cmrangel
Contributor
Anyone have any experience with the Dive Rite Slide Lock reels? Wondering how good they are. Locking mechanism seems like it would be easy to operate. Any feedback / thoughts greatly appreciated!!
Dive Rite Slide Lock reel ?
- Thread starter cmrangel
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Jack Hammer
Contributor
I've only played with it a few times at my LDS, no actual in water usage. I really liked it and thought it was slick and very easy to operate. I'm curious too how it is in the water.
OP
cmrangel
Contributor
Anyone else with experience with these reels?
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so of note on the price. They're only $10 more expensive than the regular sidewinders, the same price as the Light Monkey reels, and cheaper than the Halcyon's. Yes they are expensive, but no, they're not ridiculously priced.
Here's the real problem. Sidewinder reels are beautiful for laying line. They're VERY good at it. They are VERY bad at reeling it back in.... Horribly annoying if you have any sort of distance to reel back on a big reel so I prefer to use the old school reels for $75.
For safety/gap/jump reels they're fine if you don't like spools, but for me, I just don't have a lot of use for wicked expensive reels for normal diving. I have a sidewinder expedition reel, it rarely gets used since I'm not fortunate enough to be laying massive amounts of line on a regular basis. I got it to use as a primary, got a screaming deal on it, but I then realized that they're just properly annoying to use
Here's the real problem. Sidewinder reels are beautiful for laying line. They're VERY good at it. They are VERY bad at reeling it back in.... Horribly annoying if you have any sort of distance to reel back on a big reel so I prefer to use the old school reels for $75.
For safety/gap/jump reels they're fine if you don't like spools, but for me, I just don't have a lot of use for wicked expensive reels for normal diving. I have a sidewinder expedition reel, it rarely gets used since I'm not fortunate enough to be laying massive amounts of line on a regular basis. I got it to use as a primary, got a screaming deal on it, but I then realized that they're just properly annoying to use
lermontov
Contributor
i think theyre great have used them on 40-50 lined dives and not had a problem with them - only issue ive had is the little slide nob is small with thick gloves or when the water is very cold and your fingers aren't dextrous but other than that id recommend -dont have any problems with rewinding and of the differant reels ive used this one is the least tangle prone so far
OP
cmrangel
Contributor
Thanks for the info!
I tried out one of these for jumps while cave diving in Mexico. I found that I never had a single situation where I needed to lock or unlock the reel single-handed. One of the annoying things about their / most reels is that you can unscrew the locking nut right out of the reel. I think that the new feature is a solution to that problem and nothing more.
cool_hardware52
Contributor
If the lock screw is nylon you can touch a soldering iron to the end and displace the last thread or two so it can't back out. If the lock screw is stainless you need to support the very end and smack it with a punch. Same effect, but harder to overcome if you need to replace the screw. You seldom need to replace one if you haven't lost it.
Tobin
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