I’ve been tying on the HMH TRV vise for a while now, and I love it. As you know, I like supporting New England businesses in general, and New England fly fishing businesses specifically. Based out of Biddeford, Maine, HMH is one of those.

But more than that, they are truly a great product. HMH has been around since 1975, and the current owner, Jonathan Larrabee, has been a machinist for nearly as long. This is the kind of company where, when you go to the shows, Jon is at the shows, sometimes with his employees, and sometimes with his family. It’s a small company, and they take pride in what they do.

One time, I was driving north to go salmon fishing and needed some tube fly materials. I stopped in at their shop to buy some, and chatted with them while they were making vices. In between machining in their old, big industrial loft space in Brunswick, they were reminiscing about salmon fishing. And when I got back, they wanted to know how the trip was.

How great is that?

Call me old fashioned, but you can’t put a price on any of that.

I tie a lot of different flies, but mostly salmon and saltwater flies, and this vise has been truly great. It’s short but uber sturdy. It’s well-made. It looks great. When tying, I sometimes think of the above stories and smile. It’s more than a vise at this point, it’s a relationship. And I love it.

Check out my video review above, and some photos below for what the vise looks like fresh out of the box and fully set up! Any questions, let me know in the comments below or in the video comments.

Palm Roller

Here it is in comparison with my old Renzetti Traveler vise, just in case you’re more familiar with that platform!

Height: Stout

Weight: Mighty

Summary Conclusions