You have to look at the dive profile -- this is the Basic Forum. IMHO, the vast majority of recreational divers don't need the complexity of a spool. Most will never need more than a short safety stop at 15-20'. Nearly all will never make a decompression stop of any significant duration deeper than 20'.
I have started using 22' of 1" Nylon webbing attached to the SMB and a bolt snap at the other end. I hold the folded SMB in one and swirl it around allowing the webbing to unwind under the weight of the snap around the depth of my first stop. At this point the webbing is hanging and I power inflate the SMB. I allow the webbing to slide through one hand until the SMB breaks the surface.
This does not apply to technical divers that do spend considerable periods of time on stops deeper than 20' or divers that need to mark objects on the bottom. That requires a spool of some sort.
It makes a much more compact package and is much easier to deploy and wind back up. The image is of a 5' SMB that has been folded in half several times and webbing wound around it, I store in in a pocket.
I have started using 22' of 1" Nylon webbing attached to the SMB and a bolt snap at the other end. I hold the folded SMB in one and swirl it around allowing the webbing to unwind under the weight of the snap around the depth of my first stop. At this point the webbing is hanging and I power inflate the SMB. I allow the webbing to slide through one hand until the SMB breaks the surface.
This does not apply to technical divers that do spend considerable periods of time on stops deeper than 20' or divers that need to mark objects on the bottom. That requires a spool of some sort.
It makes a much more compact package and is much easier to deploy and wind back up. The image is of a 5' SMB that has been folded in half several times and webbing wound around it, I store in in a pocket.
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