4ft Yellow Scuba Diving SMB, Open Bottom Surface Marker Buoy with Safety Sausage with 49ft Alloy Dive Reel and Double-Ended Bolt Clip for Underwater Sports Blue

The holes in the reel are too small, so the double snap bolt does not move well. If you try and move the snap bolt, it bends a little the aluminum and will cause sharp ends, cutting your line. Some reviews states of broken line when using. I ended drilling the holes larger and smoothing them. Now the snap bolt pivots well. Besides that, the dsmb works well. I chose this reel because of the size of the center hole. Used it with 3mm gloves and you can fit your finger well. Used it about 6 times now. The dump valve is nice but rolling the dsmb is not as compact because of it. Make sure to measure out the line and cut out what you don't need. I left about 30 feet. This seems well built. I will update after more uses to see how it holds up.

This semi-closed SMB itself is well made. It is 18 cm wide (7"), requiring two large breaths to inflate tight at the surface. It would be easy to deploy from 10 m depth (or lower) on one breath. I'd expect that those deploying from 5 m would probably want to use the bottom opening to avoid undue impact to buoyancy while inflating. The bottom is slightly weighted to keep it somewhat upright, and these weights can easily bend to hold the bottom open.The spool is tiny at 54mm diameter, 35mm wide, with a 26mm hole (2 1/8" D, 1 3/8" W, 1" H). It is fully wound with flat line, and the holes are completely blocked. You will have to remove about half the line to gain access or just substitute another spool. The double-ended snap is 9 cm (3.5") with stiffer springs than I expected (nice). I'd say it's still a good deal even without the spool.

I haven't shot the SMB in the water yet, but it appears to be well made. It has double seams along the sides, which is nice. The ones with single seams can sometimes wear along the non-stitched side. It can be orally inflated (or with the LP hose) or via the octo purged into the open bottom. It is self-sealing, which is a nice feature and will keep it from flopping over and deflating on the surface. However, I suspect that exhaust from the primary will not provide enough pressure to inflate it that way; probably have to use the octo. I might be wrong, however, so I'll have to try in the water.The spool is pretty good. It has a nice, large hole so it's suitable for cold water diving with gloves on. I like that it's aluminum. Like pretty much every finger spool, you'll have to strip off some line in order to expose enough of the holes so you cal clip off a bolt snap. I stripped off about 15' and it's fine now. That leaves about 30' of line on the spool, which is good for shooting the SMB from a safety stop in most situations. If you need to shoot it from deeper or while in a strong current, this might not be enough line.The swivel and leader is a nice touch. Unfortunately, the leader is too small to be useful. The diameter of the loop is not large enough to easily slip over the spool when clove-hitching the SMB to it. It can be done, but not easily, which means it will be even more difficult in the water (and probably impossible with gloves on). I removed it and used some of the stripped line to tie a larger loop. Now it's perfect.Overall, if you are looking for a good price on a small SMB and spool, this fits the bill. Perfect for most calm-water situations when you are shooting an SMB from your safety stop. If you dive when the swell is high or when the current is ripping or need to release an SMB from much deeper, then you probably want a larger SMB and a larger spool.

I've heard it said (and I agree) that one of the scariest parts of scuba diving is returning to the surface. I just spent a week diving Cozumel (March 2022), with its many boats over popular dive spots. A working SMB is absolutely vital in those situations, as someone els's boat propeller can easily kill you.I bought this item and quickly sent it back after unspooling some line and rewinding it. It tangled immediately—while I was being careful on my living room floor. Imagine what it would do under water!Before I sent it back, I untangled the line. This took a long time, and it seemed to really want to stay tangled. Amazon should not be selling this item.No review of the SMB—I never got that far. The spool, while attractive in its small size, has absolutely unacceptable line that is far too thin and IMHO would be useless-to-dangerous under water. I've gone back to larger spools with their reasonably tangle-free line. Sure, they take up more space, but how much is your life worth?100% NOT recommended.

Seems to work properly. I haven't tried at scuba diving but seems to work perfectly. You can inflate it manually or with your regulator. Easy to deflate. Cord also good is material. The only complaint not important is that I asked RED and this is more like ORANGE color. Again, this is not important. Just dive safe!

This SMB is a great size and made from good quality material. Inside the base of the SMB there is a plastic seal that prevents air from coming out once you have put it inside, however, this means you have to really purge alot of air for it to get inside (if you are using the open bottom to fill it up. This also means it takes a little bit more time to emoyt the air and any water from the release valve after use.The reel and string is sturdy and of good materials. One downside is that the reel is a little bit too small so the wound-up string, blocks the holes that you would put the clip through to attach it to gear. This can be fiddled with to make it work.With all of that said, it is a great purchase and i like the design of everything. It might just take me a bit more practice to get use to it. It is a great price for the quality. I probably wouldn't recommend it for a beginner, but someone who is a good diver and is happy to practise with it to get used to it may like it.

Heavy duty metal construction, easy to use. Swivel is a nice touch. I use it pull a small dry bag and flag when I go free diving. I appreciate the small size compared to the big clunky plastic hand reels.

Used this snorkeling. Solo trip. Was great until I dropped it and it unspooled all the way to the bottom and got wedged between rocks. I had to cut it and leave. Wish it attached and could retract. I kept getting it wrapped in my flippers when I surfaced

Exactement ce que j'avais commandé. Reste plus qu'à l'essayer dans l'eau.