With everyone jumping on the Apeks Lifeline AL spool, and not wanting to go AliExpress, I ordered one of DGX's Gears Aluminum spools. Only $30 for 100 feet.
Like the Ali, it comes with flat dacron tape rather than round braided. It's 3mm wide (compared with what I gather is thinner AliExpress tape), and though DGX won't give a strength rating, it seems clearly over 30#. The best part is how much room it leaves on the spool for a bolt snap.
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The center hole is huge! Compare with my DGX Delrin 100 (which I've sanded to make that sharp inner corner a little easier on the thumb and finger during unwinding).
I took it to Key Largo last week for some wreck dives, and compared it with my Delrin spool for shooting a shallow DSMB. It was an easy hang at 20' for some drift deco off French Deep (90' for an hour).
The finger hole was great! But oops! About 20' of fast spinning and it burned the web of my hand!
I released the reel, and it went up 5' or so, spinning like crazy, but was easily caught a few seconds later, as the DSMB surfaced.
Here's why:
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That knurling, touted on the website as an aid to grip, was a little buzzsaw spinning between my thumb and middle finger. Ouch!
I promptly wrote to DGX, complaining about the unintended consequences of their "feature", and they offered to take it back, as always. Great customer service!
But I don't want to spend $90 on a Lifeline.
So when I got home today, I got out my belt sander and a bastard long angle file and went to work. Took about a half hour (not counting rewinding).
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I don't know if this'll do the trick, but I'm optimistic. And for $30 with that interesting and smoothly reeling tape, I might have an inexpensive winner. I'll report back. And, it's lighter than the Lifeline.