(Brainstorming) DIY Handheld Scuba-Object Retainers

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

SlugLife

Contributor
Messages
2,527
Reaction score
2,908
Location
Texas
# of dives
I just don't log dives
What kinds of solutions have you come up with for inexpensive item retainers? For example: Lets say you're fishing sunglasses off the bottom of a silty lake, with a flashlight in one hand, and a mesh-bag of loot clipped to the BCD. When you find a pair of sunglasses, you might want two hands to pickup and insert the sunglasses into the BC. We'd also like to not lose the flashlight, if it's dropped. Meanwhile, silt is getting kicked up, and you're wasting air while fumbling with items. The flashlight is just an example, as I like to secure scissors, knife, compass, inflator hose, etc in a similar manner.

Bungee & clip: The way I've been doing this is putting a key-ring on my harness d-ring, a length of bungee, and at the end a clip (small aluminum carabiner) with the item. Pros: You can drop items any time, without losing them & it's really cheap to make. Cons: Bungee only stretches so far, leading to moderate lengths of bungee, mild entanglement hazards.

Clip Only: Clip and unclip items to d-rings as needed. Pros: No entanglement hazards, very inexpensive. Cons: Drop it while unclipped, you lose it.

Velcro: Use a strip of Velcro (or "Hook and loop") to wrap the item and secure it to your harness. I typically use this with other methods of securing items, like Bungee & clip. Pros: Inexpensive, if you buy a roll of velcro, or large pack velcro cable-retainers. Cons: When used without clips or lines, you might risk items falling out of your harness and losing them.

Paracord & Clip: Same as bungee & clip, just longer.

Spring Retainers (Commercial): Most are either flimsy, or expensive. The only one I've found that I like is rather bulky.

Retractors (Commercial): Apparently, these have reliability problems. And also get expensive.

Clip to Wrist: I haven't done this yet, but the idea is to put a d-ring, or something similar on your wrist. Items are secured bungee & clip, except with the fixed end tied to the item & a short length of bungee (very short) with a clip on the other end. Items are unclipped from your harness & then clipped to the wrist d-ring. I won't list pros and cons, because I haven't tried this yet.

Headlamp?
Has anyone tried making a DIY flashlight harness that attaches to or goes around your wetsuit hood or mask?

Double-eye-snaps: I just recently started using these types of clips (instead of the carabiners) and really like them, although I also like to pair it with a line or bungee to avoid losing handheld items.
 
Put the light in a "Goodman sock" on the back of your hand, now you have two hands free. No chance of dropping it.Shopping Categories Piranha Dive Shop |
Use boltsnaps instead of carabiners; less entanglement hazard, smaller.Swivel Bolt Snaps Piranha Dive Shop |
Avoid loose line like paracord tethers, even bungee tethers; entanglement hazard.
Strong coiled cords are available. Lanyard Black Coiled w/ SS split rings , Piranha Dive Shop |
Wrist lanyards are popular. I don't like them. Adjustable Orange Lanyard , Piranha Dive Shop |
Headlamps are OK if you are solo.
Retractors don't need to be expensive to be good for what you describe. But you DO need to keep them clean! Shopping Categories Piranha Dive Shop |
 
@SlugMug
Light goes in a sock. I prefer the Oxycheq Raider that is available from Cave Adventurers, I can't stand the gloves. The hand strap only that @tursiops linked is probably fine, but the Oxycheq one is nice. Headlamps are not great for scuba diving because the particulate in the water causes a lot of backscatter and you need the emitter as far away from your eyes as you can in really bad visibility *think high beams in a monsoon or snow storm*.

Inflator hose, standard backplate retention says to put a piece of rubber tubing or a tied bungee loop right over the left shoulder d-ring. The loop is tight to the webbing and the inflator hose from the regulator goes through it and plugs into the inflator assembly. Nothing else needed for that. You look left to orally inflate and you should never pull the inflator higher than your shoulder.

Compass should be in a wrist mount on your forearm or on a nav board that is clipped off.

cutting devices I do not like to tether as it may impede what you are trying to cut. Hard to move from hand to hand when it is tethered.

Carabiners in scuba are a really bad idea. Most are not meant for marine duty and they fail rapidly. They are called suicide clips for a reason because they love to catch things they aren't supposed to which is why they are not used in cave diving. Double enders are ideal if you need them fully released, if not tying on bolt snaps is a better solution.
 
I use a wrist loop made of bungee with a snapbolt.

443F469B-A2F3-4260-9673-14325134C7A0.jpeg
 
  • I ended up buying a roll of velcro (hook & loop), which has been awesome. It's inexpensive and convenient to just cut off however much I need. It doesn't solve every problem mentioned above, but it reduces flopping around, and provides a resizable way of securing stuff like hoses. You can make a strap or securing device with some scissors. I added several feet of velcro to my save-a-dive kit. I feel like a moron for not thinking about using a giant roll of velcro earlier.
  • In addition to velcro, I've started sewing velcro into a few projects. One of the ~10 projects I used it for was a DIY goodman-sock. I'd recommend buying one normally, however I needed one which fit a much larger flashlight.
  • I'll have to see if I can find an inexpensive source of quality double-enders and swivel-bolt-snaps in bulk. I probably have enough for the moment, but will need more as I get into sidemount.
  • I also acquired a pack of 100 Plastic Cord Locks for $7. These have been great for making a sort of adjustable knot. I've also used them for making "break free" retainers, by feeding two short lengths of 1/8th bungee through them, and tying only one side. A moderate tug will yank out one side, while leaving the cord-lock behind the small knot on the other, releasing the item. It's not ideal for re-clipping the item underwater, but that's fine given the rare use-case.

I use a wrist loop made of bungee with a snapbolt.

View attachment 663163
What are you using to secure the bungee or paracord ends? I can't seem to figure out the name or search-term for whatever those things are.
@SlugMug
Light goes in a sock. I prefer the Oxycheq Raider that is available from Cave Adventurers, I can't stand the gloves. The hand strap only that @tursiops linked is probably fine, but the Oxycheq one is nice. Headlamps are not great for scuba diving because the particulate in the water causes a lot of backscatter and you need the emitter as far away from your eyes as you can in really bad visibility *think high beams in a monsoon or snow storm*.

Inflator hose, standard backplate retention says to put a piece of rubber tubing or a tied bungee loop right over the left shoulder d-ring. The loop is tight to the webbing and the inflator hose from the regulator goes through it and plugs into the inflator assembly. Nothing else needed for that. You look left to orally inflate and you should never pull the inflator higher than your shoulder.

Compass should be in a wrist mount on your forearm or on a nav board that is clipped off.

cutting devices I do not like to tether as it may impede what you are trying to cut. Hard to move from hand to hand when it is tethered.

Carabiners in scuba are a really bad idea. Most are not meant for marine duty and they fail rapidly. They are called suicide clips for a reason because they love to catch things they aren't supposed to which is why they are not used in cave diving. Double enders are ideal if you need them fully released, if not tying on bolt snaps is a better solution.
Thanks for the advice on the inflator-hose. I recently started getting used to using the lower dump valve. My dive classes never told me what that was, and I kinda ignored it for some time, only recently looking it up and feeling silly for not doing that sooner. Anyway, I'll bungee it to shoulder-height.

I ended up getting a retractor-compass. I also have a wrist-mount compass, which I found a pain to get level, but it was also a cheap-compass, where it was hard to tell what way was up, whereas my new one "floats" inside the oil. I'll experiment with both, and it's easy enough to swap compasses out of those circular console-holders.
 
What are you using to secure the bungee or paracord ends? I can't seem to figure out the name or search-term for whatever those things are.

Hog rings. Like all good things in life, avail on Amazon.
 
Hog rings. Like all good things on life, avail on Amazon.
About $12 later, I have 1500 tiny pieces of metal to get lost in my carpet!

edit: Do I need the pliers? Or will just any pliers do about as well as the ones made for hog-rings?
 
I second the hog rings. and they're fun to use.

I have been known to use the little thumb tab on my wetsuit or long sleeve undergarment to attach the bolt snaps of my light, camera, whatever. hey, it works and it minimalizes the doo-dads.
 
About $12 later, I have 1500 tiny pieces of metal to get lost in my carpet!

edit: Do I need the pliers? Or will just any pliers do about as well as the ones made for hog-rings?

get the pliers. seriously.
 
I canceled my order, so I can get the right thing. A few more questions:
  • A lot of the hog-rings say "galvanized steel" and "rust resistant." Is that fine, or should I probably get stainless steel?
  • Are the stapler-style pliers notably better than the ones with loose hog rings?
  • What size of hog-rings are ideal for 1/8 bungee? And 1/4 bungee? (or an ideal size for both)?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom