I'm new to fly fishing and would like to try my hand at tying flies. What vise to start with?
I am willing to pay a little more to get a vise that will last me a lifetime.
Thanks for the help

Welcome to the bad habit. My suggestion would firstly be to stay away from most starter kits. Get a good quality vice (I use a Dan Vise personally, there are plenty of good ones out there) good tools: scissors, bobbin, whip finisher, some head cement.
Then pick a few patterns you'd like to start with and buy the thread, books, materials needed for them. Foam poppers, woolly buggers, bead head nymphs are pretty good starters, but whatever floats your boat.
There used to be a great site called Fly Anglers Online. I did a few pattern tutorials for them. I expect they might still be around.

Enjoy!

Thanks RRhyne. Can you recommend some vise manufacturers and models?

A quick check of the J.Stockard catalog showed nine different brands of vises, $25 to over $600. Apparently, there are many features that folks want and like. Only you can pick one to suit you. I started with the J.Stockard "basic" vise and tool kit, to learn with. No more often than I tie a fly, it has been adequate for me. YMMV IslandJim

I've had a Apex Anvil vise since I started tying 8 years ago. I don't like the clamp on type. The Apex Anvil has a stand and rotates. Good price for the sturdy made quality.

There is a wide range of vises to choose from, from basic to super sexy. If you want fancy you have to pay extra. My suggestion would be to get a rotary vise if you can swing the expense. They aren't totally necessary, but they are very convenient. And if you decide that you don't like tying it'll be easier to sell. I have a Dan Vise rotary and a Renzetti Traveler rotary. The Renzetti is sexier (I bought it to stay in the RV so I could tie on trips), but I use the Dan as my primary because the bride got it for me as a birthday gift years ago when money was tight, and it has sentimental value. There's nothing wrong with it and it'll do anything that the other rotaries will do. It just isn't as sexy. I also bought a very inexpensive Cabelas EZ Travel rotary recently; it is very small and will make a good travel rig (I don't RV now; it'll travel in a suitcase). I have no idea yet how it'll hold up, but for the $60 or $70 I paid for it it's worth a shot. It's your call, but I like clamp mounts on my at-home vises and pedestal mounts for the travel vises. You can spend less than a hundred or way over five hundred on a vise. There are several top-tier brands and they all have their fans. You won't go wrong with any of the major players.

My vote is the Renzetti Traveler. Unless you’re going to tie a bunch of larger and saltwater flies.

Am I overlooking something? I've tied on 3/0 Gammy SC17s with my Traveler (standard, not the saltwater version) with no issues, and often use 1/0, and sometimes 2/0, SC17s and SL12Ss without problems. What problems have you had with the Traveler tying saltwater flies?

Personally don’t know if there is a problem because I don’t tie anything but smaller flies. Very seldom do I tie anything larger than a 10 with most 14-20. I just have heard many people say they like the saltwater size if the majority is larger flies. I’ll take your word on the smaller one working fine.

I am also a big fan of the Renzetti Traveler.

The issue with the big hooks is how tight it will hold. If you are putting a lot of pressure on the hook with strong wraps the big hooks will slip. They hold just fine with normal pressure though.

If a fly is either too big or too small for the renzetti traveler, then it probably falls outside my skill set to tie. I’ll just buy that one from the fly shop.

Interesting, thanks for the reply. I guess I've just never tied one with that much pressure. I mostly use the Dan Vise and tie with monofilament. I guess I just haven't tied on the Renzetti enough. The Dan is clamped and the Renzetti is on a pedestal; perhaps that may be why I haven't put enough pressure on it to slip?

I think the Apex is a very good call. Wolff Industries has been very responsive to my needs, that are not related directly to their vises. I have one of their machined desk clamps and it is awesome. Just a great company with very very good prices for their products. If I didn't already have a dozen years on a Dyna-King, I would buy a Wolff (Atlas).