Apollo Bio-tank Locks?

[CompuDude]

Just curious why people buy these...
The cambands that came standard on my Eclipse are tight enough that nothing short of a nuclear explosion is going to take them off my tank.

Same with my Dive-Rite SS cam bands. And the Scuba-Pro straps are excellent, too.

But not everyone has those, and apparently it's a real problem with some of the other systems, so it looks like there's a place for it.

 

[Jarrett]

Well, I got a chance to mess with these tonight. And I have to admit, they are a PITA to get adjusted properly! Maybe it gets easier with practice, but whew not easy the first time. Getting that 3/8-1/2 inch gap is tricky. Lots of hit and miss. On my other BCD (Transpac) I had the SS Dive Rite buckles and they were much easier to size up and latch down. Also quicker to remove as well when taking the BCD off of the tank. If I had to switch between tank sizes, I would not use the Apollos at all. It would take me forever to reconfigure them.

The upsides to the Apollos are once you get them sized right, they do quickly get a solid grip on the tank. Also, they are smaller and less bulky than the SS Dive Rite buckles and cam straps, not to mention they accomodate my XS Scuba weight pouches better than my Dive Rites did. Since I am going to as small and light a setup as possible on my Transpac (and since I invested the time to get them sized up) I wouldn't mind using them. But if there is even a hint of issue, I am dumping them and going back to the Dive Rite SS setup.

 

[Jarrett]

I got a hint

I went on a dive today thinking I had the Apollos adjusted for an AL80, but apparently I was wrong. So while my buddies waited, I attempted to readjust the straps. First too much, then too little, then too much again. After 10 minutes or so, I blew it off and reinstalled the Dive Rite SS straps. I think it took me about 2 minutes to get them installed and attached to my tank. The Apollos will be in the classifieds soon.

 

[Hoosier]

I got a hint

I went on a dive today thinking I had the Apollos adjusted for an AL80, but apparently I was wrong. So while my buddies waited, I attempted to readjust the straps. First too much, then too little, then too much again. After 10 minutes or so, I blew it off and reinstalled the Dive Rite SS straps. I think it took me about 2 minutes to get them installed and attached to my tank. The Apollos will be in the classifieds soon.

I give a hint, too.. Mark the strap with a pen for each tank size. It only takes 10 seconds to adjust...

 

[aznlmpulse]

Don't bother. They're a complete waste of time. The adjustment when moving to different size tanks is more than a PITA. I dumped mine in Belize when overtightening cost me a dive.

Amazing. Apollo make such a mix. Great fins...and useless gizmos like air moisturisers and tank locks .

Split fins or paddles, jacket bcd or bp/w.......regular cams, or bio locks....there's ALWAYS someone that's willing to bet their first born on their opinion being the right one....It's sometimes comical, but mostly frustrating.

SURE....cam locks are fine...they grip well if you use them correctly...blah blah..blah...
BUT it takes the SAME amount of effort, if not MORE to correctly adjust a cam strap compared to a bio tank lock (in my opinion...)
SURE....bio tank locks can be thought of as a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, but so can things like......power windows....power steering...nike air bubbles etc...no body really needs it, but it's there if you wanna try it. If you wanna break a sweat trying to manually open your windows everytime, that's your call....but don't jump in everyone's faces yelling "I WAS RIGHT!" when the car dies and you can still adjust your windows.....

did I lose anyone? hahahaha...