The Ruslyn Pack Reel has just celebrated one year in service.
This small lightweight hand held reel was developed specifically to fill a need by Combat Engineers, Search, EOD, Special Forces, Sigs, Clearance Divers and Aerospace. It is available to Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Ruslyn Cordwheel has been in service since 2005 but was found to be too bulky to be carried by dismounted soldiers. A smaller, more lightweight reel which contained no metallic parts and was easy to use was needed.
Design of the Pack Reel commenced in early 2011 and production of prototypes completed some months later.
A number of these prototypes were supplied to end users for field trials in Australia and overseas. Reports from end users over the next six months were very positive. Everybody loved it. Tooling commenced in February 2012 and the first supply to Defence took place in June 2012.
The Pack Reel is used for handling hook & line, det cord, firing cable, comms cable, cord & wire. It can be attached to webbing or simply pack carried.
The centre handle is designed for use with a gloved hand in subzero temperatures and the spool has two rotating winder knobs.
Weighing just 375 grams with a diameter of 23 cm and a 6 cm width the Pack Reel is extremely user friendly.
The Pack Reel is currently deployed in the Middle East and distributed in New Zealand, Canada, USA and UK. It is proudly designed and manufactured in Australia and exported to Defence worldwide.
Specifications may be viewed at www.cordwheel.com/ruslyn-pack-reel
Enquiries: r.maddern@cordwheel.com