In the early days of cave diving, guideline reels were not available for purchase and divers made their own using anything they could find. Cave diving pioneer Woody Jasper used a medical tape spool with cover to hold a short length of line for use as a gap reel. North Florida cave diver Bill Hogarth Main popularized using smaller electrical wire spools for safety and jump reels. Today, purpose built finger spools are more ergonomically designed and constructed from more durable materials than the original homemade solutions. The holes in the side allow for clipping a double ended snap anywhere along the perimeter of the finger spool to keep the line tight when not in use. Small and low-profile, a finger spool fits nicely out of the way in a pocket or clipped off to a D-ring. The larger finger spools are also an alternative to reels for shooting lift bags and surface marking tubes.

WhiteArrow offers their WAspool loaded with 80 meters (262 feet) of 100kg line yellow color Dyneema® line. Dyneema- "The Worlds Strongest Fiber™" - is 15 times stronger than steel and covered in an abrasive resistant outer sleeve. It is this strength that allows WA to use very thin line, yet still stronger than ordinary nylon cave line, to allow more line on the spool and also reduce drag. This WAspool is a good choice for shooting marking buoys for deco and as a substitute for a safety or primary reel. We know of no other finger spool this compact yet holding over 260 feet of line.

For divers who have an application that requires ultra strong line, WhiteArrow also offers their WASPOOL loaded with 36 meters (118 feet) of orange color Edelrid brand 200Kg line. Edelrid is a German manufacturer of safety ropes and harnesses. Relative to it's 440 lb strength this unique line is surprisingly thin and pliable. For example, this WAspool is the right choice if you are ocean diving and towing a flag or buoy with a DPV, or actually using your lift bag to lift and send an object to the surface.

The spools themselves are all 3.3-inches in diameter and the 100 foot spool is 1.15-inches wide. To make the 150 and 200 foot spools, a stainless tube is TIG welded between the halves to increase the width to 1.75-inches and 2.25-inches respectively. The stainless spools weigh 3.5 oz. for small, 3.9 oz. for medium, and 4.1 oz. for large. Both plastic and stainless are low weight but the typical 2.0 oz. plastic spool is almost too light and the stainless has a better feel in your hand.

Finger Spools Are Not Guideline Reels

The skills required to deploy a finger spool are different than those required to use a typical guideline reel. At first glance the simple spool looks easier, but compared to guideline reels the finger spool requires specific techniques for successful use. If this is your first finger spool then seek advice, get a demonstration, and most importantly you should practice under controlled conditions.

A common usage mistake is rewinding a finger spool in a manner that applies a lot of tension to the line, such as when hanging under a lift bag, causing the line to be very tightly wound on to the spool. Upon re-use the line doesn't smoothly unwind and sticks, causing the entire spool to be jerked out of the fingers or disappear with the lift bag.

Another consideration is the method used to rewind the line on to the spool. Hold the line loosely and use the spool to take up the line; if you hold the spool in a fixed position some wrapping motions with your hand will put a 'twist' in the line with each wrap around the spool. Depending on how you later unspool, you might wind up with a tangled mess of line (aka 'birds nest') if you hold the line in your hand while it unspools.

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