DIR- GUE Spool to SMB attachment

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They're small for the length of string. They also deploy extremely well with a very usable 'hole' shape. When winding in, they don't bunch up like a lot of the plastic spools do (which use the round string).

But when they drop, they go just faster than you can descend to catch them!

Yeah, I have to admit that I like how shiny they are. I am a fan of the light monkey spools myself. they're sturdy, neutral(-ish?) in the water, relatively inexpensive, and have large thumb holes so they work well with drygloves.
 
Below works for me for OW dives. Max length is 60m (but small enough to still fit in a thigh pocket) so safe to shoot from 40m to account for scope to surface. Deeper than that and time to clip on some industrial strength danglies (reels).

upload_2021-9-22_10-30-25.jpeg
 
Below works for me for OW dives. Max length is 60m (but small enough to still fit in a thigh pocket) so safe to shoot from 40m to account for scope to surface. Deeper than that and time to clip on some industrial strength danglies (reels).

View attachment 683274
The problem isn't spooling out - most spools you can hold between thumb and forefinger as the SMB ascends and the spool whizzes around in your hand.

Had one of those a while back and am not a fan. Sold it on very quickly. It's awkward to hold one-handed (because you hold the spool in one hand with the nozzle/inflator held to the spool as you use the other hand to get the drysuit inflator disconnected and connected to the inflator); the thick string bunches up as you wind it in such that the spool holes are covered by the string; the screw lock seems like a cave reel and not an SMB spool. Drop the thing and it too goes down to Nelson's locker.

Classic design that solves the wrong problem.

This Custom Diver pocket reel fixes the problem and works well enough (for a tiny reel). Fits well inside a drysuit pocket and is the same size as a spool, but without the party-piece: drop it and it stops reeling out.
Custom diver reel and Halcyon SMB.jpg


Here's the 100m/330' primary reel and CO2 cartridge SMB -- can be deployed in 15 seconds.
KentTooling reel and CO2 SMB 2.jpg

KentTooling reel and CO2 SMB.jpg
 
The problem isn't spooling out - most spools you can hold between thumb and forefinger as the SMB ascends and the spool whizzes around in your hand.

Had one of those a while back and am not a fan. Sold it on very quickly. Not least the thick string which bunches up as you wind it in and that the holes are covered by the string. Also dislike the screw lock; seems like a cave reel, not an SMB spool. Drop the thing and it too goes down to Nelson's locker.

Classic design that solves the wrong problem.

This Custom Diver pocket reel fixes the problem and works well enough (for a tiny reel). Fits well inside a drysuit pocket and is the same size as a spool, but without the party-piece: drop it and it stops reeling out.
View attachment 683277

Here's the 100m/330' primary reel and CO2 cartridge SMB -- can be deployed in 15 seconds.
View attachment 683281
View attachment 683280
That's about as far from DIR as you can get.
 
true, in the ocean i use the 6 footer

Halcyon do make excellent SMBs. The big ones are very good in the sea.

One assumes you put the bags up at your first stop, not when you're above the wreck? The spools look quite short -- one of the nice things about the Apeks spools is they're small for a 60m/200' spool.
 
Halcyon also started making big smb's (6ft) that are not very wide. They only used to have the long ones that were also wide, but that changed because a well known GUE instructor asked specifically to fabricate him a less wide long model.

Halcyon Dive Systems

Long enough to get noticed in a bit more interesting wave action, but thin enough so they will be easy enough to inflate so they arrive at the surface full.

I have a couple of those. The thin 1m (3ft) long ones are next to useless in real circumstances, they are good for practicing in lakes ;-)

I typically shoot the bag after the 21 m gas switch or deeper. Typically when the ascend starts to really slow down. Depends a bit on the type of ascend. If it's a drifting ascend you don't want to shoot to close to the surface and risk having the boat not seeing your smb because you already drifted too far away from the wreck. (This by the way requires all the teams on the wreck to dive more or less the same profile and ascend more or less at the same time, otherwise it becomes a cluster ****)
 
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