Bolt snaps for cold water diving

[flymolo]

the ones that come standard with the halcyon rigging kits have been fine for me with drygloves or thick neoprene gloves.

On a separate note, I tend to avoid putting the smallest sized snaps on anything besides my backup lights.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Is it common for people who dive in cold waters to use larger bolt snaps for their decompression stages? I use the standard bolt snaps on all my decompression bottles and while clipping and unclipping the stages seems quite simple without gloves in warm waters, try that with thick, cold water wet gloves and it may take some practice... or bigger bolt snaps on the deco bottle.

The Halcyon snaps on their stage rigging kits have large rings and are great for cold water with dry gloves.

Old school tech divers here liked the thick heavy round rings on xl snaps

4.5

 

[rjack321]

The Halcyon snaps on their stage rigging kits have large rings and are great for cold water with dry gloves. View attachment 620332

Old school tech divers here liked the thick heavy round rings on xl snaps
View attachment 620334
4.5

One of the reasons to avoid the XL bottom ones is that they are fairly easy to double clip. IE trying to clip your left Dring and the snap goes around or through the Dring and your SPG snap all on one mess.

I have a bunch of them and its not a huge deal though. The top size usually nicer to handle.

 

[ScubaSam]

Yes, I did when I lived up north and had to dive with the blue DUI Smurf color dry gloves.

 

[shurite7]

I found that, with a bit of practice, I could handle regular bolt snaps with dry gloves about as well as with my bare hands. It was pretty rough in the beginning, though... But then one day - POOF! - no trouble handling regular bolt snaps with dry gloves.

Doc Harry has a point. Marking yourself work with the regular bolt snaps while wearing gloves helps. I too can work most, with exception of the small short bolt snaps, of them with my blue dry gloves.

With that being stated, it Is a challenge when my hands are at the cold-hurting point towards the end of the dive, especially during the winter or spring when there is no thermocline to warm up in.

 

[Storker]

While I don't have any experience with deco bottles, I'd like to think that I have some experience with boltsnaps in cold water.

Medium size is really the minimum. A ring where you can stick your pinky is strongly recommended. Apart from that, I want smooth operation so I don't have to fiddle to open it. Good quality acid-proof, not chromed brass which has to be greased regularly to function.

If those demands are satisfied, it just comes down to training. No matter wetgloves vs three-fingers vs drygloves.

 

[Jack Hammer]

One of the reasons to avoid the XL bottom ones is that they are fairly easy to double clip. IE trying to clip your left Dring and the snap goes around or through the Dring and your SPG snap all on one mess.

I have a bunch of them and its not a huge deal though. The top size usually nicer to handle.

Yup, done that a few times. I don't use the xl ones anymore, mostly due to ro how heavy they are and how far from your body they make the bottles hang

 

[rjack321]

Doc Harry has a point. Marking yourself work with the regular bolt snaps while wearing gloves helps. I too can work most, with exception of the small short bolt snaps, of them with my blue dry gloves.

With that being stated, it Is a challenge when my hands are at the cold-hurting point towards the end of the dive, especially during the winter or spring when there is no thermocline to warm up in.

Suit heat would be more useful than bigger snaps.

I had various forms of suit heat off and on for 10yrs. I got serious about it when I started trying to survey caves in 40F water for 2 or 3 hours. I needed the dexterity to actually write. Giant mitts would keep my hands warm but I ended up with crayon level notes. Thin gloves had the dexterity initially but then my hands would quickly freeze. Suit heat and thin dry glove liners was the answer for long dives requiring dexterity.

 

[shurite7]

Suit heat would be more useful than bigger snaps.

Over the years, including when I was a kid, people have told me, "if your body is warm then your hands will be warm". This isn't accurate at all (at least for me). When I was young I was always the first to leave the frozen pond when ice skating or while hunting in the snow or skiing because my hands were so cold. Others have offered their gloves or mittens, but none were better off than the ones I had. Others have said if I use heated undergarments to warm my body then my hands will be warm. Again, not so. Rarely does my body, including feet (with the exception when I get out of the water and walk around on the ice or snow), get cold when diving while wearing appropriate undergarments. My hands on the other hand always get cold.

I've tried many different types of dry glove undergarments and the results were always the same - cold hands. I've considered removing my latex wrist seals, but haven't been brave enough to do so; I've experienced leaking gloves. Perhaps removing the wrist seals may help with circulation and allow better access for the flow of air into my gloves. One trick that I have learned is to have all my gear put together before arriving at the dive site, that way I don't have to spend a lot of time in the cold air before getting into the water. For practice I always keep my dry gloves on when putting my gear on and when breaking it down after the dive; this has helped a great deal with dexterity. Another trick that works ok is to have a set of hand warmers (Hothands) inside the glove; this works for a while, but my finger tips still get really cold.

Now, heated gloves keep my hands warm.

 

[RVBldr]

Another +1 for the XDeep snaps. The large ring works great with big gloves, it's easy to orientate the snap head, and the snap lever is easy to pull down.