AP Diving Ratcheted Pocket Reel and Delayed SMB Package

AP Diving Ratcheted Pocket Reel and Delayed SMB Package - Red and Yellow. This package combines the small and compact AP Diving Ratcheted Pocket Reel with the Buddy Self Sealing Delayed SMB. This is the best combination on the market. The Ratcheted Pocket Reel is wound with 45 metres of floating line, manufactured to AP Valve's own specifications for the optimum combination of strength and flotation. Simply attach the SMB to the reel and you have a superb decompression marker buoy and also a buoy that can be used as a standard surface marker.

AP Diving Ratcheted Pocket Reel

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 fanstastic, 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.

Dimensions: 8 cm diameter x 4.5 cm deep

Weight: 200 g

Warning Note: 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.

AP Diving Buddy Self Sealing SMB

The original AP Diving Buddy Self-Sealing Surface Marker Buoy Closed (SMBC - SMB Closed). Much copied but never bettered.

A high visibility signalling device and more. There's no doubt that safety should be a top priority for anyone hitting the water. This Buddy Self-Sealing Surface Marker Buoy Closed (SMBC) with unique internal valve helps to get you noticed.

A real gem of a product, the 1.4 metre x 20 cm wide orange sausage shaped SMBC was developed in the early 1990s and quickly became a standard part of most divers' kit.

The Buddy SMBC is simply inflated by purging a regulator or air gun in the open end. The really clever bit is in the mouth, where a unique self-sealing baffle – or duckbill valve – is forced shut forming an airtight seal on inflation and preventing the buoy from accidentally deflating on the surface.

The Buddy SMBC also features a stream-lining flap which closes over the mouth when used in a current to prevent any sea-anchor effect. It also has an over-pressure/dump valve which prevents the buoy from bursting and allows deflation after use. Because the SMBC stays inflated it is easy for the surface crew to track or for the diver to hold aloft and wave if separated from the boat. It can provide you with extra buoyancy in case of a BC failure.

The Buddy SMBC can be used as a delayed-action SMB for making a hanging safety or deco stop. Simply attach a line or reel and you have a superb delayed action decompression marker buoy.

Alternatively the Buddy SMBC can be inflated at the start of a dive and towed as a standard surface marker for drift dives. The SMBC is pulled upright by tension on the line and clearly marks the diver's position.

The Buddy SMBC is one of the best SMBs we've ever seen, which is why we dive using them. It is available with high visibility contrasting Red and Yellow sides. Perfect to get noticed no matter what the weather and water conditions are.

The all Red version is ideal for use as a standard Signal Buoy. For an emergency signal, you can use the all Yellow version to warn the surface support of an impending "out-of-gas" situation (or any other prearranged communication).

A message slate, strobe or identification marker can be attached to the top eyelet of the Buddy SMBC to provide further information to your surface cover crew.

All Buddy SMBs roll up neatly for pocket storage, external attachment or other stowage.

Dimensions: 1.4 metre long x 20 cm wide

Colours available: All Red, All Yellow, or Red and Yellow contrasting sides