Reel clips

[Dr. Mike Hatcher]

Okay...I know i'm going to start a war here..but according to what I know about DIR diving there are to be no metal-metal connections.
Fair enough.
However...what do you do with your primary reel...most if not all the ones that i have seen/used have the bolt snap attached to the reel itself with some sort or other metal connection..which is then of course attached to the metal D ring on your harness.
just asking
and PLEASE if anyone responds to this..being an educated person...I'd like a better answer than "DIR says you must do it this way" like some sort of automaton...I'd like rationale included in the answer.

Thanks so much

M Hatcher MD FRCPC
Hamilton

 

[limeyx]

Okay...I know i'm going to start a war here..but according to what I know about DIR diving there are to be no metal-metal connections.
Fair enough.
However...what do you do with your primary reel...most if not all the ones that i have seen/used have the bolt snap attached to the reel itself with some sort or other metal connection..which is then of course attached to the metal D ring on your harness.
just asking
and PLEASE if anyone responds to this..being an educated person...I'd like a better answer than "DIR says you must do it this way" like some sort of automaton...I'd like rationale included in the answer.

Thanks so much

M Hatcher MD FRCPC
Hamilton

I believe the justification that this is "OK" is that the clip is always a double-ender, which has two "ends" so if one end of the clip jams, you can always undo the other end to get it off.

You can also put a (small) loop of bungee on the reel and clip to that (but the bungee might snap/come off)

The other justification which is so-so in my opinion is that generally if you take the reel, you will be using it early on on the dive (i.e. you will not carry it through narrow parts of a cave/wreck) so there is less chance of it getting snagged. However, there are plenty of times when you "might" need a reel and "might not" so I dont buy this argument as much.

 

[David Watson]

mispost

David

 

[David Watson]

Oops, I misread the question for a spool, not a reel. Sorry

 

[Jasonmh]

Since it is your first post, welcome.
You really hardly ever see an answer in here that says "DIR says you must do it that way", except from people who like to propagate that myth, so I hope you get a satisfactory answer to your question.
I would answer it, but I don't know

 

[Dr. Mike Hatcher]

Thanks limeyx..but many of the ones I've seen aren't 'double dogs' clips...like the OMS 'cavern' and 'primary'...have a look...OMS Safety Reels and Line Arrows http://www.OMSdive.com
I have an oms primary..took the ' butterfly' clip off and replaced it with a standard bolt snap..didn't like the way the butterfly easily accepted opening..
cheers
m

 

[Dr. Mike Hatcher]

Since it is your first post, welcome.
You really hardly ever see an answer in here that says "DIR says you must do it that way", except from people who like to propagate that myth, so I hope you get a satisfactory answer to your question.
I would answer it, but I don't know

gotcha..cheers
m

 

[TSandM]

The reels (like the Ralph Hood ones) that have a permanent metal connection to the clip are discouraged for DIR diving. The commonly used reels that I have seen are like the Salvo and Halcyon ones, which do not have a permanently mounted clip. You either use a double-ender, or tie a clip on with cave line. I believe it's preferred to use the double-ender, because you remove it while the reel is in use, and therefore don't have anything attached to the reel on which you can foul the line.

 

[Jay Roy]

I think your taking the term "no metal to metal connections" in its broadest of terms. First off, the reel used for exploration is clipped off using a double ender to the butt d-ring...in that position, its not likely to get hung up on anything..and if it does, there are two ways to get it off..
What is not wanted is metal to metal connections on things like stage or deco bottles...some rope and a couple of bolt snaps as opposed to the kits some companies sell...also, some companies make kits to connect your primary light cannister to the backplate, making it impossible to remove underwater...
Attaching a bolt snap or a double ender to a d-ring is not what they had in mind when they say "no metal to metal"
BTW, when you say "primary reel" how many are you accustomed to carrying?

 

[PCBCaptChris]

I am by no means a DIR diver... I'll offer up an educated guess though... I try to avoid metal to metal myself, but my reels do have metal to metal. The way I could rationalize it in my head is that I need to be able to cut items free should they become irreversibly stuck. A reel is usually tucked way and you could just as easily take the entire reel way if it were to get wrapped up, ect.