Taking a class in a couple weeks and need to get a DSMB and finger spool.  Decided on a plastic spool with about 90 ft of cave line on it.  As far as the bag, what do you all have and like to use?  I found a Hollis model that is about 4' tall, multiple inflate options, overpressure valve...etc.

Do you think this will be large enough to be easily seen in 5-7 seas?  I don't want a huge bag right off the bat, especially since this is a new skill to me.  

Thanks!

Per my instructors, 3.3' is OK for quarry/small lake diving. For the Great Lakes/ocean, you want bigger - 6'. I have both. And mine are hot pink.

This is the one I have. They have a non-pink version.

I have This spool in pink (75'). It comes in 100 ft versions, too. I like the middle bit.

Do you have the closed bottom or open bottom one?  If you have the open bottom one, have you had any problem with it collapsing on the surface?

I have the open bottom one. It's held closed by a magnet. I've not actually used them yet! I know how to use them, just haven't practiced with my own yet. Will during my deep class on Lake Michigan on the 18th.

Cool!  Thanks for the input.  I'll keep researching but have heard great things about OMS.

Halcyon Big Divers Alert Marker 4.5 feet version. It's closed bottom which I prefer with a LP inflator attachment.

I use this one regularly for local drift diving.
I choose the 6' because I want to be seen.  You may not be able to get the bag completely inflated while used as a DSMB, but you can always complete the inflation at the surface.  I have done this while waiting a bit, not sure the boat has seen me
It has the closed bottom with magnets.  I want a closed bottom one because they can dump air once you are at surface unless you have it pulled under the surface.  I don't use the oral inflater as it sucks under water.  Why use it when I can use safe 2nd to fill?  Trick to filling the magnetic ones is to open with your fist so the magnets (soft) will cup and keep the airway open, then grab reg and fill.
I shoot the bag upon ascent, not at the safety stop.  That could be 60'-100' so I use a finger spool with 150' of line. The spool line is permanently and simply connected to the bag so there is no added step and it is more secure. I don't use the clip provided. The assembly is packaged as one unit with a bungee and is connected by double ended bolt snap to bcd.
I have had this one for about 3 yrs and it has held up well.  There is a bit of staining from the magnets, that's it.

I've got a Halcyon one with an oral inflation valve and an OMS open bottom.

When it comes to using them, I'd recommend an actual reel, not a finger spool. When that bag shoots off from depth, you're going to have more difficulty holding on to a finger spool than the reel.

Ok...so which reel?  :)

I am not opposed to reels, in fact had been eye-balling Dive Rite's line-up.
However, I have no issues using the spool.  I shoot it regularly on each boat dive [local] from depth [<100'].  I rarely see reels on other divers here as well.  I don't like the idea of extra bulkl. Every time I think I am going to pull the trigger on a reel, I look back and think, meh, I don't need one, and buy something else.

Now, if you really want a spool, go for a NJ Diver spool.  I tried to find a pic, but no luck.  It's the size of a dough rolling pin mounted to your tank

K
Found it.  It's called a Jersey Upline.  Seen a diver here pack one but he didn't use it.  He used a finger spool instead

Halcyon DAM here or DSS DSMB here for normal shooting, get a BAMF one like a Carter 90 or 120 here for bigger seas. The problem people have when they get big ones is they try and shoot it from a safety stop, and a 6 footer isn't going to fully inflate. You've gotta shoot it deeper, most of us will shoot a bag from the 21m stop or so anyway. It's full on the surface and easier to see, but keep in mind the bigger the bag, the larger it is un the water. Shoot the shorty, and if you surface and realize the boat isn't where you think it is, you can inflate the big one on the surface and don't have to worry about getting it full from shallower depth. DON'T GET AN EFFING LIFT BAG, YOU'RE NOT LIFTING ANYTHING, THE POINT IS TO BE SEEN!!!!! (couple general links lower re:surface marking at the bottom)

If you get one with an open bottom, make sure it has baffles. The fully open ones suck and deflate. Make sure it has an OPV. LPI's are easiest to inflate (although I've heard with cold lips it sucks, but I've never had a problem, and if you're on a rebreather, you'll be using the LPI plumbed off a bailout), no screwing around with an extra second stage, cleaner to deploy, don't have any buoyancy niggles. The ones with radar reflective material and SOLAS tape are good to have, they light up pretty good under NVG's and the Coasties radar.

Check the video below to see what a good deployment should be like.
Proper DSMB Deployment


Also, keep it wrapped and in a pocket or on your BCD. Set it up like this if you're not going to keep it rigged:
DSMB Spool Rigging


Spools are better than reels unless you're shooting it deep. Less likely to jam or birdsnest.

Couple other useful links:

"Best signalling equipment from the searchers point of view"
British study on surfaced diver visibility


To touch on the first link above, if I'm in the ocean and not diving with a can light, I've got my "come get me" kit on my harness in my can light position. It's got a PLB, dye pack, whistle, glowstick, and a granola bar in a Light Monkey canister with a blank cap. If I've got my can light, the kit is bungeed to my buttplate like a sidemount can light. If I were diving something like the Doria or some place with some wicked current, I'd probably pack a Halcyon Lift Raft as well so that if I were stuck, I could get myself out of the water.

I ended up with a 6' Hollis dsmb with a 100 ft finger spool with 70' of line on it.  Rigged with a bungee looped through a boltsnap.  It stayed on fine on my dive today, but didn't get to use it yet.

I realize he had a light and was exaggerating/demonstrating with his hands, but it took a long time and looked awkward.
Yanking it out out a pocket.  Closing the pocket.
Just a recreational diver here, but rigged outside [not in a pocket] is way quicker and easier.
I am assuming the spool is not already connected to the DMSB [pre dive] for a reason.

I use a finger spool with 75' of line with a bolt snap attached to a 4' SMB with oral inflation valve.  I have never thought it was too small. I like that I can let it go at depth and it will lay on the surface without deflating. I've done it a couple times after having my flag run over it being sperated from the group. You should also practice deploying it from depth. It's very easy to get caught up in it. And if it doesn't have a self Purge don't overfill it.

OMS is like the Vegan Crossfitter of scuba. How do you know something is OMS brand? Because they A single piece of kit has OMS on it in at least 3 places. For that reason alone I won't buy their kit.
Probably a really stupid reason not to own something but there it is.

I have this this reel from Dive Rite. It's ridiculously over-price, but as far as I can tell it's bulletproof in its construction.
In all honesty it's probably over-engineered, and I've had more than one occasion where the slide-lock was bumped and started unspooling line.

I also have a standard plastic finger spool which works just fine.

One of my dive buddies has one of these and seems pretty happy with it. I'm not sure he's used it enough to determine how much wear the little plastic parts hold up though.

My Tec instructor has this Dive Rite snausage. It's pretty awesome because you can fill it with your exhuast like a lift bag, but t has a funnel so it won't dump the air if it breaks the surface. Plus you can orally or power inflate it. In the description is also says don't use it to lift things but that it has 30# of lift if you have to use it. Probably a purchase for down the road. I have the crappy PADI SMB that comes with an AOW pack and another short Dive Rite SMB.

There's always something else to buy in diving.

Yeah, it's just a demonstration as she's a GUE instructor teaching a course. It's probably in Fundies, so the unrigged SMB is probably to increase task loading for the students. All the GUE's I know carry it rigged. Always a pocket though, clipped off to a d-ring is not really a viable option if you're doing a technical dive. I've seen more than my fair share of people dropping off a boat only to watch their spool dropping off into the deep and line going everywhere, even saw one diver whose reel stayed clipped, but the SMB came un-bungeed. They did the whole dive with a tail. It's all about practice and familiarity, and DM's and instructors are often the worst offenders.

I wound up running the bungee through D ring on waist while wrapped around the spool and smb.  Bolt snapped to upper shoulder D ring through spool.  When needed, pop the bungee from the inside and it is free, undo bolt snap and send.  Bungee goes with it.
Otherwise it floats around a lot.  Almost as annoying as the wetsuit zipper cord.

I have seen others using exhaust to inflate, but that's not for me.  I want that sumbitch as far away from me as possible.

So true about practice.  I practised in my garage both visually, then looking away [basically blind] to get the feel for it.
I don't think about it much any more.

I'm late to this thread in the reel debate, but Light Monkey is master race

Did a quick youtube search and found this video abote spools that has soem pretty good ideas. Only thing she missed is the better way to hook it up on the bolt snap.



Here's another one that shows how to put it on the bolt snap so you don't lose it. Also some good tricks for getting it out of the stowed configuration.

The second video is the one I posted above. It's the most secure way to store a spool, and every one of my spools is rigged that way, whether it's for an SMB, a jump spool, or a safety spool. Doesn't matter if it's crystal clear Caribbean water or a zero-viz lost line drill, there is no difference in rigging or deployment, and muscle memory doesn't throw in any curveballs. For the majority of divers it isn't an issue, but for something like a lost line drill in a high flow cave, it's important.

As for the first video, knots on the line are meh. They're unnecessary, and only work for a specific set of variables, one spool/smb combo in water lacking current. Change any one of those and it's either inaccurate, or you're expecting there to be some tactile cue that doesn't exist. If you lose the ability to gauge depth, the dive is over anyway, and diving recreationally you should be heading for the surface, where the only depth that matters is getting back to that big scuba tank in the sky. If you're doing a dive where an accurate depth reading is necessary, you will have a backup depth gauge of some sort (be it with you or a teammate), so it's a moot point. If you don't have that, a couple knots that may or may not be accurate given your current situation aren't going to help. It's not going to kill you, but realistically it doesn't add any value.