Suicide strap for recreational diver

[stretchthepenn]

I made my own adjustable bungee strap with 38" of bungee and four zipties. Here's how it works:

1. Cut the length of bungee and singe the ends.

2. Make a U with the bungee.

3. Drape the U over the 2nd stage regulator's stem (the spot where the main body meets the mouthpiece).
** It should look like a long mustache.

4. Wrap each end of the bungee underneath the regulator's stem and up again.
** You will have one piece of bungee over the stem, two pieces underneath the stem, and two long pieces pointing up.)

5 Ziptie the bungee pairs on each side of the regulator's stem.



6. Adjust the bungee until it is snug around the regulator's stem and both free pieces are about the same length.

7. Tie a sizeable knot in each end of the bungee.

8. Overlap the long pieces and match each knot to the opposite piece of bungee.
** You will have a large loop that will go around your neck.

9. Ziptie the bungee pairs, with one ziptie underneath each knot.



10. Trim the ziptie ends cleanly, making sure to remove all sharp edges.

And you're done. You now have an adjustable bungee necklace that's cheap, easy to make/repair, and easy to remove.

 

[Storker]

I made my own adjustable bungee strap with 38" of bungee and four zipties. Here's how it works:

1. Cut the length of bungee and singe the ends.

2. Make a U with the bungee.

3. Drape the U over the 2nd stage regulator's stem (the spot where the main body meets the mouthpiece).
** It should look like a long mustache.

4. Wrap each end of the bungee underneath the regulator's stem and up again.
** You will have one piece of bungee over the stem, two pieces underneath the stem, and two long pieces pointing up.)

5 Ziptie the bungee pairs on each side of the regulator's stem.

View attachment 515950

6. Adjust the bungee until it is snug around the regulator's stem and both free pieces are about the same length.

7. Tie a sizeable knot in each end of the bungee.

8. Overlap the long pieces and match each knot to the opposite piece of bungee.
** You will have a large loop that will go around your neck.

9. Ziptie the bungee pairs, with one ziptie underneath each knot.

View attachment 515951

10. Trim the ziptie ends cleanly, making sure to remove all sharp edges.

And you're done. You now have an adjustable bungee necklace that's cheap, easy to make/repair, and easy to remove.

View attachment 515949

A fisherman's knot is simpler.

And if my buddy for some reason grabs my secondary (or if my necklace gets tangled), the knot will slip given enough pull.

 

[aviator8]

just out of curiosity what size bungee chord do people use for their necklaces? I have 3mm.

 

[Storker]

6mm

 

[JBFG]

And who actually WANTS a 32" hose for anything??

I need a 32” for my left bottle reg

 

[stuartv]

just out of curiosity what size bungee chord do people use for their necklaces? I have 3mm.

I have 2 sizes of bungee. I use the skinnier for my necklace. I think it's 1/8".

I need a 32” for my left bottle reg

Yeahhh..... I think I have a 32" on my left side reg in my sidemount setup. But still....

 

[Ryan Neely]

This is slightly off topic, but I'm curious ... why are alternate seconds (even within the same model regulator) so much more inexpensive? What I mean is ... it does make sense that you'd want your primary and secondary to be the same, especially if you're in a primary donate situation.* Using Apeks as an example, their website lists the MSRP for a primary XTX50 at $599 while the MSRP of a secondary (yellow, otherwise identical from what I can tell) at $270. The same is true with the AquaLung Legend Glacia: $855 for primary and $275 for secondary.

I get the desire for a less expensive secondary since, for all intents and purposes, it seems as though the secondary will be used less frequently by comparison.

*The implications of this statement are that, in a primary donate situation, you want to make sure you're secondary regulator (the reg you're now breathing off) is "as good" as the one you just donated but in a secondary donate situation, it's okay for that poor schmuck out of air can breathe from a sub-par reg. That wasn't my intention, but its a bit of an interesting thought.

 

[Lorenzoid]

This is slightly off topic, but I'm curious ... why are alternate seconds (even within the same model regulator) so much more inexpensive? What I mean is ... it does make sense that you'd want your primary and secondary to be the same, especially if you're in a primary donate situation.* Using Apeks as an example, their website lists the MSRP for a primary XTX50 at $599 while the MSRP of a secondary (yellow, otherwise identical from what I can tell) at $270. The same is true with the AquaLung Legend Glacia: $855 for primary and $275 for secondary.

I get the desire for a less expensive secondary since, for all intents and purposes, it seems as though the secondary will be used less frequently by comparison.

*The implications of this statement are that, in a primary donate situation, you want to make sure you're secondary regulator (the reg you're now breathing off) is "as good" as the one you just donated but in a secondary donate situation, it's okay for that poor schmuck out of air can breathe from a sub-par reg. That wasn't my intention, but its a bit of an interesting thought.

It's my understanding that the primary donate concept was developed by tech divers. An out-of-air tech diver may have a long deco time awaiting him, and/or the out-of-air diver and his buddy may have a long way to go to exit a cave, and spending that time breathing from a "sub-par reg" could have consequences. In contrast, the expectation in rec diving is that an out-of-air diver and his buddy should always be able to reach the surface within a few minutes. So I would imagine the thinking is that breathing from a sub-par reg for just a few minutes is not likely to have any negative consequences.

 

[stuartv]

@Ryan Neely I didn't go look at the websites, but my guess is that you're comparing a price for a 1st and 2nd stage together versus just a 2nd stage by itself.

 

[Ryan Neely]

@Ryan Neely I didn't go look at the websites, but my guess is that you're comparing a price for a 1st and 2nd stage together versus just a 2nd stage by itself.

Aha! I think you must be right. Duh! Teaches me to read a little closer.