Apex Vise

I have been tying with this vise for several years. I purchased the vise as it was reasonably priced. It worked fine but I had problems with small hooks slipping. I found the surfaces if the split in the jaws were not flat. I used my mini diamond files to flatten the surfaces. Now the vise will hold #22 hooks with no slippage.

I’ve had this vise for quite some time. I can’t remember how long. It has been great for me. The first thing I did was turn the neck around to get some space between the neck and jaws. I’ve used hooks from 20 to 1/0 in it without problems. Yes, I’ve purchased another vise since however, I keep coming back to this vise.
The other vise is a DynaKing Trekker. It is currently sitting in its box.

If you're just starting tying and looking for a vise there are a ton of options (which can be confusing). Except for the very cheapest I think most vises anymore have at least some rotary function. It's useful to be able to turn your fly to see it from different angles.

I'd call this a basic rotary (as opposed to the 'in-line' models). I prefer the simplicity and design of this type of vise. This is a solid vise, comes with both a pedestal base and a C-clamp. It turns smoothly and holds hooks well. I like the lever action closing handle and that is also useful turning the fly. Couple improvements (as others have said) is the jaws could be a little tougher and little things like the thumb screws could be metal instead of plastic - I dont think those changes would drastically affect the price-point but would be a nice upgrade. Overall I'm glad I bought it and worth the money.