SMB Reel Setup

[anchochile]

I found this thread very useful and I think others would too. Might be worth a mod moving it to one of the general scuba boards, rather than the Coz board.

 

[dflaher]

Does anyone know of a SMD/Reel combo that is decent, IE: it comes all together? SMD doesnt need to be big. Any suggestions?

Post #15 in this thread shows a Mares SMB/Spool combo - not sure if that's what you are looking for.

...I have been diving since 1996 lol and never really felt the need for this as I come up with DM 99.9% of the time, BUT I have had 2 dives where I surfaced without (tormentos current was riiiiipping and we all got seperated) and felt the need for one. I would prefer as small and compact setup as possible.

Same here.

 

[dflaher]

I found this thread very useful and I think others would too. Might be worth a mod moving it to one of the general scuba boards, rather than the Coz board.

I agree on the usefulness of this thread. It does have lots of applicability here, however, due to the predominance of drift diving found in Coz. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Diver below 83]

Does anyone know of a SMD/Reel combo that is decent, IE: it comes all together? SMD doesnt need to be big. Any suggestions?

Someone posted a mares smb/spool combo that is all self contained a few pages back. I’ve been searching but haven’t been able to find it in stock anywhere.

 

[Brules]

Man I want that Mares one, but like you cant find it anywhere! It looks like it is on national back order from Mares.

I did find these though, still looking:

https://www.amazon.com/DiveSmart-Su...=dsmb&qid=1558649806&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-10

This one doesnt have a reel, but looks to have a pocket for it:

https://www.amazon.com/Dive-Alert-S...s=dsmb&qid=1558649806&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-8

 

[caruso]

Why do people prefer spools over reels?
I would prefer as small and compact setup as possible.

Well you sort of answered your own question. A spool is smaller, less bulky and lighter.

That much being said, I carried a finger spool for my SMB for several years, right up until a few weeks ago, following a dive trip to Florida last month. I was just back in Florida again last week, carrying a reel, the finger spool stayed home.

Why? Because finger spools in general don't carry all that much line, and I had occasion to deploy it from depths of close to 100' on my earlier trip- because several members of my group preferred to have an upline to ascend on at the end of our drift dives. Guess what happens when you deploy 120' of line from 95' in a ripping current that is worse towards the surface? If you guessed "the SMB won't make it to the surface and it will be pulling with huge force on your hand that is grasped around it trying to hold on" you win a prize. At the end of one dive the spool was ripped right out of my hand, once back on the boat we were able to retrieve it.

Also when carrying flags on shallower reef drift dives, the big cheap flimsy plastic yellow clunky handles with thick rope that are typically supplied by the charter are bulky and more difficult to wind, and a finger spool isn't all that much better.

With my new Manta reel, with 185' of thin, strong line and an integrated release on the handle that allows me to let out line without removing my hand from the grip, I don't even need to look at it as I unwind (as compared to the yellow clunky handle). It's a zillion times easier and more convenient than the yellow plastic handle or a finger spool and should I need to deploy from depth in a ripping surface current I know the SMB will surface as expected.

It's also a heck of a lot easier to wind up that string during ascent when using a reel rather than a finger spool. Here's my reel, notice the quick release that is integrated into the hand grip. Even though it's a bit larger than a finger spool, I hardly know it's there.

 

[Diver below 83]

Man I want that Mares one, but like you cant find it anywhere! It looks like it is on national back order from Mares.

I did find these though, still looking:

https://www.amazon.com/DiveSmart-Su...=dsmb&qid=1558649806&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-10

This one doesnt have a reel, but looks to have a pocket for it:

https://www.amazon.com/Dive-Alert-S...s=dsmb&qid=1558649806&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-8

Ya the mares overall is the perfect package. Hopefully stock will start to trickling in again.

I’m a fan of the dive alert smb since it includes an opv. I prefer the model that’s half yellow and half orange. Best of both worlds.

Also like the DAN one as well

 

[ggunn]

Good question, I am not sure?

I see most people using/rec spools. But for planning on ONLY using it if I have to surface apart from DM - would a reel be better?

Why do people prefer spools over reels?

And to add to this - I have been diving since 1996 lol and never really felt the need for this as I come up with DM 99.9% of the time, BUT I have had 2 dives where I surfaced without (tormentos current was riiiiipping and we all got seperated) and felt the need for one.

I would prefer as small and compact setup as possible.

Thanks!

My wife and I just came back from two weeks (42 tanks) diving Cozumel. I deployed my SMB 5 times. I do not dive without it.

 

[jgttrey]

Why? Because finger spools in general don't carry all that much line, and I had occasion to deploy it from depths of close to 100' on my earlier trip- because several members of my group preferred to have an upline to ascend on at the end of our drift dives. Guess what happens when you deploy 120' of line from 95' in a ripping current that is worse towards the surface? If you guessed "the SMB won't make it to the surface and it will be pulling with huge force on your hand that is grasped around it trying to hold on" you win a prize. At the end of one dive the spool was ripped right out of my hand, once back on the boat we were able to retrieve it.

I use a dyneema braid line on my spools for deeper dives. More than doubles the capacity. I really don't like reels for dsmb work.

 

[JohnnyC]

An auto-locking reel shouldn't be used for SMB deployment. It's a good way to get it ripped out of your hand at an inopportune time. The whole-hand squeeze ones are less likely to cause a problem than the clicker types, but it doesn't take much loosening of your grip to lock the reel and off it goes. The second issue, is that you cannot control the deployment speed of the line. SMB's generate momentum as they ascend, Boyle's Law and all that. From safety stop depth it's not a huge deal, from 30m, it will continue to unspool after the sausage has reached the surface. If you cannot brake the reel as it ascends, the likelihood of excess line spooling off of the reel and causing a birds nest increases significantly.

A sidewinder-type reel is preferred as 1) it doesn't auto-lock, removing the potential for an inadvertent locking forcefully removing the reel from your hand, and 2) allows you to brake the spool as the line is unwinding to control the pay out of the line, preventing excess line coming off.

You can do it a hundred times and not have an issue, all it takes is once at an inopportune time and now you've lost your SMB and your reel and hopefully you've got some other way to signal, and your captain is good at following your bubbles.