Peak Rotary Vise

I just received my Peak Rotary in the mail, set up was quick and easy and I started tying right away. This is by far the best vise I have ever used. The jaws hold hooks securely from size 18 to a 1. The rotary function is very very smooth. This vise is a pleasure to tie with and I am sure as time goes on it will more than pay for itself, it makes tying streamers a pleasure.

Mark's Comments - This is a masterpiece of USA made technology! When you open the small heavy cardboard box, you are quickly lost with all the diagrams and instruction sheets and small baggies full of cool goodies that took me a while to figure out what they all were. This is a beautiful looking vise, well polished and it feels like quality - no questions there. Ok, a few points for such a nice vise; the packaging seemed weak as it comes in a cardboard box. The packaging just didn't hint at what I found inside. While not included in the base model of the vise, it definitely has one of the most comprehensive lists of optional features I've seen. I enjoyed this vise. It doesn't hurt that I can wave a flag and point out what good ol' made-in-the-USA manufacturing can do when both heart and thought are put into building something! Mark's Rating - 4.40

Joe's Comments - What can I say but "WOW" - this is a great value. The vise is a finely built piece of machinery. I could find very little to criticize. You can select an excellent c-clamp or pedestal base and still come in under $150. The manufacturer says the standard jaws are designed for size 2 to 20 and they are correct. Forcing the standard jaws to hold a 1/0 hook resulted in some vertical slippage under tension - no big bass bugs! Okay, so the guy who designed it told the truth and I tried to make it do more... can I be critical of that? If you want a vise you can live with forever, you're a serious tier, and you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can stop your search here. I don't know how these guys do it - and made in America too!!! Joe's Rating - 4.30

Jim's Comments - If there is a gold standard in the sub-$150 category, the Peak vise is it. While I'm only slowly coming around to liking cam-lever operated vises, this is a truly well engineered piece of American design. I tied everything from a #20 midge up to a 2/0 streamer with no problems. The vise is available in either a c-clamp or pedestal base configuration for the same price. I liked the base, but you could probably press bearings with the supplied c-clamp. It's easily the most massive c-clamp I've ever seen for a fly tying vise. Definitely, no wobble there. I only had a few minor complaints. I didn't like the fact that you needed to use Allen wrenches quite a bit, and the relative shortness of the vise post made it difficult to work around the waste basket I normally use. I disliked the bobbin cradle. The bobbin cradle required some modification to work properly. I had to sand down the block where the set screw is tapped so it would index the cradle arm. After that it worked fairly well I also didn't like the use of snap rings to change out the vise jaws. I'm sure I'm not the first person to send one of those tiny rings flying off into orbit. Knurling the cam adjustment knob would be advisable, as well. Most of these are very small concerns compared to how truly functional this vise is. I only really enjoyed tying on a handful of vises in this shootout and the Peak was right at the top of the list. Jim's Rating - 4.50

I tried all three sizes of jaws in my testing. Hooks were placed in the jaws and bent to either the breaking point or until they bent in a complete circle. As long as I stayed within or close to the appropriate hook size range for the jaws I was using, nothing slipped at all. I had to exceed the suggested hook range for the jaws I was using by several hook sizes before I could get a hook to slip. However, I'm picky about vise features. I would prefer to see the insides of the jaws scuffed a little so I wouldn't have to use as much pressure on the arm as I used for the larger, oversized hooks. I'm not saying I had to use a lot of pressure, certainly not enough to harm a hook, but I'm one of those guys who believes jaws hold hooks easier and better if the inside surfaces are scuffed or grooved rather than smooth. That said, none of the appropriately sized hooks slipped anyway, so maybe my desires and concerns are unfounded. I tried the medium or regular jaws on hook sizes from 22 to 2. It held all those hooks without any slipping. Hooks started slipping at size 1/0 so I changed to the magnum or saltwater jaws. Those jaws held the biggest hook I have (4/0) without any slipping at all. The midge jaws held every hook I tried from size 28 to size 8. Not one hook slipped in the midge jaws until I tried a size 4. In other words, if you use the right sized jaws, you shouldn't experience any problems with hook holding grip. This vise is one of the most precisely machined vises I have tried. There is no wobble or play at all in the rotary mechanism, and the rotation is smooth as a baby's backside. Jaws are easily changed by removing a c-clip and loosening an allen screw. There is an indent in the bottom of the jaws that the allen screw fits into to keep the jaws from rotating or wobbling inside their housing. With that indent, alignment is automatic. The precision machining of the jaws and their forcing cone keeps even tension on hooks at all times. The pedestal base is wide, solid and has a tray machined into it to hold hooks and flies. At about seven pounds, it won't slide or tip over on your fly bench. Everything is either stainless steel or brass, so it should last a long time. The jaws are hardened to withstand years of repeated use and possible abuse. The thing I like most about this vise is the price. At about $150 US, it's the best bargain I've found in a rotary vise with an all-metal design. I also like the heavy, large base that won't move or wiggle on the bench. The machining is precise and the cosmetics are very nice. Compared to several big-name vises in the under $200 price range, the Peak vise is the better-built vise. I mentioned the smooth jaws were a concern of mine. Scuffing the insides of the jaws before the hardening process might increase hook-holding capabilities with less jaw pressure, which in turn might increase the life of the vise. Since the vise held hooks of the appropriate sizes very well, my concerns may be unfounded. Another thing to watch is the delrin screw that keeps the vise head from turning. Eventually this screw will wear out and need to be replaced. I don't know if it will last one year or ten, but eventually it will wear out, so I would buy a second screw right away and keep it as a spare. The positive side of that delrin screw is that it can be tightened slightly to provide gentle pressure on the shaft but allow full rotation of the head without scarring the shaft. I prefer it that way.