Actual deaths involving suicide clips

[dumpsterDiver]

My wife got accidentally clipped off with a suicide clip onto a tag line running from the anchor line back horizontally to the rear of the boat. The rope was taunt, large enough that we could not get the gate back opened and it happened at night and in a current and it was kinda rough. We had to remove her BC and cut it off and the current, the waves and the disruption to other divers trying to move up the line made for a problem. What are the chances of that?

Certainly not a fatality, but definetly reinforced a lesson that I already knew.

I also had an incident myself with a suicide clip. My buddies used to have one on a steel scuba tank that we had filled with oxygen and we used to hang it at 20 feet for deco/safety stops on oxygen. I had bitched about the clips, but everyone seemd to blow it off and I didn't care enough to take matters into my own hands.

On one particularly rough day, while doing a solo deco dive and breathing off this bottle.. I somehow got the tank behind me and the damn suicide clip, auto clipped to a hose comming off my first stage. Instantly I was clipped off from behind and was having this steel tank bash me in the head (from behind) as the boat was bouncing up and down in like 5 ft seas. I could not figure out how to get away from the bottle hammering me and couldn't grab it to control it. I was super pissed and ended up ascending with the tank attached and screaming for help to get the thing off me. I seriously could have been knocked unconcious. At least my body would have been recoverable since I would have been attached to the boat..

Suicide (gate) clips are not used on any scuba gear I own. I still see them on sale at about ever dive shop I visit. They are unnecessarily dangerous, even if attached by a "cuttable" line.

 

[RTee]

Rick...in all honesty, I have been considering those carabiners for a very long time and I am very familiar with the large size carabiners (I have used them in the past for rappel and use them on a daily basis to secure my flying equipment to either the back of my seat or the cargo floor). I will admit that while I do use snap bolts as the top hooking mecanisms of my stage bottles, I presently use suicide clips on the bottom. Having said that, all my dives have been limited, so far, to open water only ie. no penetration (wrecks, caves) or diving in very close proximity to entanglements hazards when diving in such configuration. Therefore being able to manipulate the clipping mecanisms in cold/very cold water is more practical to me at this point in time.

 

[Rich Keller]

I use them for salvage so I have more then a few in different types and sizes so I end up using them for just about everything else. These will not be good for every application but for most they work great. You can even make a poor mans block and tackle with two and a 100' of 1/4" nylon line.

 

[Thalassamania]

We used Spinnaker Shackles and Swedish Hooks on blue water rigs up in the arctic, that was think glove diving, with no issues.

I have also used large carabiners on my harness, facing forward, with gate up top, for holding lanyards on wrenches and hammers and such. I never had an issue with them and they kept me from loosing a fair number of tools, but that is just a surface supplied thing for me.

 

[Bombay High]

Akimbo, will keep you posted. Fingers crossed. The picture looks good, but the price sounds fishy. I,m a sucker for hardware of any sort.

 

[Akimbo]

… I have also used large carabiners on my harness, facing forward, with gate up top, for holding lanyards on wrenches and hammers and such. I never had an issue with them and they kept me from loosing a fair number of tools, but that is just a surface supplied thing for me.

For some reason, Carabiners have always annoyed me in diving applications. I think there are two major factors. The notch the swing arm locks into catches on line when clipping and unclipping. Second is the arm that swings-in can be interfered with by the load on the hook, as happens on suicide clips. I suppose I could file down sharp edges and small burrs to help solve the catching problem.

I have been meaning to try some of the newish lifeline hooks:

Snap hooks / snap hook / double action safety hook / blue


Has anyone fooled around with them? Of course they also share the problem of suicide clips when clipped onto lines that are too large.

 

[Thalassamania]

That's intriguing, I'll have to get one and play with it.

 

[Akimbo]

Is the Swedish hook the thing in the top left corner?...

That looks like it would serve the same purpose, but is not as elegant in design and function.

Thal, I am still not sure if your Swedish hook is the same as the larger hooks I have been seeking but “elegant in design and function” certainly describes them. It is very rare I have difficulty identifying limitations of a design, but this hook was an exception.

 

[Thalassamania]

If you took this clip:


and:

1. removed the trigger.
2. made it spring loaded to open, squeeze the jaws together against the springs to close.
3. made it "click" closed.
4. put a round, concentric, panic button at the rotation point of the jaws that when depressed caused the springs to open the jaws.

Then you'd have it.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I have been meaning to try some of the newish lifeline hooks:

Snap hooks / snap hook / double action safety hook / blue
View attachment 104753

Has anyone fooled around with them?

I have used these on harness/tethers for offshore sailing, and I dislike them. I'll explain why because my reason might not apply to others.

The gate is normally "locked." To release the "lock" so that the gate will open, you must press inward on the blue portion. First of all, I find that to be a really stiff press. Second (most annoying), I often catch a piece of skin between the blue portion and the upper metal part when ending "the squeeze" (a gap between the two is formed at this time). This has given me (and others I have sailed with) many pinches and some blood blisters. Using two hands lessens the problem, but then the moment I am clipping/unclipping is the last moment that I want to give up my "one hand for the boat."

I will say that Wichard hardware is well made, in general, and also that a large/strong male with whom I have sailed did not have the same issue with them. But it's something to consider.

Blue Sparkle