Organizing the rarely needed

[lairdb]

I was reading the 116 page EPIRB thread the other day, and some of the tangents made me think of my disorganized pile of uh-oh stuff -- the things I never really expect to need.

Never have liked the disorganized loop of stuff, or some things shoved loose in the slate pocket, or hanging off an extra ring like a Christmas ornament, or etc., so here's my new thought:

That's a Storm whistle, an ancient AA strobe (TekTite, maybe?), an OMS dye marker, and an ACR signal mirror.

Each of the items has a couple of inches of cave line attaching it to a single small bolt snap; that's to keep them from falling loose when the pouch is opened and to provide a way to attach each individually after.

The whole bundle is stuck into a sous vide pouch (i.e. foodsaver pouch) and shrunk together. (The sealing isn't really important, except it keeps things organized and maybe a little protected. If it actually holds watertight, it may keep the mirror from degrading. (Further.))

Now it's a single compact pouch of the "Plan F" stuff to be shoved in a pocket as a tidy slab.

Could add items (e.g. mylar blanket, strobe expiration reminder slip, etc.) Could run a longer loop, or longer individual loops, out through the seal to allow the pouch itself to be clipped off. Could use a cheap keychain 'biner instead of the bolt snap to make it easier to remove individual items.

Thoughts and criticisms?


Appendix:

(Possibly relevant: I'm mostly a travel diver, so weight and bulk are factors. If they weren't, I suppose all this stuff could be in its own pouch, attached to a tank strap, with a separate bolt snap for every item, with a Weapons Valet to carry it all....)

Back side view (yes, the mirror has deteriorated from exposure and abuse):

Note: I have not tested the idea of running the line out through the seal. Could work, could have problems, including melting the line.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Thoughts and criticisms?

If you need to use one of those items...what are the odds that the sea is going to be calm enough to enable you to cut that open without dropping something and losing it?

Having to cut that open adds an additional layer of complexity to retrieving an item or items. Just my two cents.

 

[James79]

I was reading the 116 page EPIRB thread the other day, and some of the tangents made me think of my disorganized pile of uh-oh stuff -- the things I never really expect to need.

Never have liked the disorganized loop of stuff, or some things shoved loose in the slate pocket, or hanging off an extra ring like a Christmas ornament, or etc., so here's my new thought:

View attachment 613498

That's a Storm whistle, an ancient AA strobe (TekTite, maybe?), an OMS dye marker, and an ACR signal mirror.

Each of the items has a couple of inches of cave line attaching it to a single small bolt snap; that's to keep them from falling loose when the pouch is opened and to provide a way to attach each individually after.

The whole bundle is stuck into a sous vide pouch (i.e. foodsaver pouch) and shrunk together. (The sealing isn't really important, except it keeps things organized and maybe a little protected. If it actually holds watertight, it may keep the mirror from degrading. (Further.))

Now it's a single compact pouch of the "Plan F" stuff.

Could add items (e.g. mylar blanket, strobe expiration reminder slip, etc.) Could run a longer loop, or longer individual loops, out through the seal to allow the pouch itself to be clipped off. Could use a cheap keychain 'biner instead of the bolt snap to make it easier to remove individual items.

Thoughts and criticisms?


Appendix:

(Possibly relevant: I'm mostly a travel diver, so weight and bulk are factors. If they weren't, I suppose all this stuff could be in its own pouch, attached to a tank strap, with a separate bolt snap for every item, with a Weapons Valet to carry it all....)

Back side view (yes, the mirror has deteriorated from exposure and abuse):
View attachment 613502

Note: I have not tested the idea of running the line out through the seal. Could work, could have problems, including melting the line.

I dig the idea! Just some food for thought... If you run the line out the seal, it will let air in that will get trapped and add to buoyancy of the package. Can you make the sealed itself wide enough to put a grommet in to clip it off?
Respectfully,
James

 

[johndiver999]

My first idea, re-do the entire thing placing all items in a small mesh bag - then vacuum sealing

Without a mesh bag, when you cut it open, with shaky hands and rough seas, the contents could go spilling out. If they were all contained in a mesh bag, you could slip a drawstring around your wrist and have a good chance of removing and deploying items individually. Without that you are required to juggle once the bag is sliced with the trilobite.

 

[lairdb]

If you need to use one of those items...what are the odds that the sea is going to be calm enough to enable you to cut that open without dropping something and losing it?

Having to cut that open adds an additional layer of complexity to retrieving an item or items. Just my two cents.

My first idea, re-do the entire thing placing all items in a small mesh bag - then vacuum sealing

Without a mesh bag, when you cut it open, with shaky hands and rough seas, the contents could go spilling out. If they were all contained in a mesh bag, you could slip a drawstring around your wrist and have a good chance of removing and deploying items individually. Without that you are required to juggle once the bag is sliced with the trilobite.

That's a completely valid consideration, and the principal motive behind everything in the pouch being already clipped to the bolt snap. There's also a tear notch snipped into the side seal, to make tearing it open a tool-less operation. It's still a factor, though, and I'm open to thoughts.

One possibility is running the line out the seal, so the whole bundle stays clipped off, or can be clipped off before opening.

I dig the idea! Just some food for thought... If you run the line out the seal, it will let air in that will get trapped and add to buoyancy of the package. Can you make the sealed itself wide enough to put a grommet in to clip it off?

I think I get what you're saying. Possibly, though it would be quite a bit of handwork to make that seal -- and even then, it would be the pouch that's clipped off, not the contents. I'd rather clip off the contents.

Air's not going to get trapped, really -- as soon as the pouch is under pressure, if there's a hole it'll drive out any air. I'd rather it didn't subsequently suck seawater in, though.

If running the line through the seal still seals, though, the line could come out and clip off.

 

[James79]

You might use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Ook-04527001...ywords=steel+wire&qid=1600720490&sr=8-20&th=1 to make an oval link that passes through the seal. It wouldn't melt while you seal it, and should get a pretty good seal against the plastic (being a smooth wire rather than twisted strands). Clip your stuff to one large wire loop like a key ring, with the end of the oval sticking past the seal, and clip the whole show to the vest. I would even tie it off with 2 ft or so of line, then the clip so you can work with the whole package still attached to the pocket of the BC.

Respectfully,

James

 

[lairdb]

Quick update: I did try running a length of line through the seal -- it did not melt at all, but it also didn't seal around/through the line. I suspect, based on experience, if I cranked the seal temp high enough to seal around the line (or around James79's wire) it would melt the pouch.

So: at the moment, it's a trade-off between clipping off the contents vs. clipping off the bag (James79's grommet idea.)

Remembering that everything is clipped together inside the pouch, I think the step of grabbing everything while tearing the pouch open is okay, though not perfect. Still open to improvements.

Another thought: I wonder if a closed cell foam chunk, e.g. a floaty keychain, would survive months/years of being mechanically squished, and would recover enough to float the bundle. For that matter, I'm not sure the bundle is negative....

Experimental result: The sealed package, as shown, is just barely positive. An ounce or two. The bundle of items, after removing from the pouch, is just a little negative; maybe a few ounces.

Experiment two (yes, I'm avoiding the work I should be doing): The first post pictures show my first try, where I trimmed the pouch to be just big enough. If I leave the pouch at full size, and still shove the items to the bottom, they're still compact, and the extra amount of pouch means I can tear off the end while still maintaining very sturdy grip on the pouch body. This gives me more confidence in retaining the contents bundle in rough circumstances.

[Rummage, rummage.] OK, try this:

The original bundle:

The MOD 1 bundle:

...sealed in a full pouch:

...and folded:

 

[garyh]

1st question is S#&$ hits the fan and u r going to be able to peal open this package.
2nd is why would u need any of this stuff

 

[lairdb]

Well, yes, I think I can tear it open under fairly difficult conditions (and retain the contents, with increased odds thanks to some community feedback in this thread.)

As to needing the contents, the EPIRB thread I mentioned in the starting post is one of about 9,814 threads here containing firsthand accounts of members needing one or more of the items.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Buncha critics,
I like the idea and I like the way you have all contents on one carabiner like that.

Next people are going to say "but in a bad situation you might need all of them at the same time so how do you propose getting extra arms to use them all together?"

Please let us know how waterproof it ends up being!