Possible Alternative Way of Doing a Tank Lanyards?

[Maxime-Thierry Lavoie]

Hi everyone,

I’m submitting this idea to the Sidemount diving community for feedback and your ideas on possible improvements. I’m trying to improve upon the concept of the tank lanyard / ring bungee system. I want to share my thoughts with everyone so we all benefit. Sort of like crowd-sourcing a solution. Please comment in this spirit as I’m very eager to learn from your experience and gather your constructive criticism.

I apologize in advance for the long-winded post. I want to be as precise and clear as possible in my objectives and the possible solution. Also please forgive me if this has already been discussed in the past. I simply have not found any evidence of it so far and so I’m just putting it out there.


The Challenge:

• I often dive from boats or from difficult shore entries. The water is often choppy and its oftentimes not possible to pass bottles to/from the boat for exit/entry. An equipment line is also not always possible on some charters I use.
• I prefer a hard point of attachement at the top of the tank rather than relying on the bungees to support the upper part of the tank for entries and exits (most useful for ladder climbs). That way, if you fall back into the water, the tanks have less chance to detach and dangle. Also, a hard point of attachement reduces the bouncy-ness effect when walking compared to relying on the bungees.
• I like to use loop bungees because they give me the best results for tank trimming and they ensure the tank valve stays where I want them. This means ring bungees are out of consideration (at least for this topic as I have used them while ice diving).
• I don’t like the “regular" tank lanyard that stays clipped. Once you loop the bungee, the lanyard dangles a bit and you have a piece of string that is sometimes just in the way. Unclipping the lanyard would mean the clip would hang loose and dangle 4-5 inches from the valve and thats not something I want.
• I don’t want the hard attachement to be permanent (fully metal on metal) and I want it to be easily cut in case of an emergency.
• I want something easily transferable to other tanks so that it works while travelling as well.
• I’m not looking for a cave-worthy solution. This is mostly for open water scenarios.
• I want this solution to be as inexpensive as possible. Lets face it, dive gear is expensive, if you can have a simple, cheap solution its more money left to spend on diving toys.
• Most importantly is the fact that in the water, my goal is to have things as simple, tidy, less crowded as possible. This means minimizing D-ring usage (a lanyard is one more clip on a shoulder d-ring), hoses with tight routing, lanyards crossing hoses, etc.

The Possible Solution:

I use a length of 550 parachute cord and tie it into a loop using a Double Fisherman’s bend. I then wrap this loop around the tank’s neck and secure it with a small Quick Link (1.5 in | 3.8 cm). The length of the cord is adjusted so that the loop and Quick Link are sufficiently able to move around the neck of the valve but are not too long as to protrude more than a couple of inches when taught. I then attach one end of a Medium Double-Eye Bolt Snap (4 in | 10 cm) to the Quick Link (see images below). The other end of the bolt snap will be clipped to the shoulder d-ring.

The idea is to clip the tanks to the harness, route the hosing, prep for entry, then once in the water, unclip the bolt snaps completely and stow them somewhere. I like the butt d-ring but where you stow them is completely up to you. You then loop the bungees around the tanks and off you go. You can do this when you feel comfortable: right away on the surface before going down, immediately after submerging while hovering in place (S drill anyone?) or after you’ve descended to the bottom. Just do it when you feel secure enough that you are not task loading yourself such as during the descent (clearing your ears, working your BCD, holding the line, etc).

Coming back up, you do the reverse. Only this time using all the time you need during your 3 minute safety stop. While practicing, I could undo the bungee, fetch the clip, clip it to the Quick Link and then the shoulder d-ring in about 10-15 seconds for each tank (I’m sure you guys can best this time!).






Note that you could chose to use a different length of Double-Eye bolt snap length to adjust the distance that the tank hangs from the d-ring when walking. I found that, for my size, I like the medium length (4 in) but some could go for a shorter (3.5 in) or longer (4.5 in) version. You could also adjust the length of the paracord but that would mean the Quick Link might dangle too much if you lengthen the cord. The Quick Link can also be of smaller size if desired. It all comes down to personal preference here.


The Negative Points:

• The main disadvantage is task loading. Its one more thing to take care of during the dive.
• Double-Eye clips could be dropped if not handled properly.
• In very cold water diving with thick gloves, it might be hard to find the Quick Links. This could be solved by using larger links. Testing is needed.
• I have not considered this solution as being viable for more than 2 tanks. I lack the training and experience to do so. If you want to, feel free to experiment and let us know of your findings. Know that it was not my gaol to have a solution that works for more than 2 tanks.
• There is a chance that the Quick Link rubs a bit on the valve and so might scratch it long term.
• Having the paracord wrapped around the tank neck means that you could possibly get your finger in the wrap whilst trying to undo the bungee. Some small amount of practice is required to undo the bungee without tugging at the paracord. It can be argued that this is also the case of a regular tank lanyard if unclipped.

The Positive Points:

• The paracord can be cut in event of an emergency.
• The Quick Link does not dangle beyond the valve’s knub so there is less chance of snagging it compared to an unclipped tank lanyard.
• Parachute cord is very very strong and will not be affected by salt water.
• This solution is cheap! About 14$ (1$ for the Quick Link, 5$ for the Bolt Snap, 1$ for the paracord length for each side) compared to the 130$ of gearing up with ring bungees (25$ for the ring bungee 40$ stage kit for each side).
• The solution is very light. Good for travel.
• Set up is very fast so it only adds a minute or two to your setup time. If you use your own tanks, you just leave the cord and Quick Link on them all the time.
• The connection to the tanks is very secure in my humble opinion and more than adequate for a giant stride or back roll entry.
• Once unclipped, the system is completely out of the way and it gives the same freedom you have when not using a lanyard at all.
• The Quick Link also offers a place to clip your long hose regulator when you are stowing away your tanks or carrying them in the car/boat/etc.

The Testing:

I’ve tested this set up in a few pool dives and so far I really like it. Its cold in Canada right now so I’ll be testing it more fully on an upcoming trip to the Bahamas (Blackbeard’s Cruises) where I'll dive from a boat 3-4 times a day. I’ll report back of its practicality after this trip mid next month.


Comments?

In the mean time, I invite others to try this out and give me feedback and your ideas on improvements. I would very much like to hear them.


Cheers!
Max

 

[Colliam7]

I’m trying to improve upon the concept of the tank lanyard / ring bungee system. I want to share my thoughts with everyone so we all benefit. Sort of like crowd-sourcing a solution. Please comment in this spirit as I’m very eager to learn from your experience and gather your constructive criticism.
The Challenge:

• I prefer a hard point of attachement at the top of the tank rather than relying on the bungees to support the upper part of the tank for entries and exits (most useful for ladder climbs). That way, if you fall back into the water, the tanks have less chance to detach and dangle. Also, a hard point of attachement reduces the bouncy-ness effect when walking compared to relying on the bungees.
• I don’t like the “regular" tank lanyard that stays clipped. Once you loop the bungee, the lanyard dangles a bit and you have a piece of string that is sometimes just in the way. Unclipping the lanyard would mean the clip would hang loose and dangle 4-5 inches from the valve and thats not something I want.

The Possible Solution:
I use a length of 550 parachute cord and tie it into a loop using a Double Fisherman’s bend. I then wrap this loop around the tank’s neck and secure it with a small Quick Link (1.5 in | 3.8 cm). The length of the cord is adjusted so that the loop and Quick Link are sufficiently able to move around the neck of the valve but are not too long as to protrude more than a couple of inches when taught. I then attach one end of a Medium Double-Eye Bolt Snap (4 in | 10 cm) to the Quick Link (see images below). The other end of the bolt snap will be clipped to the shoulder d-ring.
The Negative Points:

• The main disadvantage is task loading. Its one more thing to take care of during the dive.

The Positive Points:

• The solution is very light. Good for travel.
• The connection to the tanks is very secure in my humble opinion and more than adequate for a giant stride or back roll entry.

Comments?
In the mean time, I invite others to try this out and give me feedback and your ideas on improvements.

This sounds like a great idea, given your primary operational parameter / specification - that you want to unclip the lanyard from the shoulder D-ring during the dive

I personally leave my lanyard clipped throughout the dive, and that works - for me. I use 3/16" or 1/4" braided static line, not parachute cord. I hadn't thought of parachute cord, in fact, but it sounds like a very reasonable idea. The loop of cord, and the quick link, should have a minimal profile on the cylinder neck, as you describe it, and the double-ender can be stowed in a number of places.

I agree with your positive points - easy, inexpensive, minimal profile.

From my perspective, I don't see the approach as adding much in the way of task loading - the set-up of the cord and the quick link are quite easy.

I am conducting a Confined Water SM session with two students on next Tuesday evening (we have already completed a gear rigging session, and set up tank lanyards with some static line and bolt snaps) and I will try this idea out. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Just_Me]

http://youtu.be/gOZPQQSbHRg.

Does this not do what your wanting done?

 

[Rich Keller]

Would this be useful? The line on the flashlight is a simple round long splice and the line on the water bottle is a figure 8 version of the same splice. Just replace the water bottle with a tank and make the loops of the figure 8 the exact sizes needed. This can be done without removing the valve from the tank.

 

[Maxime-Thierry Lavoie]

This sounds like a great idea, given your primary operational parameter / specification - that you want to unclip the lanyard from the shoulder D-ring during the dive


I personally leave my lanyard clipped throughout the dive, and that works - for me. I use 3/16" or 1/4" braided static line, not parachute cord. I hadn't thought of parachute cord, in fact, but it sounds like a very reasonable idea. The loop of cord, and the quick link, should have a minimal profile on the cylinder neck, as you describe it, and the double-ender can be stowed in a number of places.


I agree with your positive points - easy, inexpensive, minimal profile.


From my perspective, I don't see the approach as adding much in the way of task loading - the set-up of the cord and the quick link are quite easy.


I am conducting a Confined Water SM session with two students on next Tuesday evening (we have already completed a gear rigging session, and set up tank lanyards with some static line and bolt snaps) and I will try this idea out. Thanks for sharing it.

Colliam7, I’m looking forward to your feedback on your own testing! I agree that braided static line could be used instead. I’m just a big fan of paracord and since its easy to tie and makes slender knots I tend to like that a bit more than braided line for certain uses. In this case my main concern was its strength out of the water. 550 grade paracord is certain not to break!


Thanks for taking the time to actually try it out! Can’t wait to hear your feedback!

http://youtu.be/gOZPQQSbHRg.


Does this not do what your wanting done?

Well not exactly. Lamar’s whole system is with ring bungees. Although I like ring bungees and have used them before, I now prefer to use looped bungees as show in this clip: Sidemount Loop Bungee the way to go!! by Steve Martin - YouTube
If you suggest using a stage kit with looped bungees, I’m not a big fan of doing that. once unclipped, the stage kit P clip would dangle and thats one of the things I am trying to avoid.

Would this be useful? The line on the flashlight is a simple round long splice and the line on the water bottle is a figure 8 version of the same splice. Just replace the water bottle with a tank and make the loops of the figure 8 the exact sizes needed. This can be done without removing the valve from the tank.

Wow Rich Keller, that is very nice splicing! I unfortunately do not have that skill and I don’t think it would be easily learnable by most divers. I do like what you suggest a lot for a permanent attachement on my own tanks and I’ll have to do some research into what you propose. Splicing while on vacation to a sunny destination might not be optimal though so I wanted to find an easy way for that purpose as well.


Thanks for this idea though, I love posts like that!

 

[Rich Keller]

It is not as hard as it looks and doesn't take too long to do either. I will see if I can find something that will illustrate this for anyone who might be interested.

 

[Rich Keller]

Here is an explanation of how to do a long round splice. The figure 8 version is something I made up myself but once you understand how to do the basic version the figure 8 will not be a problem. I use poly line so in part C of this explanation I do not split the strands and tied them. I cut the ends down so they meet end to end then I melt the ends together.

 

[Maxime-Thierry Lavoie]

Here is an explanation of how to do a long round splice. The figure 8 version is something I made up myself but once you understand how to do the basic version the figure 8 will not be a problem. I use poly line so in part C of this explanation I do not split the strands and tied them. I cut the ends down so they meet end to end then I melt the ends together.

View attachment 179697View attachment 179698

Rich, thanks for posting that! I'll be sure to try learning that.

I don't know if It'll be the kind of solution I'm looking for for any kind of travel rigging on rental tanks but for my own tanks it could work. How strong is a splice vs a knot? I don't think I can splice a paracord though as the weaving is too complicated for that.

 

[Colliam7]

I agree that braided static line could be used instead. I’m just a big fan of paracord and since its easy to tie and makes slender knots I tend to like that a bit more than braided line for certain uses. In this case my main concern was its strength out of the water. 550 grade paracord is certain not to break!

I agree. And, I happen to live in an area where paracord happens to be ubiquitously available. Years ago, my son was in the 82nd Airborne Division, based not too far from where we live, and we seemed to collect A LOT of paracord when he would come home for a visit.

So, I am breaking out part of our supply - green, not black, but who cares - and will give it a try.

 

[Maxime-Thierry Lavoie]

Yeah it rocks. I'm even contemplating changing the lower lanyard (the one that secures the bottom of the tank) to use Paracord as well.

Bit more expensive than regular nylon cord though, but more cooler-looking color options hahaha.