Best DSMB/spool?

[Adobo]

As I said in my post, I don't think it's that big a deal. Make sure you have a spool on your bag that will get it to the surface from the max depth of your dive, because if something goes very wrong, that may be where you want to shoot it. If buying a single, 150 foot spool solves your problems, that's a good solution. I own a bunch of spools. Most people I know do. It just isn't worth arguing about.

Oh, come on. Half of the fun of diving is all the internet arguing it allows you to do.

 

[g1138]

Oh, come on. Half of the fun of diving is all the internet arguing it allows you to do.

And bragging about small SAC's and pee counts

 

[PfcAJ]

Having extra line is good. Not having enough line is bad.

 

[rlynch]

lets recap....... if your going to BUY a new spool, get a 150' Delrin one. IF you already HAVE a 100' That's fine too for Fundies and shallow dives less than say 80' (you need to account for current in open water). If your diving deeper than 100' Take a reel and a small lift bag in addition to your small SMB and 150' spool. If your going to buy an SMB get the Halcyon 3.3' one with the no-lock connector (easiest to orally inflate and you can use an LP inflator) Lift bags can be both open bottom or a no-lock (Halcyon only makes the 85lb one now, and only with a no-lock connector). Make sure your line can reach the surface WITH current. Shake gently, and enjoy.

 

[Adobo]

lets recap....... if your going to BUY a new spool, get a 150' Delrin one. IF you already HAVE a 100' That's fine too for Fundies and shallow dives less than say 80' (you need to account for current in open water). If your diving deeper than 100' Take a reel and a small lift bag in addition to your small SMB and 150' spool. If your going to buy an SMB get the Halcyon 3.3' one with the no-lock connector (easiest to orally inflate and you can use an LP inflator) Lift bags can be both open bottom or a no-lock (Halcyon only makes the 85lb one now, and only with a no-lock connector). Make sure your line can reach the surface WITH current. Shake gently, and enjoy.

I'm not sure what the lift bag would be used for. I've never seen a lift bag used on a dive. To be fair, this might be some East coast wreck diving thing which I have no experience with.

With regards to those who for some reason bought a 100ft spool, another idea is to re-string the spool with #18 cave line to get say 120ft of line on it. (This was a suggestion from a friend, not my own idea.) Of course, this solution is still going to be inadequate for Tech1 dives.

 

[tracydr]

I'm still wondering about the lift bag myself. My husband bought one but I really don't know why he got a lift bag instead of a newer SMB.

 

[Ragnar]

I'm not sure what the lift bag would be used for. I've never seen a lift bag used on a dive. To be fair, this might be some East coast wreck diving thing which I have no experience with.

It is, and strangely enough many people use open bottomed ones.......not the best choice since surface conditions easily cause it to deflate when there is not an object being lifted and tension is relaxed on the line. Many people there carry lift bags for use as an emergency up-line in addition to a regular SMB. I'm of the opinion that a large SMB would handle that job equally as well.

 

[rlynch]

the Lift bag is common here. boat chains break or come unhooked from the wreck fairly often (not every time but it has happened to me twice this summer, both time while we were on deck lucky) so the boat has to come back and rehook the wreck. We are normally 12-20 miles offshore and diving in unpredictable currents. It is fairly often that you may descend with no current and ascend with 1-1.5 or more current. Also the currents eddy and shift within the water column (top current going one way, bottom another, mid-water may be different too). Having Divers strung out over a mile or more of open ocean is less than optimal. It happens every year or so however and is usually a big deal to find the diver(s). SOP if you come back to the up line and the boat is gone is to Shoot a good sized bag (we use lift bags, using a large SMB would work but are more of a PITA to store IMHO although I sometimes carry one). Tie you bag off to the wreck b/c you know the boat is coming back there for a search or is trying to rehook already, this gives you a known location and makes finding you easier and increases your chances of being found quickly. And then ascent on your line. For this you need a farily large reel with at least 200' of line on it for Rec depth dives. Our conditions are different than south Florida and so we have some different methods of risk mitigation which suit our diving environment.

 

[tracydr]

the Lift bag is common here. boat chains break or come unhooked from the wreck fairly often (not every time but it has happened to me twice this summer, both time while we were on deck lucky) so the boat has to come back and rehook the wreck. We are normally 12-20 miles offshore and diving in unpredictable currents. It is fairly often that you may descend with no current and ascend with 1-1.5 or more current. Also the currents eddy and shift within the water column (top current going one way, bottom another, mid-water may be different too). Having Divers strung out over a mile or more of open ocean is less than optimal. It happens every year or so however and is usually a big deal to find the diver(s). SOP if you come back to the up line and the boat is gone is to Shoot a good sized bag (we use lift bags, using a large SMB would work but are more of a PITA to store IMHO although I sometimes carry one). Tie you bag off to the wreck b/c you know the boat is coming back there for a search or is trying to rehook already, this gives you a known location and makes finding you easier and increases your chances of being found quickly. And then ascent on your line. For this you need a farily large reel with at least 200' of line on it for Rec depth dives. Our conditions are different than south Florida and so we have some different methods of risk mitigation which suit our diving environment.

Okay, that makes sense. My ascents have always been open ocean, for the most part. When we've really needed a DSMB, it's been places like Galapegos and Pemba Island, where you can become scattered by currents but you're not coming up a line tied to a wreck.

 

[PfcAJ]

the Lift bag is common here. boat chains break or come unhooked from the wreck fairly often (not every time but it has happened to me twice this summer, both time while we were on deck lucky) so the boat has to come back and rehook the wreck. We are normally 12-20 miles offshore and diving in unpredictable currents. It is fairly often that you may descend with no current and ascend with 1-1.5 or more current. Also the currents eddy and shift within the water column (top current going one way, bottom another, mid-water may be different too). Having Divers strung out over a mile or more of open ocean is less than optimal. It happens every year or so however and is usually a big deal to find the diver(s). SOP if you come back to the up line and the boat is gone is to Shoot a good sized bag (we use lift bags, using a large SMB would work but are more of a PITA to store IMHO although I sometimes carry one). Tie you bag off to the wreck b/c you know the boat is coming back there for a search or is trying to rehook already, this gives you a known location and makes finding you easier and increases your chances of being found quickly. And then ascent on your line. For this you need a farily large reel with at least 200' of line on it for Rec depth dives. Our conditions are different than south Florida and so we have some different methods of risk mitigation which suit our diving environment.

+1

Things change a bit depending on your local situation. Gotta be flexible.