - if you tie a lot of smaller flies you may want to use a different vise. Regals are noted for chipping in the jaw area as a result of using very small hooks. When you try to hold smaller hooks, sizes 20-22 and smaller, the hooks may sometimes be forcibly expelled out and the jaws may get marred because of the sudden force of the surfaces closing together. Be very careful how you set small hooks in the Regal. They are very nice about repairing their vise, they replaced my jaws for free even though it was ~ten years old. With all that said, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one as it has worked great for me. My Thompson works great and I have used it on many fishing trips. It is an inexpensive vise that works great, and there is little nostalgia thrown in as I learned to tie on a Thompson AA. I have a neat little trick for traveling with the Thompson. I have a "T" (capital) shaped block of wood. While in the car I clamp the vise to the base of the T and hold the long section between my knees. It makes a very stable and comfortable mobile tying platform. I can usually crank out a dozen last minute nymphs on the way over to the Yakima. -----Original Message----- From: Keith Ayers [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2001 3:52 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: fly vise help For $600 I would expect that thing to tie the fly for me! I bought a "traveler" style Thompson (I think) that cost $50 from Cabelas about 5 years ago. It grips the hook fine and can go mobile if necessary. I had a couple of cheaper ones that clamp to a table that fell apart after about a year of use. Most of the flies I tie are fairly simple steelhead patterns that don't require any special features on your vise.
