I use the pencil and couch cushion method.... the pencil holds the spool help intact by the couch cushions. But i do intend to buy one of these shown here.

Is the Struble one still available ?

Karen at Bingham is great to deal with, but I'm not sure her website is up to date.

Drop her a note or give her a call.

I use the foot tensioner method - when the wife isn't home. She goes a bit batty after about 15 seconds of clicking.

I do it in a simple way. I put a pencil through the hole in the backing spool and anchor the pencil upright in anything that will hold it that way. I mount the reel on a rod butt section and wind in using finger tension, just as if reeling in a fish.

A key element for me (especially with big-fish reels), is to wind the backing on the reel in level winds that lie pretty much parallel next to one another, then every time I go from one side of the reel spool to the other, make several zig-zag winds angled back and forth sharply across the width of spool. Those criss-cross winds help keep the backing from digging into itself when the line is under strong tension when playing a fish. I used to work in a sports shop where we loaded spinning reels with mono or conventional saltwater reels with braided lines, and the serious anglers were pleased with the way we put on their lines.