JBDaddy
Well-Known Member
Being cheap, I can't stand the idea of $35 for a Doyles Hoist. I might catch a muddy version for $15 on camofire.com, but that's still a 11-14oz dog leash with 25-30 feet of reach, a piddly weight rating, and you can't retension it without taking a Chinese-made plastic case apart. There has to be a better way.
And there is. Automatic Fly Fishing Reels. Small, light, metal, often Made In The USA, nostalgic, and used for off-label purposes. Perfect.
I spent $5.50 + $7 to ship it. 2 days later it's my grubby little hands, along with 50 feet of 1.75mm, 500-lbs rated zing-it I got for $12. If you're keeping track, I've spent $24.50 Not exactly saving a paycheck here. The muddy version on camofire today was cheaper. But the zing-it is reusable lots of ways, and I ended up with a better product all the way around.
Shakespeare OK Automatic no. 1822, made in 1955.
Weight with 50 feet of zing-it: 9.8oz.
"Silent" operation (you hear it winding, it's not loud, it doesn't click)
Twist to re-tension anytime (though I find with 50ft of zing-it, I don't need to do that at all).
You can disassemble it with a flat-head screw driver, and it's easy to put back together.
Awesome.
Here's some pics.. 1 US Quarter for scale.
You could probably get another 25 feet of line in there if you really tried. This isn't the biggest model - the Shakespeare 1837 is.
It doesn't pull your bow/bag up for you. You pull. It takes up the slack. The slack take-up requires pushing the lever down, but the lever can be removed so it's always recoiling, and I might do that.
I'm thinking I'll use the bottom screw to mount a kydex hook or even just a tied-on piece of paracord if I want to mount it on a molle loop.
Two things I'd change if I get engineer-y on it: I'd make the lever smaller, or convert it to a button. And I'd make it flatter.
It's 3 inches across the bottom, and about 2 1/2 inches tall, counting the rod-mount (which I'd remove, except it's riveted on and I don't feel like destroying it). I'd trade another inch of width for an inch of thickness on this.
This video isn't me, or this model (it's the bigger one) but it shows the idea very well:
And another...
Thought this was cool enough to share, for the other cheap/nostalgic/DIY buggers like me.
And there is. Automatic Fly Fishing Reels. Small, light, metal, often Made In The USA, nostalgic, and used for off-label purposes. Perfect.
I spent $5.50 + $7 to ship it. 2 days later it's my grubby little hands, along with 50 feet of 1.75mm, 500-lbs rated zing-it I got for $12. If you're keeping track, I've spent $24.50 Not exactly saving a paycheck here. The muddy version on camofire today was cheaper. But the zing-it is reusable lots of ways, and I ended up with a better product all the way around.
Shakespeare OK Automatic no. 1822, made in 1955.
Weight with 50 feet of zing-it: 9.8oz.
"Silent" operation (you hear it winding, it's not loud, it doesn't click)
Twist to re-tension anytime (though I find with 50ft of zing-it, I don't need to do that at all).
You can disassemble it with a flat-head screw driver, and it's easy to put back together.
Awesome.
Here's some pics.. 1 US Quarter for scale.
You could probably get another 25 feet of line in there if you really tried. This isn't the biggest model - the Shakespeare 1837 is.
It doesn't pull your bow/bag up for you. You pull. It takes up the slack. The slack take-up requires pushing the lever down, but the lever can be removed so it's always recoiling, and I might do that.
I'm thinking I'll use the bottom screw to mount a kydex hook or even just a tied-on piece of paracord if I want to mount it on a molle loop.
Two things I'd change if I get engineer-y on it: I'd make the lever smaller, or convert it to a button. And I'd make it flatter.
It's 3 inches across the bottom, and about 2 1/2 inches tall, counting the rod-mount (which I'd remove, except it's riveted on and I don't feel like destroying it). I'd trade another inch of width for an inch of thickness on this.
This video isn't me, or this model (it's the bigger one) but it shows the idea very well:
Thought this was cool enough to share, for the other cheap/nostalgic/DIY buggers like me.