AP Diving Ratcheted Pocket Reel with 45m (147ft) Line

The AP Diving Ratcheted Pocket Reel has 45 metres (147 feet) of High-vis Dyneema Floating Line. For use as both a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) Reel and/or a Navigation Reel, it's the perfect solution to the problem of bulky and cumbersome reels. Weighing in at only 200 gm the Ratcheted Pocket Reel can be easily stowed in your BCD pocket or clipped unobtrusively to a D-ring.

This little reel, 8 cm in diameter by 4.5 cm deep, is one of the most misunderstood items of diving equipment available today. It's a fantastic, easy to use solution to the problem of deploying your surface marker buoy so that you can ascend safely to the surface with everyone knowing your location. Better still, with 45 metres of line, you can deploy from the bottom where it's much easier to do so.

It can also be carried discreetly in a pocket, and in the event of you finding yourself unplanned in an overhead environment, it can be pulled out to lay a line, while you're secure in the knowledge that the line is as free and untangled on its spool as the day you put it there.

The whole of the line is wound inside the casing. The totally-enclosed design prevents bird-nest tangling, a common problem with open reels. To find the large O-ring that marks its end means winding on until it appears, before winding back a little to allow it to pop out.

The reel sits comfortably in the palm of the hand the simple on/off thumb-lock switch to change between ratchet and free-running modes when deploying the line is ideally placed for thumb operation. The thumb-lock switch features a lock-off / tap-to-release design so that you do not have to keep your thumb on it in free-running mode. The reel features a loud audible Ratchet-click when winding-in which aids the diver in judging ascent speed and/or lets other divers know you are returning or ascending.

The Ratcheted Pocket Reel also features a comfort-padded strap with toggle adjustment for tightening onto the wrist when used as a navigation reel.

The reel is wound with 45 metres (147 feet) of High-vis Dyneema Floating Line — manufactured to AP Diving's own specifications for the optimum combination of strength and flotation. It's twice as strong as Kevlar and stronger than steel.

The cord has a breaking strain of 50 kg and the advantage of being positively buoyant which means that it will rise above the sea-bed or wreckage when played out and so help avoid entanglement. If the line is accidentally wound all the way into the reel body, the end is easily identified and recovered by means of a large attached O-ring.

A large loop in the end of the cord makes tying off at the shot-line or connection to a surface marker buoy (SMB) a simple operation. The winding handle also features a groove which is useful for temporary lock-off of the line.

The Ratcheted Pocket Reel is constructed from durable polypropylene with a chromed brass centre spindle which has the double function of providing structural strength and ultra-smooth reel operation.

The first thing you must do on buying one of these reels is to unwind all the line and reel it back in, because it might have been pulled tight when it was installed by machine during manufacture.

AP Diving Ratcheted Pocket Reel Features

• Sits comfortably in the palm of the hand and can be easily stowed (only 8cm in diameter)
• 45m of high-visibility Dyneema line which is twice as strong as Kevlar and stronger than steel.
• The totally enclosed design prevents bird-nest tangling, a common problem with open reels.
• Features a loud audible Ratchet-click when winding-in which aids the diver in judging ascent speed and/or lets other divers know you are returning or ascending.
• Simple on/off thumb-lock switch to change between ratchet and free-running modes when deploying the line.
• The line is positively buoyant which means it will rise above the sea-bed or wreckage when played out, helping to avoid entanglement and delay on the return journey.
• The wrist loop can be tightened onto the wrist when used as a navigation line, leaving your hands free for other tasks.
• The wrist loop is easily removed for safe deployment of an SMB.*
• The thumb-lock switch features a lock-off / tap-to-release design so that you do not have to keep your thumb on it in free-running mode.

Dimensions: 8 cm diameter x 4.5 cm deep

Weight: 200 g

Warning: As instructed, you SHOULD NOT have a reel attached to any part of your kit or use the wrist strap when sending an SMB to the surface. The reel should be lightly held so that it is possible to let it go easily if necessary.