Suicide Clips

[Doby45]

 

[Compressor]

These things are only a threat to very inexperienced divers and those who do not carry knives. I use carabiners for just about everything when I am working underwater, usually in zero vis, and regular gate clips for a couple of small items when sport diving. I have never had them attach to anything on their own during thousands of hours of diving. If something this simple is going to kill you then you might want to rethink going diving at all.

Many experienced divers have become casualty and statistics.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I use them to secure expensive heavy gear like my video housing that also gets handed up onto the boat. But I use the locking kind sold for climbing - the knurled ring screws down over the part that opens. They're about $10. ex:

View attachment 153617

These are called "locking carabiners," in case anyone wants to know.

SeaRat

 

[rjack321]

I have numerous climbing carabiners on my boat (reducing and recycling from an old hobby), even the wire gated ones quickly corrode closed with any salt water exposure. They work good as the rear clip on sidemount tanks though (depending on your harness) and are alot less likely to get bent shut like a bolt snap. (drop a tank on the side of a sliding bolt snap and you'll understand - or drop a tank on a rock on its side).

 

[Slym]

I am really glad I found this article, I was considering getting some clips instead of bolt snaps as I had lost my SMB because of my bolt snap, and don't wanna lose anything else. However I was considering a more climbing oriented carabiner that has a twist to open snap.

 

[Peter69_56]

The risk with a twist carabina is when they sieze due to salt water. I use quick links and they can sieze sometimes and need a spanner to undo. A good quality SS bolt snap should be fine. I find brass bolt snaps are not as good or strong and SS.

 

[Compressor]

Good Posts above.

 

[rb9228]

I adopted this method:

 

[Sleepdr]

The risk with a twist carabina is when they sieze due to salt water. I use quick links and they can sieze sometimes and need a spanner to undo. A good quality SS bolt snap should be fine. I find brass bolt snaps are not as good or strong and SS.

Even on sunny & dry days rock climbing, I've had locking carabiners spin themselves beyond hand-tight. That alone is enough to make me want to avoid them underwater. Also, a stainless bolt snap is cheaper to replace than my rattiest 25 year old aluminum carabiners.

 

[Doby45]

I use brass or SS bolt snaps. I am not favorable to one or the other. The brass ones I have are smooth and have a cool "oil can finish" to them now and the SS ones are smooth and shiny silver. They both do their jobs.