How and where do you guys carry (and secure) all of your "kit"?

[aiian]

Newb here... the more i've been reading around here the more I've realized some of you guys take a lot of accessories down with you.

I get that accessorizing is the best part of any hobby but what I don't understand is where you guys keep all of this gear.

Most BCD pocket's are all but useless and from what I can tell most backplate setups don't feature a whole lot of pocketage themselves.

Are you using bolt snaps and utilizing all of your d-ring real estate? If so, how do you keep things from dangling and jingling?

At the moment the only thing attached to my BCD is a small flashlight (via bolt snap and d-ring) and it really pings my OCD the way it just dangles and jangles there once I'm trimmed out.

I thought about securing it with a hair tie or rubber band but I have my doubts about how long eihter of the two will hold up to the salt water.

 

[Random Dude]

For me, I use an assortment of ways to secure everything

• Clipped to BP/W D rings
  • 2 backup torchlights on shoulder D rings, secured to harness with inner tube cuttings
  • SMB and reel on back D ring
  • Gauge on left D ring
• Clip on Thigh Pocket
  • Backup mask at the bottom of bag, clipped to bungee cord of pocket via a larger size boltsnap
  • Backup SMB and reel in the middle, clipped to bungee cord of pocket via a middle size boltsnap
  • Wet notes another compartment of my pocket, clipped to pocket bungee cord via small boltsnap
  • Small foldable mesh bag in the outside compartment of my pocket clipped to pocket bungee cord via small boltsnap
  • Backup depth gauge module clipped to bungee cord in pocket
• In holsters
  • Trauma shears and cutting tools on holsters attached to the right side of the waist harness
• Worn Accessories
  • Whistle and unbreakable mirror on necklace that I wear beneath my rashguard, out of the way until I need it
  • G shock on left wrist
  • Bottom timer on right wrist
  • Compass on left wrist
  • Slate on forearm if needed

Above is pretty much how I think BP/W divers sort out their gear, no big issues of dangling objects either.
As for the rubber bands, just for for inner tubes around 1.75" wide, an inner tube will last you forever

Hope that helped!

 

[Landau]

I wear a back inflate BCD which is taller than most so I can reach the pockets fairly easily.

Compass clipped to right D-ring on retractor
Whistle clipped to left D-ring
Mirror and SMB in left pocket (attached to each other)
Mini-flasher light clipped to left D-Ring
Trauma shears in right pocket on leash clipped to D-ring in pocket
Backup light in right pocket on leash clipped to D-ring in pocket (I only pack this on night dives)

Gauge in holder on BCD
Octo in holder on BCD

Computer on left forearm
Primary light on right wrist

The compass dangles more than I'd like. Need to figure out a good way to stow it that can easily be deployed and stowed underwater.

 

[tbone1004]

relatively standard DIR type setup

Backup lights clipped to shoulder d-rings and retained by rubber bands
dsmb on crotch strap tail d-ring if I intend on using it, in a thigh pocket if not
navigation slate if applicable on either my hip d-ring or crotch strap tail ring
wrist slate with cutting device on my left forearm, computer with other cutting device on my right forearm
pretty much everything else is in thigh pockets divvied up as needed

Camera gets clipped off to a d-ring if I'm taking one. Not sure what else you have with you

 

[jlcnuke]

I'm sure things will change over time, but I've had no problem storing things in my BCD pockets so far. Knife and trilobite are both mounted on the BCD itself (waist strap and left shoulder strap), I haven't found either intrusive located as such. My left pocket has my SMB, finger spool, backup light, and slate (which I still haven't used). My right pocket has my primary light, whistle, signal mirror, and my GoPro when it's not in my hand. I'm planning on experimenting with the GoPro use/mounting while on my dive trip that starts this weekend though.

The pockets hold a surprisingly large amount of stuff on my BCD before getting crowded. Octo and SPG are clipped to my BCD. I still haven't learned the "inner tube" trick for securing stuff to D-Rings but I'm sure I'll go look that up and figure it out one of these days...

 

[mcohen1021]

Wow, you guys take a lot of gear down with you. Nothing wrong with that, just alot of gear. I go with my safety sausage/whstle and flashlight on d rings... my go-pro clone i string through my front BC buckle so I can keep it close to my body (reducing chance of any impact) on the entry. Easy to detatch from my vest without skipping a beat.

 

[kelemvor]

Newb here... the more i've been reading around here the more I've realized some of you guys take a lot of accessories down with you.

I get that accessorizing is the best part of any hobby but what I don't understand is where you guys keep all of this gear.

Most BCD pocket's are all but useless and from what I can tell most backplate setups don't feature a whole lot of pocketage themselves.

Are you using bolt snaps and utilizing all of your d-ring real estate? If so, how do you keep things from dangling and jingling?

At the moment the only thing attached to my BCD is a small flashlight (via bolt snap and d-ring) and it really pings my OCD the way it just dangles and jangles there once I'm trimmed out.

I thought about securing it with a hair tie or rubber band but I have my doubts about how long either of the two will hold up to the salt water.

In addition to what the others have said, there are these: Bellows Thigh/Cylinder Pocket w/Daisy Chain | Dive Rite

I use one of those to store my emergency stuff (whistle, mirror, extra mask, snorkel, SMB). I dive a bp/w and have two d-rings on each shoulder. Also, I use diverite ditchable weight pouches. Even if I'm diving steel tanks and therefore don't need weights, the pouches still give me an extra "waist" d-ring on either side. If I'm planning to use the SMB then it goes on the weight pouch d-ring for easier access instead of inside the pouch.

Also, I made a great effort (and expense) to reduce clutter by switching to an air2 instead of an octo, and using hoseless AI for my dive computer. You eliminate two hoses off your first stage and two things that otherwise would need to be secured to you (lots of new divers don't bother and they end up dangling). The reduction in clutter by eliminating those two items has been well worth it in my opinion. The only two hoses remaining are "naturally" secured because they're attached to your mouth or your BCD.

More often than not I also bring a light attached to my chest/shoulder. I use a velcro loop around the shoulder strap to secure the light so it doesn't dangle, and a boltsnap clipped to the right chest d-ring at the base of the light. Lots of folks use things such as a piece of cut up bicycle inner-tube rubber for this purpose but i prefer something I can more easily remove without destroying.

So, I end up with a mask on my face, regulator in my mouth, air2 on my left chest d-ring, pouch on my leg, dive computer on arm, and bcd/tank/reg on my back.

The only things I really have to manage are a camera if I bring one and the light if I use it.

 

[aiian]

Inner tube rings... genius.

 

[mcohen1021]

Inner tube rings... genius.

They have many uses - in our waterski club, we use them to attach surface buoys to the sub buoys under the surface

 

[TMHeimer]

Clips, D rings, even rope to attach my catch bag so it doesn't float (empty) out of my pocket again. Hard to be specific as everyone's setup differs. I have nothing dangling. It's unusual, but I clip my console across the chest to the right side instead of most people's choice of left. I find it keeps the big thing right close to my chest and I can still read it all and use the compass.