New soft Goodman for handheld light (w/pics)

[stuartv]

I just found parts and put together a new way to carry my light on the back of my hand.

Parts:

Glove for GoPro - $6 (360 Rotate Hand Wrist Glove Strap Belt Holder Mount For Gopro Hero 1 2 3 3+ 4 US)
GoPro accessory tripod adapter - $6 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VAX8EEA)
Xtar D26 light - $63 (XTAR D26 Scuba Diving Flashlight Cree XM-L2 U3 LED 1100 Lumens Dive Torch 18650)

The Xtar light has a tripod mount threaded hole on the bottom. So, these parts go together to make this:

I actually found a few different options for attaching the light to a GoPro mount. They were all around 5 or 6 bucks (or less) and all on Amazon. I went with the one I did because it positions the light a little lower and a little more forward than the other two. But, I note that the one in the lower left in the picture has taller tabs, so it would hold the light up even higher. That might be useful for a different light if, say, it had a really big light head and you wanted the clearance to keep it from hitting your knuckles or fingers.

I haven't had it in the water yet.

I plan to put something on this getup to keep from losing the light if anything comes apart. Probably a simple bungee loop through the thumb hole than I clip the light's bolt snap to.

The GoPro mount base is riveted to the glove. I like the fact that it lets me adjust the light's tilt up or down. But, that is really secondary to the main reason I wanted it. Which is: The GoPro base swivels 360 degrees. So, I can have the light on my hand and have it pointed straight ahead like every other Goodman handle does (and I think is dumb). OR, I can angle it, so that my hand and arm can be out in front of me at a natural-feeling angle and I can still adjust the light to point straight ahead. In "land trial" LOL, this seems to mean having the light at about a 45 degree angle to my forearm.

The GoPro mount actually has a moving plate that is under the swivel part. The plate sticks out on 2 sides. If you push it all the way in one direction, the GoPro base swivels freely. If you push the plate all the way in the other direction, it locks the GoPro base in position. The detents are fairly fine, so I'd guess the base probably has at least 16 positions it could lock into, at least.

I'm not a huge fan of the glove itself. My hand is big enough that for the velcro strap to work right, I have to make it a bit too tight. It's a sort of 3 piece affair, so you put it through one slot and it folds back onto itself and sticks, then you put it through another slot and fold it back onto itself again. I guess the redundancy of velcro is nice, but that does make it less flexible in terms of fit.

I will probably order another one and drill out the rivets to see if I can transplant the rotating base onto a plain piece of 2" webbing and use some bungee or surgical tubing to make something that fits my hand a little better and is easier to don. Or something. We'll see.

 

[fmerkel]

Great mod. Looks like it might work for a Sola.
I think the glove part is the same as the DGX minus the velcro strap on the back for the light. DGX Soft Handmount | Dive Gear Express®
It's a lame strap. I had to mod it a bunch to make it acceptable for my wife small hand. You need to go up 1-2 sizes to get them to fit right, and we use thin drygloves.

 

[stuartv]

I have that soft handmount from DGX and yes, they are the same (except for the GoPro base). But, I didn't see any size options for the GoPro version. What I got seems like it's smaller than the DGX one.

EDIT: The DGX version has a small loop that you can clip a bolt snap to. The GP version does not have that.

 

[fmerkel]

Probably the same outfit is supplying it with options to the purchaser. My wife, with small hands, got the small-med, and that was effectively too small. I ended up stripping the Velcro and re-sewing it to make it fit. Having to thread that end through the loop is a pain. Poor design, but cheap.
I got mine at a dive show. Can't find it anywhere anymore and I've done some serious searching. Too back because it's better.

 

[stuartv]

Probably the same outfit is supplying it with options to the purchaser. My wife, with small hands, got the small-med, and that was effectively too small. I ended up stripping the Velcro and re-sewing it to make it fit. Having to thread that end through the loop is a pain. Poor design, but cheap.
I got mine at a dive show. Can't find it anywhere anymore and I've done some serious searching. Too back because it's better.

Exactly! I was thinking of cutting off that last third and then putting a small O-ring on the strap so the end would just go through the first little D-ring, double back on itself and Velcro down, then slide the O-ring down over it to add a assurance that it won't get accidentally peeled open and let the glove get loose.

Option B is cut off the strap, make a couple of holes, put in some grommets, and use bungee or surgical tubing in place of the strap.

 

[fmerkel]

For that price you can play with multiple options.
I ordered up the same stuff and will try it with my Sola. I appreciate your shopping research.

 

[stuartv]

I just found another option for the hand mount, which I have now ordered. It appears to be identical to a new accessory from GoPro that they are calling The Strap and selling for $50.

https://smile.amazon.com/DLPIN®-Trinity-Wrist-Mount-Camera/dp/B01EMN4SVM

It's $14 (including 2-day shipping). It was $1.50 cheaper on eBay, but that was with slow delivery from Hong Kong.

The Y-shaped velcro strap could be just the ticket. But, if not, the plate itself that goes on the back of your hand looks perfect as a base for a DIY rig.

 

[stuartv]

The new hand mount (The Strap) came today! I think it is exactly the GoPro accessory, just for a lot cheaper. The little instruction sheet that came with it was even labelled "The Strap".

I like the way it fits and feels. The material is very thin and soft. It's not stretchy at all. It will remain to be seen how sturdy it is. I'll get it wet on Sunday. Even if I replace the strap with bungee, I think the base plate with the 360 degree swivel is an okay deal for the $14 price.

 

[stuartv]

I did 2 dives with The Strap yesterday and it worked very well. My only issue with it is getting it on over dry gloves. The straps are just barely long enough to leave them on and secured to themselves for me to slowly, gradually, work it onto my hand over my dry gloves. If I undo the velcro on the big end and try it re-secure it after it's on my hand, using just the other hand, in a dry glove, I couldn't do it.

If the straps were just half an inch or so longer, it would be perfect for me. For someone with smaller hands it should be great.

Maybe I'll try it using the strap that's meant as a wrist strap next time. It's long enough. It may just be too wide to be comfortable across the palm of my hand.

 

[stuartv]

I came up with a solution for my problem of The Strap being just a little too small. It cost me about 6 inches of bungee cord and a little plastic tube that was in the center of a roll of small trash bags. Now I have plenty of room to put it on over gloves and then cinch it down to be nice and snug.

The extra bungee loop on the left side is there to clip the bolt snap on the back of my light to, just in case the light comes loose from the GoPro mount.