Spool for ~100' Dive? (looking on DGX Website)

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I do a lot of drift dives in SE Florida. I use a SS spool with 100' of line. I shoot my bag fairly deep, usually 80-90' and it works just fine. I like the SS spool; in the event you drop it when shooting a bag, it will come back to you.
 
I do a lot of drift dives in SE Florida. I use a SS spool with 100' of line. I shoot my bag fairly deep, usually 80-90' and it works just fine. I like the SS spool; in the event you drop it when shooting a bag, it will come back to you.

I don't know how that's even possible, unless you've just never dived in ripping current. I've seen my line going up at close to a 45 degree angle, and from 90-95 feet which is typical of SE Florida dives, you're talking at least another 50' of line over and above that 100' just to make it to the surface. When that SMB is rocketing away from you at a 45 degree angle, dropping the spool won't necessarily result in it boomeranging right back to you, if anything, it's more likely that the smb will get close to, but not reach the surface and that small spool will get ripped right out of your hand and will be moving very rapidly upwards and away from you down current.
 
I do a lot of drift dives in SE Florida. I use a SS spool with 100' of line. I shoot my bag fairly deep, usually 80-90' and it works just fine. I like the SS spool; in the event you drop it when shooting a bag, it will come back to you.
I interpreted it as using the spool for running the flag, not shooting an SMB.
 
I interpreted it as using the spool for running the flag, not shooting an SMB.

Maybe my memory is failing me, but the drift dive I did off Pompano Beach, I was thinking I used an SMB...not the flag (used that from shore).
 
Each diver, or group of divers, drift diving, must have a flag. If you started with a guide with a flag, you may have ascended separately, on your own SMB. That is not uncommon in some areas, Jupiter, for instance.
 
Thank you for your feedback.:cheers: I can’t make up my mind at the moment. It’s between the DGX SS and Light Monkey. I’m going to sleep on it.
 
I do a lot of drift dives in SE Florida. I use a SS spool with 100' of line. I shoot my bag fairly deep, usually 80-90' and it works just fine. I like the SS spool; in the event you drop it when shooting a bag, it will come back to you.

How does it come back to you? I thought it would sink?
 
@rvojr, if you happen to drop the finger spool while your bag is shooting to the surface, the spool will go with it. If your spool is a heavy SS version, the weight will cause it to unwind and sink back to you. But yes, if you drop a SS spool while winding, it will sink down away from you.
 
Just to chuck another alternative in the mix, the Apeks Lifeline 45m is a nice piece of kit.

45m LifeLine Spool

Yes, I know it's overpriced, but I've yet to find a more ergonomically refined and free running spool with quality line. I use mine with 5mm gloves in the UK and bare in the Red Sea and it's just as easy to handle in both environments.

Can't offer a comparison to your other choices as we don't always carry the same brands over here.
 

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