Keeping spool (with SMB attached) from unwinding underwater

[Sbiriguda]

It’s actually not.
I’ve heard of guys getting their fingers stuck in when they let go and it can really hurt and damage your hands. Those spools that don’t let your finger in are apparently ideal from what I’ve heard among experienced technical divers.

Sorry for the naive question... I don't like to put my finger in the spool and I have been taught not to do that. Still, I tend to loose to spool when I shoot the DSMB. I watched several videos suggested here, and other people shooting the DSMB both during training and during the dives. There is something I am still missing... Which is the PROPER way to keep the spool in the hand? Especially in the sea where there is current I probably make mistakes. And it is also dangerous because when the spool slips off the instinct is not to let it go, but to follow it and grab it... and then the DSMB can lift you up

 

[Storker]

Which is the PROPER way to keep the spool in the hand?

The fleshy part of your thumbtip and forefinger tip against the hole, but nothing sticking into the hole

 

[Sbiriguda]

The fleshy part of your thumbtip and forefinger tip against the hole, but nothing sticking into the hole

Thank you so much...

 

[EireDiver606]

If you use the "clip the double ender onto the line before shooting" trick, my experience is that the spool will hang just in front of you, spinning away and metering out line if you lose the grip of it. Are you saying that a metal spool won't behave the same way?

No, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I was commenting on how negative metal spools can be. Metal ones don’t give you a second chance.

 

[admikar]

No, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I was commenting on how negative metal spools can be. Metal ones don’t give you a second chance.

Why don't you do just what I was told to do. When you get your new spool, at home unwind it all the way, take end of your line,tie a sliding knot, make a loop, put your spool in that loop and tighten it. That way if you drop it, it will unwind to the end of the line and stop, just hanging there. Retrieving it can be a messy affair, but it's doable.

 

[Jack Hammer]

If you use the "clip the double ender onto the line before shooting" trick, my experience is that the spool will hang just in front of you, spinning away and metering out line if you lose the grip of it. Are you saying that a metal spool won't behave the same way?

They dont behave at all similar. The metal spools are heavier and if dropped, quickly sink. If dropped when unspooling they they dont tend to "hang" in place, they just fall away quickly. I've stopped using my metal ones as they are unforgiving.

 

[Storker]

They dont behave at all similar. The metal spools are heavier and if dropped, quickly sink. If dropped when unspooling they they dont tend to "hang" in place, they just fall away quickly. I've stopped using my metal ones as they are unforgiving.

OK, thanks for the info. Guess I'll stick with the plastic spools, then.

 

[EireDiver606]

Why don't you do just what I was told to do. When you get your new spool, at home unwind it all the way, take end of your line,tie a sliding knot, make a loop, put your spool in that loop and tighten it. That way if you drop it, it will unwind to the end of the line and stop, just hanging there. Retrieving it can be a messy affair, but it's doable.

I have no problem shooting an SMB and I don’t have too much line on it but *if* you drop a metal one, as it’s more negative, you will not get a second chance to catch it. With a Delrin one, you will.

Not talking about taking line off it.

 

[Sbiriguda]

I am linking this previous discussion on how to inflate the dsmb, which is a related topic. In this discussion several users included the Chairman explain their techniques to inflate the dsmb
Procedure for inflating the dSMB

 

[Sbiriguda]

View attachment 481394 I thought there was a picture earlier in the thread. Reposting it.m

I like very much the shape of your spool because it's made in a way that makes it impossible to get fingers stuck inside the spool. Sounds strange but I can't find a similar one. May I ask where did you find it? I would like to get one