Spools as safety reels?

I saw mention that some cave divers are using spools instead of safety reels. I personally have no experience with spools whatsoever and would like to hear any feedback the board has on this subject.

Dive often, but dive safe.

John

Originally posted by Cave Diver
I saw mention that some cave divers are using spools instead of safety reels. I personally have no experience with spools whatsoever and would like to hear any feedback the board has on this subject.

Dive often, but dive safe.

John

Click to expand...

I use spools as jump and gap reels. I use a safety reel as a safety reel.
Rick

I use spools for jumps/gaps, and a standard safety reel. I also carry, in addition to the required number of jump spools for the dive, a spool with 125' of line. That spool is in my "emergency only" thigh pocket, which also includes a spare mask and spare lights(in addition to my 2 backup on my harness). This pocket is equipped the same whether I am diving in a team or solo. The pocket is not even opened except in case of emergency.

If my safety reel jams, I will deploy the spool if I need it. Otherwise it stays in the pocket.

Mike

I use spools for Safety, and jump and gap. I use a reel as a primary from open water to the mainline.

I mainly use spools because of their simplicity and lack of jamming problems. They do have a few downfalls of their own though.

They are easier to drop (haven't dropped one yet but you have to pay attention!)
The line has a tendency to get twisted
They can be a little slower than a reel (though not much if you practice and the opposite is true if you have even one small jam)

Overall I think the spools are easier than the reels and they take up much less space.

DSAO!!

I hate to disagree with WYDT, but I really dislike the spools for safety reels. Spools are such a slow pain, although great if you are doing 7 or more gaps. A good safety reel is almost foolproof. I haven't had a safety reel jam yet.

Originally posted by Divesherpa
I hate to disagree with WYDT, but I really dislike the spools for safety reels. Spools are such a slow pain, although great if you are doing 7 or more gaps. A good safety reel is almost foolproof. I haven't had a safety reel jam yet.

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What kind of reel are you using for your safety? Just curious.

I had an interesting conversation with Deb Green (Larry Green's wife) about spools vs reels... she said they preferred reels for the "safety" because in several of the recovery's they have done a dropped reel or spool was a significant factor in the outcome. She said they thought the reel would be easier to hold onto in a stressfull situation.. and that made sense. I just really like my spool and haven't had trouble with dropping it during practice. I guess as long as you are aware and practice and don't panic when the sh__ hits the fan....

DSAO!

I originally was trained with safety reels but moved over to spools. If you get a chance grab a reel and jerk out the line and see what happens. Then do the same to the spool.

The line will jump the reels and create a possible jam. On a spool there is nothing to jam. IF you drop either one, this is a possible outcome. When you reach down and find the line and look for the object either it will not be jammed(spool) or possibly jammed(reel).

The spool's small size will make it easy to attach to the gear or place in a pocket. While the Reel has a handle that poses and entanglement hazard. One of my buddies cut off the handles and solved that problem.

Just like anything else that is new it requires practise. I had foul ups when if first started using the reel and when using the spool.
Afterwards you develop the skill.

When you mention Recoveries you may want to look at the Mayor factors like what got them into a position to have to use a safety.
The sh%t doesn't hit the fan unless you turned on the fan before your dive and your attitude is ....

Either one that you choose to use just make sure you test your skills from time to time. Instead of waiting until you need it to see if it works.

I test my skills everytime I jump or gap because I use spools for that, too. And lately at Peacock I'll use a spool line from a rock to the mainline only a couple of feet to secure my deco bottles. It sure beats hogging the mainline or just throwing them in a corner.

I carry 3 spools in my left pocket. 150, 75,50 Most jumps are accessible with the 50 except for the first gap at Telford wich oddly enough is 51' or I need to measure that spool out again.
that was an interesting day...oh, oh.

I've never had to use my safety other than for practice.

I stay with my buddy and I stay on the line.

I have also stopped trying to dive the gray area between backmount and sidemount in the back of Telford and Peacock III.
very silty.

Safety is a spool and goes in left pocket. Separate from all other gap, jump, reel devices-

That way if that spool (note a reel is not appropriate as a safety device) ever comes out, it only does so for an emergency....none of this 'oh i'll just use my safety to see what's down there' garbage. So when you use up all your spools for jumps you are done and there is no way you will 'mistakenly' use your safety because it is in the left pocket with other safety items (back up cutting device, extra small mask, line markers etc).

Thanks for all the feedback. My LDS recently passed along a deal to me where you buy 5 spools and the 6th was free. I now have one spool attached to my lift bag, and the other 5 will be reserved for jumps/gaps/safety for cave. I did some practice shooting lift bag with the spool and I must say I like it much better than using a reel. Nothing like getting to field test the info I get on here. (okay, okay, I just wanted another excuse to go diving, but can ya blame me?)

Dive often, but dive safe.

John

Originally posted by maddiver
Safety is a spool and goes in left pocket. Separate from all other gap, jump, reel devices-

That way if that spool (note a reel is not appropriate as a safety device) ever comes out, it only does so for an emergency....none of this 'oh i'll just use my safety to see what's down there' garbage.

Click to expand...

First question, is why is a reel not appropriate as a safety device? Because of the chance of jamming it increases when you are already in a stressfull situation, or is there some other reason I am over looking? Also, on the spool that you use as a safety, how much line do you carry on that one?

Next questions are about your equipment setup. I liked the thigh pockets you had on your wetsuit. Is that something that can easily be added, or was that ordered or done special?

Also, I noticed you didnt dive using an isolation manifold, just a crossover. Any particular reason?

And finally, what size tanks do you run? I glanced at your rig enough to know it was very well setup and streamlined DIR style, but didnt really look that closely at it.

Again, it was great getting to meet you and share ideas and discussion in person, hope to do it again sometime soon. Until then...

Dive often, but dive safe.

John