Newb question about buying bolt snaps

[PansSiren]

For lack of the best term, does material/grade/quality matter when buying bolt snaps? I'm assuming you would want something of marine grade so the springs won't corrode and fail rather quickly. What specs would I be looking for if I were to walk into a Lowe's or Home Depot? Or is it best to just buy from a scuba or boating store? Or with a good rinse after each dive, does it even matter?

[Wookie]

Yes. The junk at Home Depot (I don't know about Lowe's) only lasts a season before the springs break, the slides get sticky, and they generally turn into a ball of rust. They are stainless, but not marine grade. Even the marine grade hardware isn't. The brass is just as bad. West Marine less so, but when I buy Bolt Snaps or suicide clips, I get them from Divegear Express, Ace Hardware, or my LDS. They seem to last longer than the stuff West Marine sells. I happen to like the butterfly clips, especially for the top clip of my stages, and the big-ass bolt snaps for the bottom clips. They have a bigger thumb grip making it easier to work with gloves on. YMMV.

[TC]

These work well-

Diving Snaps (http://www.nixdogcollars.com/nixdogcollars/Diving_Snaps.html)

[Dr Wu]

Some people will claim you need SS because they will last 500 years vs. brass that will last only 200 years.

[Bubbletrubble]

These work well-

Diving Snaps (http://www.nixdogcollars.com/nixdogcollars/Diving_Snaps.html)
I purchased a package of bolt snaps from Douglas Nix several years ago. Super nice guy. Distinctive accent. He was happy to customize the package to better suit my needs. His prices are about half of what you'd pay in any brick-and-mortar dive shop. More importantly, the quality of his stainless steel hardware is top-notch.

[HenrikBP]

316 stainless is the way to go. Be aware that some stainless snaps (non-diving application) have non-stainless springs.

H

[saxplayer1004]

Nix is the best. It's a lot of money for a lot of snaps but you can usually get dive buddies in on it too to split it up

[knowone]

BRASS or stainless from the boat shop have the same stainless springs.

Pulled some encrusted brass bits that had been encrusting in the ocean for fifty years cleaned some up found a 1/2" nut (no bolt) almost like new could still see galling on the threads.

Pulled some semi minimally encrusted stainless knives that hadn't been encrusting for a quarter the time and they were rusted to the ****house.
The rust gets in and does it's work internally leaving a shell.
Very interesting.

What this has to do with bolt snaps, I don't know?

That's right, what is cool and how much less banging you get.

And if you're not talking about double enders, or solid fixings they can be attached
break free with cable ties and O rings in case cutting is to slow or unavailable.

[DevonDiver]

I use marine grade SS snaps on my personal kit. They function as well now as when I first fitted them (2000 dives ago).

I used brass and/or non-marine SS snaps on the rental gear. After 6 months of use the slides got very sticky, from accumulation of verdigris. Even with regular cleaning, they still never functioned as smoothly as the marine grade SS snaps.

[Mr Carcharodon]

Brass clips will get two sharp edges over time where the clip slides back in forth in the groove. That was never an issue in California where we use gloves all the time. But the first time I took a bolt snap on a warm water vacation I ended up two parallel cuts on my thumb. Anyway stainless is about 3x more expensive than brass, but it can be worth it. My Ace hardware used to carry stainless and brass bolt snaps and they worked fine. For some reason they dropped the stainless ones.

[RJP]

What specs would I be looking for if I were to walk into a Lowe's or Home Depot?



Look for this sign at Home Depot or Lowe's...

http://www.bulbman.com/images/signexitledrd.jpg


In the photo below the one on the left was bought at a dive shop for $7 and had >300 saltwater dives on it over three years when this picture was taken.

The one on the right was labeled as "marine grade" from Lowe's for about $4, and had done <30 dives during a one-week live aboard trip before this picture was taken. Note the handy "locked open" functionality, as well as the two spots where rubbing on the D-ring actual wore away some of the steel.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/medium/BoltSnap_1.jpg

[Wookie]

Look for this sign at Home Depot or Lowe's...

http://www.bulbman.com/images/signexitledrd.jpg


In the photo below the one on the left was bought at a dive shop for $7 and had >300 saltwater dives on it over three years when this picture was taken.

The one on the right was labeled as "marine grade" from Lowe's for about $4, and had done <30 dives during a one-week live aboard trip before this picture was taken. Note the handy "locked open" functionality, as well as the two spots where rubbing on the D-ring actual wore away some of the steel.

No doubt under closer examination, you might find a "CHINA" stamp on the one on the right. Although many Chinese made products have gotten far better in the past couple of years, the junk hardware from Home Depot/Lowe's isn't some of it. Buying American hardware is getting tougher and tougher. I patronize an Ace Hardware where the pipe fittings are next to each other. A box of American (or Canadian in some cases) pipe nipples next to a box of Chinese. You can see the difference, you can hand weigh the difference, and you pay the difference. Chinese fittings are 20% of the retail cost of the American ones. BUT, when it takes 5 labor hours to change out a fitting that costs the difference between 6 bucks and 30, the price difference doesn't matter so much. When you lose a $100 SMB because a $3 clip failed, the price difference doesn't seem to matter so much.

[dumpsterDiver]

I use brass clips from home depot. They work fine in salt water. Sometimes I spray them, with WD-40, but if you use them they will not freeze up. I would rather have brass than cheap stainless.

[TSandM]

I have to say that my experience is the same as most everybody else's. I have bought stainless snaps from our local hardware store, and some of them do fairly well but others corrode quickly (bought from the same store). The ones I have bought from the dive shop, gagging gently at the prices involved, have remained beautiful and functional, although they do like a yearly bath in the ultrasonic cleaner :)

[bleeb]

Anyone have any experience to add to Wookie's about buying SS snaps from actual marine shops as opposed to hardware stores?

[irishsquid]

Brass clips will get two sharp edges over time where the clip slides back in forth in the groove. That was never an issue in California where we use gloves all the time. But the first time I took a bolt snap on a warm water vacation I ended up two parallel cuts on my thumb...
Happened to me also while I was wearing gloves, but it didn't cut my thumb. It left 2 nice slices in my glove. It helped drain water out of them. :D

[Jax]

Brass clips will get two sharp edges over time where the clip slides back in forth in the groove. That was never an issue in California where we use gloves all the time. But the first time I took a bolt snap on a warm water vacation I ended up two parallel cuts on my thumb. Anyway stainless is about 3x more expensive than brass, but it can be worth it. My Ace hardware used to carry stainless and brass bolt snaps and they worked fine. For some reason they dropped the stainless ones.

+1! Same happened to me.

[Rick Murchison]

These work well-

Diving Snaps (http://www.nixdogcollars.com/nixdogcollars/Diving_Snaps.html)Been using Nix for all my stainless snaps for years. I always lose 'em before any of 'em wear out. :)
Rick