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Your Grand-dad's Doyles Hoist

JBDaddy

JBDaddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Messages
766
Location
Lenawee, MI
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.

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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.
 

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My friend has some of those yo-yo auto reels... I'l check them out next time in over there. I know they are smaller than what you got pictured...just don't know how much line inside
 
Will it load 550 cord? Might be a little easier to use than zing it.
 
Weldabeast said:
My friend has some of those yo-yo auto reels... I'l check them out next time in over there. I know they are smaller than what you got pictured...just don't know how much line inside
Click to expand...

The yo yo reels don’t work. Already tried it lol. I thought I was a genius for the idea but the spring will only take up about 10’ of line


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The Lash-It line is smaller than Zing it. It should work as well. I have one of those reels coming lol. Figured I better get one before the saddle hunter effect kicks in!


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flinginairos said:
The Lash-It line is smaller than Zing it. It should work as well. I have one of those reels coming lol. Figured I better get one before the saddle hunter effect kicks in!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Lash-It and Zing-It both come in either 1.75 or 2.2 mm.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Ahh...you've given me an idea of how to use those old military reels spooled with 100ft of copper wire that we used to use for field expedient antenna's! I knew I saved those for a reason.
 
I put some 300lb UHMWPE fishing line on one for a throwline. I used this instead. Lighter and simpler.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I bought 7,000 rolls of Charmin ultrasoft and flipped them on facebook marketplace. This week.

As the new owner of Doyle's Hunting Products, I strongly disapprove this thread.
Click to expand...

It was your recent review of the hoist that had it on my mind. I just haven't got that kind of TP to flip to afford those luxuries.
 
JBDaddy said:
It was your recent review of the hoist that had it on my mind. I just haven't got that kind of TP to flip to afford those luxuries.
Click to expand...
I like innovation. :)

If you're doing it to save $10 bucks, shoot me your paypal. Unless you believe it's a better mousetrap, I don't know that I see the benefit. It does look lighter. But the Doyle's sets a high standard when it comes to how well it retracts and feeds line. I got probably 10 years out of my first one, and it never gave me an issue until the very last year.

How smoothly does the reel feed and retract when hooked to a bag of gear? To me the main advantage of having the Doyle's is the fact that you have 0 fiddle-factor. If it hung up or required me to think about it in any way, I'd be back to figure-8ing cord. But if you have the full functionality of a Doyle's in a smaller package, I'm in.
 
I do believe it's a better mousetrap.
  • It's serviceable without opening a plastic case. Screws into plastic tend to strip the plastic easily in my hands. This is metal.
  • I can re-tension it just by twisting the top, any time.
  • It's lighter.
  • It's got more line, but it's smaller line. I don't mind that. I can switch the line if I want.
  • I think it has a stronger line? Not sure what Doyles is rated for, honestly. Also don't think it's a substantial difference either, really. Just because you CAN haul 500 lbs up on the line doesn't mean you ever would... but I *could* use it to hang a deer if I wanted, or as a tarp line, and it's not a huge chore to take the line off and put it back, and I don't know that I could with a Doyles.
It's smooth in both directions in my hand, but I haven't tied it on anything yet. I don't think that's a big deal, there's absolutely room to dangle it such that it hangs & works just like a Doyles.

There IS fiddle factor if you're counting the lever/button you have to push to release the lock and let the line retract. Sometimes its handy to play out line. But that's also an easily removable lever - when removed it leaves the thing in constant-tension mode just like a Doyles. I'm contemplating it, but haven't yet because if I did, I'd lose the dang lever.

It's metal. That's potential for metal noises on it. I might try vet wrapping it eventually, but it's still a demerit vs plastic.

If you have a Doyles or Muddy, or Hawk (if you like winding) and you like it, the cheapest one is probably the one you already have, and that makes it the best by default.

I didn't have one. I looked online for at key-backs, retractable dog leashes (I already have 2 of those for the pup but I'm not allowed to mess with them), ice/fishing reels, air hose winders, USB cord retractors, etc.

This was the best fit I found, and it happened to pre-date Doyles, dog leashes, etc. To me, that's pretty cool.

To each their own - I ain't gonna look down on anyone - I've used a TP spool, a figure 8, a hand-wound loop that became a knotted pile, etc. :)
 
JBDaddy said:
I do believe it's a better mousetrap.
  • It's serviceable without opening a plastic case. Screws into plastic tend to strip the plastic easily in my hands. This is metal.
  • I can re-tension it just by twisting the top, any time.
  • It's lighter.
  • It's got more line, but it's smaller line. I don't mind that. I can switch the line if I want.
  • I think it has a stronger line? Not sure what Doyles is rated for, honestly. Also don't think it's a substantial difference either, really. Just because you CAN haul 500 lbs up on the line doesn't mean you ever would... but I *could* use it to hang a deer if I wanted, or as a tarp line, and it's not a huge chore to take the line off and put it back, and I don't know that I could with a Doyles.
It's smooth in both directions in my hand, but I haven't tied it on anything yet. I don't think that's a big deal, there's absolutely room to dangle it such that it hangs & works just like a Doyles.

There IS fiddle factor if you're counting the lever/button you have to push to release the lock and let the line retract. Sometimes its handy to play out line. But that's also an easily removable lever - when removed it leaves the thing in constant-tension mode just like a Doyles. I'm contemplating it, but haven't yet because if I did, I'd lose the dang lever.

It's metal. That's potential for metal noises on it. I might try vet wrapping it eventually, but it's still a demerit vs plastic.

If you have a Doyles or Muddy, or Hawk (if you like winding) and you like it, the cheapest one is probably the one you already have, and that makes it the best by default.

I didn't have one. I looked online for at key-backs, retractable dog leashes (I already have 2 of those for the pup but I'm not allowed to mess with them), ice/fishing reels, air hose winders, USB cord retractors, etc.

This was the best fit I found, and it happened to pre-date Doyles, dog leashes, etc. To me, that's pretty cool.

To each their own - I ain't gonna look down on anyone - I've used a TP spool, a figure 8, a hand-wound loop that became a knotted pile, etc. :)
Click to expand...
Hey, for as cheap as they are I just made an offer on ebay. You've got me curious.

I like old gear too. Love pumping old gas lanterns and stoves.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I bought 7,000 rolls of Charmin ultrasoft and flipped them on facebook marketplace. This week.

As the new owner of Doyle's Hunting Products, I strongly disapprove this thread.
Click to expand...
We were talking at the gym last night that we should snag the bulk bottle of hand sanitizer and go setup shop in the Chic Fil A drive through and sell it for a $1 a pump.
 
When I moved into my office the only thing the prior occupant left was a retractable dog leash on the front porch. I repurposed it into a gear hoist. Heavy, but, like Bobby Bear, I’m a fan of free.

 
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