Following other threads it seems some have problems clipping their SPG with the bolt snaps. Does anyone have a good reason why carabiners aren't used instead? It seems that they would be easier to snap to a D-ring and easier to open, particularly when wearing bulky gloves.
Bolt Snaps vs. Carabiners
- Thread starter jeffrey-c
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Tassie_Rohan
Contributor
Carabiners are better known as suicide clips.
When diving where there are entanglement hazards there is a chance that a cable/wire/line etc can get caught in the carabinder. It is then possible to get completely entangled in the obstruction as you struggle to free yourself. Don't take my word for it: one world-class diver died this way and I'm sure there been several other accidents involving them.
A bolt snap will not accidentally open. With practice its use is not an issue.
Carabinders are easier than bolt snaps to attach to an object (which is why they are dangerous) but I find the bold snap easier to open when wearing bulkly gloves - pushing the carabinder latch open and not blocking the opening with your finger/glove seems more difficult than just sliding a bolt snap open to a klutz like me.
Cheers,
Rohan.
When diving where there are entanglement hazards there is a chance that a cable/wire/line etc can get caught in the carabinder. It is then possible to get completely entangled in the obstruction as you struggle to free yourself. Don't take my word for it: one world-class diver died this way and I'm sure there been several other accidents involving them.
A bolt snap will not accidentally open. With practice its use is not an issue.
Carabinders are easier than bolt snaps to attach to an object (which is why they are dangerous) but I find the bold snap easier to open when wearing bulkly gloves - pushing the carabinder latch open and not blocking the opening with your finger/glove seems more difficult than just sliding a bolt snap open to a klutz like me.
Cheers,
Rohan.
Tassie_Rohan:
John Ormsby on the Andrea Doria?
You an always go to a larger boltsnap if gloves are bulky. The cheaper SS boltsnaps can be sticky and harder to open. You might want to check for sticky boltsnaps and replace them with something like Dive Rite.
You are correct. Carabiners are much easier to open. In fact, they are so easy to open that divers have had their carabiners snap by themselves into hanging cables, electrical wiring, aluminum and copper tubing, and other linear objects dangling and hanging down inside wrecks. Once the diver is snagged, it becomes difficult to find and unclip the snag, as the diver's movements tend to entangle them more significantly.
At least one diver has been documented to have died from this; John Ormsby on the Doria. The details are recounted in Kevin McMurray's "Deep Descent" (2001, pg 29).
This is why brass spring-gated clips, or any spring-gated clips, are called "suicide clips". It is also why most technical divers have gone to the use of drawbolt clips - which eliminate the tendency to clip themselves into wiring or cables inside wrecks.
Regards,
Doc
Edit: the others typed faster. Sorry for the repeat.
At least one diver has been documented to have died from this; John Ormsby on the Doria. The details are recounted in Kevin McMurray's "Deep Descent" (2001, pg 29).
This is why brass spring-gated clips, or any spring-gated clips, are called "suicide clips". It is also why most technical divers have gone to the use of drawbolt clips - which eliminate the tendency to clip themselves into wiring or cables inside wrecks.
Regards,
Doc
Edit: the others typed faster. Sorry for the repeat.
Tassie_Rohan
Contributor
TheRedHead:
Yep correct Red - go to the top of the class! Theres a bell ringing in the back of my head about another near CF that involved them but I'd have to search around.
BTW - I admit I cheat on this one - I use a scissor clip which is easier to open than a bolt snap:
I've got no idea if their use will get me inducted into the Stroke Hall of Fame – I await my nomination...
Cheers,
Rohan
Suicide clips have been used successfully for a long time,although use of them is not politically correct anymore. Personally I don't worry about the type of clip as much as how the clip is attached. I prefer to use an o-ring,like a #51,that is durable enough to be pulled on substantially for routine diving,but break when I want it to. I have had my spg clip get seriously wedged in a rock restriction,but the o-ring broke and freed me up.
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