What size of safety spool: 60',80',120'

[Soggy]

actually after i unclip my spool i reattach the double ender to the d ring and all i use is the spool and the balloon. i have a general idea of what you are saying but cannot quite picture it? if its not too much trouble can you post some pics of where the double ender is attached and if the line goes through it?

Stephen beat me to it, but I took the pictures, so I'll upload them

 

[Spoon]

Like so...

thanks bro! its crystal now

 

[Spoon]

Stephen beat me to it, but I took the pictures, so I'll upload them

i appreciate your effort soggy, cant wait to go home and set up my reel. thanks!

 

[limeyx]

Longer really is better.

It's like air. Nobody ever got back to the surface and complained they had too much gas, just like nobody ever came back up and complained their line was to long.

Terry

So then why not bring a thousand feet of line just in case the current is really strong?
Point is, dont take what you dont need. Think about why you'd deploy a line.

I can see a few reasons:

1) Laying a line -- use a reel
2) lost a line, or want to mark your position so you can return to it over a short distance -- how much line do you really need?
3) want to mark your position as you ascend/deco if you have to drift.
4) boat captain wants you to have a SMB throughout the dive to mark position (say in a busy shipping lane) -- apparently a real case in UK

for #2 I dont see you need 150 or even 100 feet

For #4 I guess you need something like1.5X max depth

for #3 think about the kind of diving you do. It's probably a lot easier to handle a line deployed from say 70 or shallower than 120 or so. And how long will it really take you to ascend to 70 feet? from even 130 feet, it's probably only a couple of minutes.

Do you really want to be dealing with 150 feet of line in a current with all the entanglement issues? Or would you rather ascend until you start your deco stops/pauses and deploy from there?

 

[Soggy]

for #3 think about the kind of diving you do. It's probably a lot easier to handle a line deployed from say 70 or shallower than 120 or so. And how long will it really take you to ascend to 70 feet? from even 130 feet, it's probably only a couple of minutes.

Who the heck cares if it is "easier" if you are now a couple hundred feet from the boat before your bag even comes up!? A 1 knot current is 100 ft/min....think about that for a second. After 3 minutes, you are a FOOTBALL FIELD away from the boat. Now consider that, since you are underwater, you have no idea what the topside conditions are.

Do you really want to be dealing with 150 feet of line in a current with all the entanglement issues? Or would you rather ascend until you start your deco stops/pauses and deploy from there?

How is it easier to deal with the line shallower than deeper? You spool the line up as you go...

 

[Soggy]

So then why not bring a thousand feet of line just in case the current is really strong?

It's pretty simple. A 1000 ft spool would be extremely unwieldy and completely unmanageable. 150' spool is no less manageable than a 20' spool.

 

[Web Monkey]

Anything that requires sending up an SMB from 100' would require 150' of line.

The reasons could be anything, including marking the location of an object you want to return to, doing a deep drift dive where the boat needs to be able to find you, and needing assistance of some sort.

A short finger spool weighs a couple of ounces. So does a 150' spool.

Terry

So then why not bring a thousand feet of line just in case the current is really strong?
Point is, dont take what you dont need. Think about why you'd deploy a line.

I can see a few reasons:

1) Laying a line -- use a reel
2) lost a line, or want to mark your position so you can return to it over a short distance -- how much line do you really need?
3) want to mark your position as you ascend/deco if you have to drift.
4) boat captain wants you to have a SMB throughout the dive to mark position (say in a busy shipping lane) -- apparently a real case in UK

for #2 I dont see you need 150 or even 100 feet

For #4 I guess you need something like1.5X max depth

for #3 think about the kind of diving you do. It's probably a lot easier to handle a line deployed from say 70 or shallower than 120 or so. And how long will it really take you to ascend to 70 feet? from even 130 feet, it's probably only a couple of minutes.

Do you really want to be dealing with 150 feet of line in a current with all the entanglement issues? Or would you rather ascend until you start your deco stops/pauses and deploy from there?

 

[Spoon]

its better to have more than less. as someone previously mentioned, no one ever complained in having mre air in the tank at the end of a dive

 

[limeyx]

its better to have more than less. as someone previously mentioned, no one ever complained in having mre air in the tank at the end of a dive

The point is, take only what you need, and think carefully about the implications of what you are taking.

Yes, you can let a spool go from 120 or 130, but that give you a larger amount of line that can get tangled up in all sorts of things as you ascend.

And unless you dive in different situations than I seem to, chances are even if you shoot a bag from depth, no one's going to get in the chase boat and start following your marker as they have 15-20 other divers on the boat.

Yes, I could see the case where a boat wants you to use a SMB for a drift dive, and keep the SMB up the entire dive -- well, if you consider the risks of getting that entangled are acceptable -- then take the line for that dive. But if you dont need it, dont take it.

And yes, I believe the 100ft spool *is* smaller than the 150ft. Maybe not a lot, but some.

Maybe no one ever complained about coming back with too much air, but I know *i* have spent plenty of time cursing the weight of a big tank on my back. Again, the principle applies -- do I really need to lug a steel 120 or 119 down a steep path for a 30-40 foot beach dive and have to lug it back up a cliff? Or would I take an LP80 or similar which has enough air for a 60min+ dive?

Also, I see a lot of people saying "oh, my breathing rate sucks and its limiting my dives, should I get a bigger tank?" Well, that's one "solution" but I found I was much happier keeping the same tank, diving a lot and lo! My breathing rate dropped all on its own.

"More" is not *always* better, and engaging brain (usually) outweighs just bringing a ton of gear you can't easily/safely use

That said, if you *do* need it, better make damn sure you bring it, and that it's working!

 

[double80s]

In a cave, you want a 100-150' spool as your safety spool. If you find yourself needing to do a lost buddy/line recovery, you don't want to be pulling out a 50' spool.

Most 150' spools are the same diameter as 100' spools. They are slightly wider, which won't be an issue unless you are trying to stuff it into an already stuffed pocket. Most are clipped off so the size is not really an issue.

If I was to carry 1 spool, it would be a 150'.