gkrane
Contributor
What SMB spool to all of you use? I do not plan to get into cave diving but really enjoy wreck diving at recreational depths. Not sure if that makes a difference. What spool would you all recommend to use and for class?
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I did mine with Halcyon's defender spool. Center is solid, a little easier to hold imo and no chance of getting a finger caught. Price not too bad either. Good luck and enjoy your class.
Extreme Exposure
True, I do same and with thick gloves and cold water I like the 150 ft (45m) spools for smb use most. But for a fundies a 100 will do it. Where there are waves or current you will not use the small 1m smb. We talk about a difference between a deco bouy and a surface marker as the small ones are too small for rougher circumstances, they only help to make a reference easier. For Northsea wreckdiving I have a 1.5 m big bouy with a 45m spool. For trainingdives in flat waters I use the small one. In all cases the spool already attached on the bouy. (in an entry level course it is a nice skill to practise attaching a spool to a smb, but in rough conditions it is better to have it attached already)I do not like 100' (30m) spools for my primary spool, they are too short. I like to shoot a DSMB around 100' (30m) and so if there is any current it will not make it to the surface (the hypotenuse of the angle angle). I like 150-160' (45-50m) spools for my primary. I have a lot of other sizes but use them for specific tasks.