"For crying out loud, we're just talking about bolts snaps here!"

[RJP]

In a sub-forum (you can probably guess which) here on ScubaBoard a recent discussion about bolt snaps has gotten a bit polarized between the "you must buy your bolt snaps at a dive shop" crowd and the "Lowes, Home Depot, whatever" crowd. The latter position being summed up by this quote

Come on! We're talking about bolt snaps here for crying out loud....if something is cheaper and works just as well, if not better, then go for it. Dive shops are incredibly overpriced for things like this...

Since this topic comes around quite often, I thought this may be of interest to a wider audience and figured I'd cross-post my response here as well...

Below is a picture of two different bolt snaps.

• The one on the left has been dragged all over the world on more than 300 saltwater dives over the last three years.

• The one on the right was brand new last month when it went on a three week trip to Truk where it was used on roughly half of 57 dives.

One of these was $5 at a dive shop. The other one was $2.50 at Lowes. Now admittedly, that is a 100% price difference so the person who claims they are over-priced at a dive shop might have a point. Either way, do you think you can guess which was $2.50 at Lowes and which was $5 at a dive shop?

I'll give you some hints: The one on the left went on ALL 57 dives in Truk as well; no that's not dried salt on the one on the right, but rather genuine corrosion/pitting; yes, the indentations on the inside of the hook on the one on the right are where the steel was actually worn away from rubbing on the d-ring; no, I didn't polish the one on the left for the picture; lastly, I didn't have to pay any extra for the one with the handy "locked open" feature.

 

[Grover48]

Thanks for explaining it so clearly.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[ektess1]

Come on. You just need to care for your gear. :blinking:
I am sure that if you washed, lubed, and polish the cheaper ones, they would be equal to the good; oops... expensive; ones.

 

[Rick Inman]

I bought one at Lowes that was stainless steel and the spring locked up, because the spring was NOT stainless steel. Go figure...

Oh, and the one on the left in your pic has a nice big opening.

 

[tridacna]

"and works just as well, if not better"

I don't think that the one on the right fits that bill...so your argument is not valid. The shape of the lever is evidence enough of the superiority of the one on the left.

Ergo..you're not comparing apples with apples. Not sure how those two could EVER have been considered to be the "same" or even similar.

 

[Dive Junky]

For all those out there that feel they have to save a penny on everything just remember you get what you pay for. That handy "stay open" feature could have cost you how much in gear? I also see that snap on the right doesnt open as far so when you are trying to clip on gear with 5 mil gloves that must be kinda fun.

So how was Truk dude?

 

[Gombessa]

I've seen a couple of snaps from HD that look just like the one on the right. That's why I just made a large bulk order of snaps from Nix Dog Collars. It comes out to about $3.50 per snap, shipped; I have almost all that I need now.

Btw, it of course depends on the type of snap and your shop, but marine grade SS snaps at my LDS cost $8-12 each, not $5. I still end up picking up singles there every so often if I need something in a size I don't have.

 

[Gilldiver]

Lets see, the one on the left is stainless steel and the one on the right is nickel plated pot/aluminum/crap metal. What did you expect?


Buy only brass or stainless. If you don't want to get one from a dive shop, get them from McMaster Carr:

McMaster-Carr

 

[RJP]

Oh, and the one on the left in your pic has a nice big opening.

Yeah, maybe. But it keeps closing...ALL BY ITSELF!

What a POS...

 

[redacted]

SS bolt snaps that look like the one on the left cost about $5 at Lowe's.