North Florida cave diver, Woody Jasper, first invented sidewinder-style reels around 1980. Less likely to entangle than other reels on the market, Woody's original reel was made of aluminum and a PVC spool. The side-handle style of the reel lent itself to exploration because it could easily switch from hand to hand while laying out line. Twenty years later, sidewinder-style reels were popularized in the technical diving community when DIR enthusiasts began using them for paying out line in deep caves at high speed on a Dive Propulsion Vehicle (DPV).
Dive Rite's Sidewinder Series of Reels are designed to be anti-jam by using precision machine tolerances between the frame and the spool making it nearly impossible for the line to slip between the spool and the handle. The Sidewinder Cave Primary Reel with 400' (122m) of 220 lbs. (99.80 kg) breakage strength and Dive Rite's Wreck Primary Reel with 250' (76.2m) of durable DuPont fiber braided #36-line which has 350 lbs. (158.76 kg) of breakage strength both with extra-large stainless-steel bolt snap. Both reels have an injected molded polycarbonate spool which is breakage and crack resistant, they come with a stainless-steel axle and high quality machined CNC aircraft grade aluminum frame which are corrosion resistant. A knurled lockdown screw has a low profile to prevent snagging and is easy-to-use even with gloved hands. Reels weigh 1.37 lbs. (620 g) and is proudly made in the U.S.A.
