Over a year later than intended, I thought it was
about time that I wrote a short piece about the Apeks LifeLine
Spool.
The spools
are available in four sizes; 15m, 30m, 45m, and more recently, 60m. I’ve been using the (green) 30m spool. Mine was purchased back in 2016 at the same
time as my Apeks Manifold
and Bands so I’ve been using it now for some time.
First
impressions, other than the price, is that the spool is solid. It really is well built. The size of the spool along with the nobly
edges make It really easy to grip, and the large hole in the center allows
plenty of movement if you were to hold it between thumb and forefinger. Certainly no risk of jamming if using it to
deploy a DSMB (as I do).
Moving onto
the line, it is brightly colored so no chance of mistaking it, something that I
really like, just like the line on Kent Tooling’s reels. Because of the shape of the spool, and
because the line is flat rather than round like traditional line, the line is
very compact and unlike other spools does not interfere with the access to the
holes around the edges. However, the
flat line can cause it to slip through the p-clip. To that end, I would only use this spool for
DSMBs and not for line laying.
There is also
a swivel on the end to prevent twists when reeling in, as well as a sewn strip
to make access easy, especially in UK waters with thick gloves. The system does work well, however personally
I feel it can be too over engineered (if that even is a problem). A classic ‘woody’ would work equally well.
 |
| Swivel & sewn strip |
 |
| Classic 'woody' and loop |
Lastly the
spool also comes complete with a 316 stainless steel double ended bolt
snap.
Overall the
spool is extremely well built and is great to use for DSMBs. It would probably be great to use for line
laying, and I have previously done so, but I wouldn’t in the future due to the
line trap risk. The space saving
solution has caused a small problem.
But, a minor point on an otherwise excellent build by Apeks.
The boring bit!
All opinions
expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and
agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute
any of them. This article is for
information only and should not replace proper training.
Safe diving!
Timothy Gort
BSAC, PADI & SDI/TDI diver training
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