TESTCENTRE
The reel deal
62
90m Ratchet Dive reel
COMPANY : AP DIVING PRICE : £ 127.20 TEL : 01326 561040 WEB : WWW . APDIVING . COM
As my regular dive buddies will tell you , I ' m not one for encumbering myself with unnecessarily bulky kit . As a photographer I like to keep things streamlined to avoid the possibility of accidentally snagging myself or potentially damaging marine life .
Small is good in my book and that particularly applies to reels . My preference is for something compact that I can stash in a pocket . In the past I ' ve used a simple spool , which is great for shallow diving , or just letting out at 6m for a safety stop .
For deeper dives or line-laying , a conventional reel is often a more appropriate choice . By far the ideal solution is something of a hybrid between the two and AP Diving ' s 90m Ratchet Dive Reel offers , in my opinion the best of both worlds .
At just over 9cm x 6cm in size , the Ratchet Reel dispenses with a conventional handle for a very snug fit in the palm of your hand . Unlike APD ' s smaller 45m version , it also features an adjustable Velcro strap , which I found a useful addition .
The fully-enclosed design , with its high-visibility Dyneema floating line , eliminates the possibility of bird-nesting
( when an open reel becomes tangled ) in use . This bright yellow line is supposedly twice as strong as Kevlar . The glass-reinforced polymer casing appears as tough as old boots , while the reassuring ratchet sound and tactile feel as the line is wound back inside gives added confidence that all is well . Located at the very end of the line is a large black O-ring ; so should you over-wind into the case it ' s very easy to retrieve for its next outing .
As per the recommended procedure I unwound the full 90 metres of factorywound line before my first use to ensure the line was able to run completely free . It ’ s also an opportunity for anyone unfamiliar with the thumb-operated on / off switch to have a dry run .
Once in the water , it ’ s a straightforward proposition : press to release the line , then press again to engage the ratchet mechanism for rewinding . Keeping your thumb on the lever during deployment will also prevent inadvertent locking and potentially following your DMSB to the surface .
I may be biased ( as an owner of one of the Ratchet Reel ' s smaller siblings ) but I do think this is an excellent product and if you don ' t get on with a bog-standard reel , then this may be just what you ' re looking for . NH
SCUBA SAYS
AP Diving ’ s 90m Ratchet Dive Reel combines the best features of a reel and a spool in a robust , compact and very easy-to-use product ideal for both SMB / DSMB deployment and linelaying .