What's the sweet spot on a mini-spool?

[FW]

I've had spools come off and spool out behind me, but it has only been in the basin from sitting on them putting gear on. I changed the way I clip them so that can't happen anymore. If the snap comes off the spool is gone cleanly.

If you thread the end of the line through a hole, before putting the snaplink on, they won't fall off, or un-spool.

[a64pilot]

Personally, I consider a reel clipped on to my kit as just another potential entanglement hazard and I only use spools, which I carry in my drysuit pocket.

It happened to me in Hole in the Wall when I was scootering, the whole line spooled out and because the line was attached to the butt plate and the scooter essentially pulls on the butt plate, it took me a few seconds to figure out what was going on, I just slowly came to a stop without feeling anything pulling on me. Then to add insult to injury when I was wadding up all the line that had played out to stuff in my pocket, some of it got entangled in the scooter turning it on and causing a silt out.
Now don't get upset, there is no bulldozer looking gash in the cave floor or anything, I don't think there is even a mark, but places in Hole are quite silty, and point a scooter's prop wash towards this silt and you can kick up quite a bit of it. I have since then removed the bolt sticking out of the side of the magnetic switch and fashioned a cover plate out of .025 aluminum to keep anything from getting there again.

I do as Forrest says now, play the line through a hole in the spool and attach the double ender to the line loop, that way if it comes off again, I lose the whole spool.

[Sludge]

been cave diving since 97 and it hasn't happened yet. And more than 10 of those years had D-Rings on my tanks and the reels hung from D-Rings.

Been doing it this way for sixteen years with no problems.

[Greenwood_60]

If you thread the end of the line through a hole, before putting the snaplink on, they won't fall off, or un-spool.

I do as Forrest says now, play the line through a hole in the spool and attach the double ender to the line loop, that way if it comes off again, I lose the whole spool.

Yep. That's exactly what I do. I'd rather just lose the spool.

[a64pilot]

Yep. That's exactly what I do. I'd rather just lose the spool.

Then we would get to post in lost and found and have the International divers berate us dumb ass Americans for losing everything

[JamesK]

If you thread the end of the line through a hole, before putting the snaplink on, they won't fall off, or un-spool.

same way I do it now thanks to Tara showing me that cool party trick.

[gasdiver]

I put a small bungee on the loop at the end of the spool (I saw this on the web somewhere). This makes it very easy and fast to unhook the line, stow and put the spool away. The bungee keeps the line tight where it can't unspool and you don't need to thread the loop through a hole. I think this technique was developed by cold water divers because the dexterity required to thread the loop through a hole with gloves on was challenging.

[FW]

I put a small bungee on the loop at the end of the spool (I saw this on the web somewhere). This makes it very easy and fast to unhook the line, stow and put the spool away. The bungee keeps the line tight where it can't unspool and you don't need to thread the loop through a hole. I think this technique was developed by cold water divers because the dexterity required to thread the loop through a hole with gloves on was challenging.

Cute idea, I may try that. I had a little trouble threading the hole with gloves on.

[jj1987]

I say we T everything and quit using spools

[FW]

I say we T everything and quit using spools

I agree with that, at least for the popular jumps.