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"The Renzetti Traveler has been my go-to vise for as long as I’ve been tying flies. There are several key features that make this vise one I haven’t switched from in my ~15 years of tying. While it may seem somewhat minor at first, the angled jaw that allow for a perfectly level rotational adjustment of your fly is key. It allows quick wrapping of material, or an easy way to check proportions of all sides of your fly. I have found this quite critical in baitfish patterns where proportions of the fly impact the way it swims.
The tolerances and materials on the vise are also impressive. When putting significant pressure on a fly or wrapping quickly, you won’t notice any wobbling or loose parts anywhere in the system. Other than some epoxy I’ve spilled on the vise over years, mine still looks beautiful! There is no concerning wear and no corrosion. With a little TLC, the machined aluminum still looks pristine.
Perhaps my favorite feature, and the reason I have never felt the need to change vises, is that the the standard jaws have accepted any hook I have ever needed to throw at them. I grew up in Colorado primarily fishing for trout, and of course any fly I had ever tied up until that point was no problem for the traveler. I was fortunate enough to then spend several years in Florida fishing for snook, tarpon, redfish and the like. I was very pleased when the traveler again gave me zero issues when it came to hook size. It has tied with every hook I’ve asked it to!
To this day if anyone is getting into tying, I always say go with a traveler, citing one of mine (I have two because I like them so much) is going strong 15 years later. It is priced extremely competitively for what you’re getting in terms of compatibility with most hooks, the materials used, and general quality for the money." - Sonder Selvig
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