Jump/Gap with a reel or a spool?

[PerroneFord]

Sorry for the cave 101 question...

At Catfish hotel today, I decided to play a bit and ran a line across the cavern with my spool. Easy enough.

MY question is that I have seen some instructors insist on a jump/gap reel, while others (other agencies) do this with a spool.

Is there a strong feeling otu there about doing this one way or another? Obviously we are talknig about relatively short distances here, and I'd LOVE to be able to leave the bulky reels at home and just pick up a few spools to put in my pocket.

Other than speed, is there any real advantage to doing these relatively short distances with a reel?

[Cave Ranger]

Well for what it's worth all of the people I dive with carry 1 Safety Reel and then carry several finger spools with anywhere from 25' to 100' of line.
This is more than adequate for the Caves we dive but each dive situation would no doubt be different.
I happen to like finger spools a lot. I rarely use reels anymore except to deploy liftbags in the Ocean. I have discovered through experience that deploying a liftbag inside a cave is BAD......VERY BAD!!! Especially while exiting the Ear.

[PerroneFord]

I have discovered through experience that deploying a liftbag inside a cave is BAD......VERY BAD!!! Especially while exiting the Ear.

LOL!! I am not even gonna ASK! I had enough trouble getting out of the ear with just myself to worry about, much less a bag.

Anyone got any strong feelings on good spools? I bought a DSS but with adequate line on it, I couldn't clip off with it full. I bought a Dive Rite but it broke before I ever got it into the water. I bougth a Halcyon, and that's what I used today. But they're a bit $$$. Anyone making good Delrin ones for not so much cash?

[Daedalus]

Anyone got any strong feelings on good spools? I bought a DSS but with adequate line on it, I couldn't clip off with it full. I bought a Dive Rite but it broke before I ever got it into the water. I bougth a Halcyon, and that's what I used today. But they're a bit $$$. Anyone making good Delrin ones for not so much cash?

http://www.divesports.com/mall/dives...erspoolSPC.asp

I have a couple of these spools, I did not like the line that came on them however so I took it off and replaced it with #24 nylon. Whatever material the line that comes with them is made out of seems "stickier" underwater.

[Kelly Jessop]

For gaps and jumps I prefer a reel. If operated correctly they will rarely jam,and when it comes time to reel it up when exiting I can do it much faster than a spool. For an emergency such as a lost line search a spool has the advantage of not jamming since frequent direction changes that occur with lost line search, can cause backlash on the reel and jamming.

[FW]

A lot demends on the length of the jump. For short jumps a spool is fine. More than 20', a reel is faster, like Kelly said.

I find for multiple jumps, it is easier to carry several spools, than several reels.

[Kelly Jessop]

I like spools too because they guarantee I meet people. Since the double ended bolt snap causes the spool to drop off frequently,I wander around the parking lot trying to find the owner of the 2or3 spools a year that I find lost in the cave,hmmm don't find too many lost reels

[PerroneFord]

Interesting notes on the spool. I'll have to play with that a bit and see if I can get my double ender to "fall off". I usually do a single wrap of the line with the double ender then clip. So should it somehow come off the spool, it's still attached to the line.

Maybe I'm not understanding the problem.

[Kelly Jessop]

Interesting notes on the spool. I'll have to play with that a bit and see if I can get my double ender to "fall off". I usually do a single wrap of the line with the double ender then clip. So should it somehow come off the spool, it's still attached to the line.

Maybe I'm not understanding the problem.

I don't know why,but I see spools fall off gear frequently and land on the cave floor,and I think it is related to the double ended bolt snap. Once I saw a guys spool fall off and he was trailing 50' of line behind him and he was never aware. If I am wearing a drysuit with bigger pockets then I will put a spool there,but rarely do I ever stow one on a d-ring. There is a way of securing the bolt snap with an 0-ring so it never falls,but that means having to break the 0-ring each time you want to use it. Unfortunately Murphy's law won't allow it to fall off when you are playing with and want to see if that will occur,it will happen during a dive,or worse yet when you need it for a lost line search.

[BobK]

Interesting notes on the spool. I'll have to play with that a bit and see if I can get my double ender to "fall off". I usually do a single wrap of the line with the double ender then clip. So should it somehow come off the spool, it's still attached to the line.

Maybe I'm not understanding the problem.

I lost one in the ocean, just wasn't there when I got back to the boat. I think it's better to put them in pockets then clip them off.