Best Fly Tying Vises for Beginners

There's no need to spend hundreds of dollars on your first vise. Cabela's Super II Vise is $20 and is perfectly fine if you're on a tight budget or are unsure of whether fly tying is for you. I've used it for a long time. (This appears to be the same vise if you want an alternative place to buy from.) You do NOT need a $150+ vise to start. I'm not saying you won't want to eventually upgrade to a better vise at some point, but you really don't have much to lose for $20. 

If you're looking to upgrade from a $20 model, these sub-$200 rotary vises are widely considered to be solid vises and are consistently recommended:

• Peak Rotary Vise ($155)
• Cabela's
• J. Stockard Fly Fishing
• Amazon
• Caddis Fly Shop
• Griffin Odyssey Spider Vise ($100)
• Cabela's
• Amazon
• Renzetti Traveler 2000 Vise ($180)
• Orvis
• FishUSA

Rotary vises like these are handy because you can quickly and easily inspect all sides/angles of a fly, and it makes it a bit easier to wrap yarn, chenille, etc. around the shank of the fly. Instead of wrapping the yarn around the fly, you basically hold the yarn in place and rotate the hook.

Regal Medallion Vises are also highly regarded, though the cheapest ones ($175 for the C-clamp and $275 for the pedestal base) are non-rotary.