1) primary reel with 200-300 feet of #36 line. I have a side handle Light Monkey reel with 250 feet of #36, it won't fit in the drysuit pockets. I'd clip it on the left hip, but reel hip attachment is apparently non-DIR, and I'd like to eventually have 2 stage bottles hanging there, that won't work. I'd try the right hip, but that hip is forbidden. The only place that seems legal is a butt D-ring. I just cannot wrap my head around the idea of having an object this bulky dance around on top of my butt or poke me in the kidneys throughout the entire dive. Furthermore, if I don't keep it attached to the lift bag and try to use it thorughout the dive, it seems cumbersone, and a potential for entanglement in a place that's harder to reach. Is butt D-ring what everyone does, or is there a better option
A reel isn't much of an issue on a tail ring, and you shouldn't notice it much unless you're aggressively frog kicking and it's getting pinched between your thighs because it's negative. And if you're the guy running the line, you're not going to have it on your tail for long, you'll tie off outside the wreck, and run it inside so it won't be on your tail ring for the penetration part, which is one of the main places to be concerned about entanglement. For wreck penetration, you don't need to keep it clipped to a lift bag. If you're going to ascend on a bag, then pull both off, clip them together, deploy bag, and reel yourself up.
2) I've also been told that I'll need a lift bag with >80 lbs of lift that I might need to shoot from depth, and in a heavy current, to lift me with all the stages. I purchased the Halcyon's 80lbs bag, and I'm scratching my head... I've been told it's generally a good idea to have lift devices attached to reels. The only reel that seems long and strong enough to be worthy of a bag with much lift would be my primary reel. Carrying two of those on my butt D-ring does not seem to make a ton of sense. That seems to suggest keeping the primary reel attached to the lift bag. That doesn't seem very practical if I want to use the reel as guideline, for navigation. What's best? Keeping lift bag unattached to anything and tucked in behind the backplate? Carrying another bulky reel just for lift bag deployment? Shooting a lift bag from a large finger spool? I can imagine lots of reasons for or against each. BTW, how thick do I need the line to be?
I keep my lift bag and reel independently clipped off to my tail ring. If I am going to reel myself up my lift bag then I attach my reel to it. Some people deploying a lift bag to not shoot it up, but hold it or clip it to themselves and manage buoyancy that way. If you're using your primary reel, it would be #36 line. By the way, your dry suit will provide some redundancy as it is, so you may not need such a large lift bag. I've got a 50#-er.
3) Next, we move to the first backups. I've got a 40lbs SMB, and a 70-feet spool of #24 line (probably too short). Those allegedly belong, attached to one-another, in left drysuit pocket (or not? but other places are taken or forbidden), and they fit very nicely. But a spool this short won't really be of any use at depth, and the hole for my finger, standard-sized, looks like it won't be large enough for dry gloves. In order for this "backup" to really be a reliable backup that could be successfully deployed when stressed out after losing my primary, I estimate I'll need something easy to use and with 150-200 feet of #24 line. None of the "cold water" spools carries enough line. Regular spools looks like they would be hard to operate in dry gloves (perhaps except for the metal ones, but some people argue these are too negatively buoyant, and are prone to getting dropped). None of the small reels with handles will fit in the drysuit pockets. What am I missing?
My left pocket has an SMB, 150' delrin finger spool w/ cave line, and a strobe, with some room to spare. Don't put your finger in it, just create pressure between two fingers but enough so it will glide. Just get a longer spool, which should come w/ cave line. That's plenty. It seems people use spools mostly, not reels.
4) Finally, the second backup. I'm assuming I don't need a 3rd lift device. I've been told, however, that I need minimum of 3 reels (some carry 4). What kind of reel or spool would you recommend? A safety reel? This seems popular for some reason. As far as I can tell, a safety reel seems to be defined as a reel smaller than the primary, maybe with knots on the line (or not?). What kind and size of safety reel makes most sense for wreck diving? In what circumstances would you use it in wreck of deep diving, oither than as a backup when you lose the primary reel?
Are there any other guidelines for choice and placement of reels and lift devices you could point to?
You should get clarification about whether you need spools or reels. I'd say one primary reel, and some finger spools to do buddy searches and deploy your SMB. You should be able to fit a spool attached to an SMB and a second spool in your left pocket. Your primary reel on your tail ring, and if you need another spool, then find some place.
There are tech diving books, and you can look at the technical manuals for suggestions on gear/placement/etc. Hopefully your instructor is going to cover all this with you.
One last suggestion would be to buy what works, and not just what's most expensive.
Good luck.
