What type of rope do you use to attach your equipment?

[janosik]

Thanks, folks, this is just what I needed!

 

[aquaregia]

Thanks. As far as clipping: I cannot see some of my D-rings, and I found that in 5mm gloves, clipping and unclipping things gets tricky when you cannot see and feel the rings and snaps. I lost a camera once; it was secured well to my D-rings with 2 small bolt snaps, and I believe I ended up accidentally unclipping both of them when operating in thick gloves in cold murky water without being able to see clearly. Ever since, I make my bottom attachment point such that I cannot accidentally undo it under water, other than by just cutting through the rope using my net cutter, and I use an extra large bolt snap for the top D-ring.

Besides the risk of accidental unclipping, I think being able to immediately ditch my camera and let it dangle is essential for me to prevent the feeling of being overly task-loaded. I just do not want to have to worry about securing an additional piece of equipment.

I don't mean the following as a criticism of your techniques, skills, priorities, dive philosophies etc. I think wanting to be able to react to an emergency without worrying about whether you're going to hesitate to throw away a several thousand dollar camera is good.

I dive similar temperature water as you do, I believe, in a 7mm wetsuit and 5mm gloves, and I can't see my d-rings either. When I was first diving, I had some trouble operating boltsnaps and finding d-rings, but with some practice it became sort of a non-issue. I think there is a benefit to practicing this, although perhaps with something less valuable than the camera. I used to clip off my lights to myself for fear that I would drop one, but now I find that I can clip it off very quickly, even in stressful situations. It's nice to know that, even if it never comes up.

 

[Rich Keller]

There are 2 basic types of line and 2 basic types of materiel that would work best for diving. Braided and 3 strand line, polypropylene and nylon materiel. If you take the time to learn how to splice line, which is far easier then most people would imagine, 3 strand polypropylene is what you would want to use for your stated needs. With a little practice you can custom make line for each piece of equipment, to the exact length needed with splices at each end and a splice in the middle of the rope if needed, down to color coding it for each application. If you want to stay with tying your line, nylon would be the best way for you to go. As far as clipping the line to your rings with heavy gloves I would suggest mountain climbing carabiners instead of brass clips as they are far easier to work with when wearing thick gloves and you can get them with an optional locking gate so they will not come loss by accident.

 

[aquaregia]

As far as clipping the line to your rings with heavy gloves I would suggest mountain climbing carabiners instead of brass clips as they are far easier to work with when wearing thick gloves and you can get them with an optional locking gate so they will not come loss by accident.

I think they're easier to attach but harder to detach, which is exactly the behaviour I don't want on my SCUBA gear.

 

[Gilldiver]

There are 2 basic types of line and 2 basic types of materiel that would work best for diving. Braided and 3 strand line, polypropylene and nylon materiel. If you take the time to learn how to splice line, which is far easier then most people would imagine, 3 strand polypropylene is what you would want to use for your stated needs. With a little practice you can custom make line for each piece of equipment, to the exact length needed with splices at each end and a splice in the middle of the rope if needed, down to color coding it for each application. If you want to stay with tying your line, nylon would be the best way for you to go. As far as clipping the line to your rings with heavy gloves I would suggest mountain climbing carabiners instead of brass clips as they are far easier to work with when wearing thick gloves and you can get them with an optional locking gate so they will not come loss by accident.

I go with 3 strand nylon eye spliced for any line that is not meant to be untied. Here is one of my camera rigs with a nylon leash and bolt snap. The leash is long enough so that when clipped to my upper left D-ring I can hold the camera at arms length. The wide angled lens has its own leash made out of cave line.

If I need to have my hands free, I drop the camera with a push down to the left where it will end up parked behind me and under my tanks where I can cradle it on the back of my thighs or calfs.

One trick to use if you have a hard time seeing your D-ring is to place a bolt snap on it and use the eye of the snap as your hooking on point. This makes your D-ring essentially longer by the length of the bolt snap.

 

[The Chairman]

I use the same bungee cord, yet without the clip. I have found that a short amount of bungee can indeed fit over my wrist and if I loop it through a D-Ring and over the light, I don't need a clip at all.

I make all mine out of 3mm bungee inside a soft rubber tube
that wraps all the way around my wrist and incorporate a clip

These give you the required amount of shock absorbtion, when
it is necessary for both your gear and your wrists, for snagging