Quality Plastic Buckles? Want to Switch from SS to Something Lightweight

[stuartv]

No plastic buckle would be worth the swap. Maybe a delrin buckle would hold up ok. If there is such a thing, it would probably cost double what the stainless one does and weight almost as much. Give it up.

The XS Scuba page Bob linked to has a Delrin weight belt buckle.

Diver's Supply has them for $3.95.

XS Scuba Standard Weight Buckle Black

If I was to consider one, it might be this one: XS Scuba Weight Accessories (top one), though there are numerous options here...

Truth be told, I think there are likely many other options in travel to shave weight besides a weight buckle.....

---------- Post added August 23rd, 2015 at 01:12 PM ----------

I am thinking of ordering one of the XS Scuba glass-filled nylon ones. $12 from LP.

XS Scuba Clear-Path Buckle AC311

I don't care about weight savings. I have been thinking about wanting to eliminate "shiny" from my rig. I have had a couple of occasions in the last month where I was in the water with a bunch of barracuda. A couple of times, I had one that seemed to be pacing/stalking me. Swimming exactly parallel and exactly the same speed as me for over a minute. Each time, I reached down slowly and covered my shiny stainless steel belt buckle and within 2 or 3 seconds, the barracuda swam away. Maybe it was coincidence. Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe a barracuda would never actually strike at my big, shiny waist belt buckle. But, every time, it made me nervous and the reaction when I covered the buckle with my hand sure made it seem like that's what they were eyein'. If nothing else, switching to a black plastic buckle will make me feel better.

And, I'm with NetDoc on feeling the need for a big, beefy buckle. When I don my rig, I stand up before I even thread the belt through the buckle. Nothing is going anywhere, even with the waist strap completely undone. I think if it were to completely fail - the flap and pin completely fall out - I think I could put the tail of the waist belt through one of the inner tube pieces on my belt to hold it until I got out and replaced the buckle. And I'm pretty sure I could hang by the shoulder straps without a problem, too - i.e. waist belt was completely gone, BC fully inflated. The webbing through the bottom slots on my BP is not going to pull through and let me completely separate from my rig.

 

[annasea]

I am usually the first to deride plastic parts on dive gear but one of these was attached to something else I ordered.

XS Scuba Weight Accessories

The design is really quite good but the key is glass filled Nylon. Most of the really crap buckles are molded from ABS and are not glass filled. I would bet on this one over any other I have seen on the market.

Thanks! Someone upthread posted the same link as well. As I couldn't find a titanium buckle while googling about, I'm thinking this is my most realistic best bet.

 

[agilis]

I like my old stainless steel buckles, the ones that have the mfg logo stamped into the metal. No decals. Best are the ones from long vanished companies.

Cutting down on beer and pizza is infinitely more effective at weight reduction than using a plastic buckle, which might break when you are out on the water and some clod drops a tank on it. Some plastic buckles rely on springs. Junk.

Metal buckles are slightly bendable, so loose ones can be easily adjusted.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Thanks! Someone upthread posted the same link as well. As I couldn't find a titanium buckle while googling about, I'm thinking this is my most realistic best bet.

Might as well pick up a titanium backplate while you're at it.

 

[annasea]

Might as well pick up a titanium backplate while you're at it.

I use an Oxycheq ultralite backplate... it's basically just fabric, so no need for a titanium BP.

 

[divad]

.........

 

[ams511]

I'm trying to get my BP/W as light as possible for travel. I've 'upgraded' to an ultralite Oxycheq BP and 18# wing so notable weight savings over the previous set-up. The last place I can find to trim weight is the buckle. I know the SS buckle is less than a pound (just tried weighing mine), but I'd like to whittle it down further.

The best I could find via ScubaToys, Piranha, Divers Direct, and Dive Gear Express was this one here. Has anyone found anything more durable?

If you are going ultralight then you should look at a few things. Plastic cam straps weigh less than the metal ones, you could also use just 1. You can use either plastic or light weight metal d-rings, and of course use a plastic buckle. I am not sure if there is a lighter weight webbing. I am not sure what else you travel with but there may be more gains in other areas of your kit.

I would not listen to the naysayers for the following reasons:

1) If someone drops a tank on your BC the least of your worries is going to be buckle. Chances are your bladder will be punctured. Also what are most inflators made out of?

2) The "I have never seen a broken metal buckle but plenty of plastic ones" does not hold up. First, anything on a weight belt does not count because that is not the application you are looking at. You are looking at a plastic buckle on a BC, which most BCs are sold with. So it makes perfect sense that a dive boat crew member would see more broken plastic buckles because that is what most divers own.

3) Weight belts typically fall off because of user error not buckle failure.

4) The horror stories on plastic buckle failures center around stories of abuse. However, all the equipment used in scuba is subject to failure if abused. Most second stages on the market are made out of plastic. What would happen if a tank hits them?

5) Disregard any information from people who say clip your toenails or go on a diet because their advice (and mental health) is suspect. I have never traveled on an airline that weighs its passengers for billing purposes only their luggage.

IMHO, Netdoc gave the best advice in this thread. He is the voice of reason.

 

[buddhasummer]

If you are going ultralight then you should look at a few things. Plastic cam straps weigh less than the metal ones, you could also use just 1. You can use either plastic or light weight metal d-rings, and of course use a plastic buckle. I am not sure if there is a lighter weight webbing. I am not sure what else you travel with but there may be more gains in other areas of your kit.

I would not listen to the naysayers for the following reasons:

1) If someone drops a tank on your BC the least of your worries is going to be buckle. Chances are your bladder will be punctured. Also what are most inflators made out of?

2) The "I have never seen a broken metal buckle but plenty of plastic ones" does not hold up. First, anything on a weight belt does not count because that is not the application you are looking at. You are looking at a plastic buckle on a BC, which most BCs are sold with. So it makes perfect sense that a dive boat crew member would see more broken plastic buckles because that is what most divers own.

3) Weight belts typically fall off because of user error not buckle failure.

4) The horror stories on plastic buckle failures center around stories of abuse. However, all the equipment used in scuba is subject to failure if abused. Most second stages on the market are made out of plastic. What would happen if a tank hits them?

5) Disregard any information from people who say clip your toenails or go on a diet because their advice (and mental health) is suspect. I have never traveled on an airline that weighs its passengers for billing purposes only their luggage.

IMHO, Netdoc gave the best advice in this thread. He is the voice of reason.

Although I agree, not sure about others but my second stages don't lay on the deck of boats but my buckle sometimes does, so there is a greater likelyhood of a tank coming into contact with the buckle which may be lying on the bench than my regs which are not. I'm not worried about myself as I take due care when moving tanks but am concerned with the unknown divers on either side of me.

 

[ams511]

Although I agree, not sure about others but my second stages don't lay on the deck of boats but my buckle sometimes does, so there is a greater likelyhood of a tank coming into contact with the buckle which may be lying on the bench than my regs which are not. I'm not worried about myself as I take due care when moving tanks but am concerned with the unknown divers on either side of me.

With an Oxycheq soft plate there is no reason for the buckle to hit the floor. It is not like a hard plate, the webbing is not locked in place. You just need to lift the shoulder straps and the belt will retract. Sort of like a cinch but smoother. BTW, the Oxycheq speed harness uses a plastic belt buckle.

The question about the second stages depends on the way the regulators are rigged, the dive boat layout, and the care taken. I have never been on a boat where tanks are stored on the deck. Any dive boat I have been on had the tanks stored in vertical racks, usually behind the benches. No one wants tanks rolling around. If the diver is using a normal recreational hose setup the second stages and the gauges could be sitting on the bench. If using a Hog /DIR setup then the second stages are off the bench.

I don't do much international travel but most dive ops I have used have extra weight belts on board. If the buckle should get broken then it would be easy enough to just undo the buckle on the weight belt and transfer it to the BC webbing.

 

[stuartv]

I am thinking of ordering one of the XS Scuba glass-filled nylon ones. $12 from LP.

XS Scuba Clear-Path Buckle AC311

I did get one of these and I have done, I think, 7 dives now with it. I like it very much. I'm not sure what there really is to say about it other than, simply, it works. Side benefit: When my rig is off and I'm moving it around, the SS buckle was very noisy/clanky. The Clear-Path buckle is nice and quiet.