Harness Buckle, Same As Weight Belt Buckle?
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I've never seen an aluminum belt or harness buckle.
EireDiver606
Contributor
Plastic doesn’t bite the webbing as well, easier to break and isn’t as strong
K
KeithG
Guest
Both types of materials have issues.
Plastic can get smashed and broken if you toss your tank on top of it. A broken buckle is scrap. Otherwise plastic will retain its shape.
Metal buckles can bend and lose grip. This can happen from any number of items being tossed on it (your own weight belt!) and is often hard to spot (versus the very obvious broken plastic one). A bent metal buckle can often be hammered back into shape.
The only buckle that ever failed on me was metal. I now use only plastic.
Plastic can get smashed and broken if you toss your tank on top of it. A broken buckle is scrap. Otherwise plastic will retain its shape.
Metal buckles can bend and lose grip. This can happen from any number of items being tossed on it (your own weight belt!) and is often hard to spot (versus the very obvious broken plastic one). A bent metal buckle can often be hammered back into shape.
The only buckle that ever failed on me was metal. I now use only plastic.
OP
divinh
Contributor
To follow up a bit...
When I got the BC new, the buckle gripped the belt webbing really well, but after some pool testing, it seemed to not grip as well and I thought it was a problem with the webbing material not being thick enough. I re-threaded the webbing so that the belt portion going through the buckle looped around on itself, making it double thick; this worked well to make the grip better and reduced the excess I had that would need to be tucked away. The solution worked for me and I didn't realize it was foreshadowing things to come...
Yesterday, after making a giant stride, the buckle had lost its grip and the BC lifted away from me. I felt it right away and knew the buckle had lost its grip. Because of reading Scubaboard, I knew it wasn't a big deal, as divers used to not have nice things like BC's to hold tanks nearby. It was possible to dive with the tank loose, but still with me. I re-fastened the buckle and it was loose but gripped enough to hold for short periods and I would redo as needed throughout the dive.
Upon inspection on the boat, I could see that the hinge holes were getting larger, more obvious now that it was no longer circular, as it originally had been. There was metal bent, putting a divot into the circle.
DGX sells stainless steel ones for $4 USD, plastic for $2. The OMS one posted is $25 and aluminum. From the Scubapro catalog shown to me last night, I can get one by Monday afternoon for 360 THB (about $13 USD). Not too expensive.
My BC is hanging at the dive shop. I'll post pictures later...
When I got the BC new, the buckle gripped the belt webbing really well, but after some pool testing, it seemed to not grip as well and I thought it was a problem with the webbing material not being thick enough. I re-threaded the webbing so that the belt portion going through the buckle looped around on itself, making it double thick; this worked well to make the grip better and reduced the excess I had that would need to be tucked away. The solution worked for me and I didn't realize it was foreshadowing things to come...
Yesterday, after making a giant stride, the buckle had lost its grip and the BC lifted away from me. I felt it right away and knew the buckle had lost its grip. Because of reading Scubaboard, I knew it wasn't a big deal, as divers used to not have nice things like BC's to hold tanks nearby. It was possible to dive with the tank loose, but still with me. I re-fastened the buckle and it was loose but gripped enough to hold for short periods and I would redo as needed throughout the dive.
Upon inspection on the boat, I could see that the hinge holes were getting larger, more obvious now that it was no longer circular, as it originally had been. There was metal bent, putting a divot into the circle.
DGX sells stainless steel ones for $4 USD, plastic for $2. The OMS one posted is $25 and aluminum. From the Scubapro catalog shown to me last night, I can get one by Monday afternoon for 360 THB (about $13 USD). Not too expensive.
My BC is hanging at the dive shop. I'll post pictures later...
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