WOW! - Check out this Reel!

[robertarak]

Rocketmahn, thank you for taking the time to do such a nice write up and take the photos!
I am just amazed at how many people are quick to point out what is wrong from the safety of their desk chair. I am not saying the comments are wrong, but lighten up! A lot of us come here to gather information, see what/how others are doing, be exposed to products and ideas that we may not have been exposed to in our own, small, real life scuba world. If each person who tries to post those new products, ideas, whatever is met with such negativity, there will be no more posters and an end to the incredible opertunity we have here to expand our knowlegde base.

OK, sorry for the rant. It is now safe to move about the board.

 

[SDE Dennis]

Rocketmahn, thank you for taking the time to do such a nice write up and take the photos!
I am just amazed at how many people are quick to point out what is wrong from the safety of their desk chair. I am not saying the comments are wrong, but lighten up! A lot of us come here to gather information, see what/how others are doing, be exposed to products and ideas that we may not have been exposed to in our own, small, real life scuba world. If each person who tries to post those new products, ideas, whatever is met with such negativity, there will be no more posters and an end to the incredible opertunity we have here to expand our knowlegde base.

OK, sorry for the rant. It is now safe to move about the board.

I agree completely. It looks like a cool reel design.

 

[Rocketmahn]

Ok - I have this reel out on a few dives in December and one Ice Dive yesterday.

I've shot SMB's/bags and ran navigation courses with it.
(Wreck dives won't be until this summer again.)


Overall the reel works very well.
I like to knot my line every 10' for low vis conditions and it's alway a concern if the knots will hangup/snag on the eyelet or the eyelet will chafe the knots.

The line/knots went smoothly through the eyelet in all orientations and has never snagged or grabbed.

The reel was easy to use underwater with gloves on - the knob was a good size and didn't slip.

I ran all 100' meters out underwater and the end of the line was securely fastened to the reels spindle from the factory. When I wound it back up the wet line easily fit back on the reel and could be wound evenly.

After winding up a couple of hundred of feet of line I noticed that my left wrist was starting to get tired from holding the weight of the reel.
This reel seems "longer" from handle to eyelet than most other reels and it is stainless.
I just adjusted the angle that I was holding it and it was fine.

I tried line retrieval with and without the ratchet engaged. No issues either way.
The ratchet made it easy to hang at the safety stop on a bag.

I still need to find the best location to mount this on my gear.

Most of the divers that looked at this reel were impressed. Like I said before it is very well made - maybe even overkill.

A few of the "kidding" comments that I've heard in jest are: "it would great for boat dives - put a fish hook and bait on the line and use it to reel in the big one on the way to the dive site!", "its so shiny it can double as a signal mirror", or "when you had the ratchet on, all of the divers in the quarry surfaced to see if there was a Lake Freighter raising it's anchor!!"

If you purchase one use email or a good phone line exclusively. I had a not so good
Skype connection and paid for faster shipping than I needed.

 

[CPH]

I have been using the Kent Tooling reels now for a couple of years now. I have a 50m ratchet, a 100m ratchet and a 125m wreck reel.
They really are the muts nuts. Use them hard and they have never failed. They really are built to last.
The one I had problems with was the Halcyon Pathfinder was getting my hand into it. I can only get my fingers half way in the handle.
When you drop your tanks onto your Light Monkey or Pathfinder you will be buting a new real. Drop a twinset onto a KT reel and you need to check the tanks for damage.