Attaching bolt snap to SPG

[kensuf]

Let's start with the basics. What's the only true diving emergency? Being out of gas. Everything else is a problem that can be managed.

Now, have you ever had a bolt snap that had a little bit of sand/grit in the slide so that it didn't open? If you haven't, you will eventually.

Let's say you have a situation where your buddy needs gas. Is that an emergency? You bet your life it is. The correct answer in this situation is to give them the reg you're breathing from, but if you're on a stage bottle (your long hose is parked), you're still going to want to get that long hose free and ready to give them that gas -- there have been guys that have died after being passed a stage bottle (that was low on gas).

Murphy says this out of air scenario is when the bolt snap attached to your long hose is going to get jammed. If you have it attached via a mechanism that does not break away, you're going to have to cut it free (so now you fumble for a knife and start cutting, oh did we mention we're in an emergency?). But if you have it on a break-away, you simply tug hard and it's now free.

Personally, I want the break away, I think it's safer.

rectotec: HOW TO: TIE A BOLTSNAP USING AN O-RING

 

[rhwestfall]

thanks for the explanation, it seemed you were "anti-bolt snap" on a regulator the way I interpreted it. btw - those cords I referenced don't take too much to break. been there, done that....

 

[kensuf]

I've seen people try to break those bungee hose retainers and failed. O-rings are cheaper too.

 

[tbone1004]

I am OK with zip ties on the SPG's but I have mine all tied in with cave line. For my regs though, I have never liked breakaways or tied on bolt snaps.

This video from Brett shows the method that I use *albeit with modifications for Poseidons*, but this I think is the best option. Allows you to pull it free to breathe on it with the bolt snap still on the rig, easily allows it to be cut free if you need to, but also provides a much more secure attachment to your body when you aren't breathing on the primary since it won't dangle or get caught on anything. In an OOA the bungee will slide down the hose so you can get enough hose out quite quickly and either undo the boltsnap and slide it back up after everything stabilizes, or cut it free if the boltsnap is stuck.

 

[Bigeclipse]

You lost a $3.50 bolt snap, big deal. The solution isn't to introduce what could be a dangerous configuration (cave line attached bolt snap to the long hose).

I was always told to use caveline for bolt snaps on the long hose? how is it a dangerous configuration?

 

[stuartv]

I was always told to use caveline for bolt snaps on the long hose? how is it a dangerous configuration?

I think the idea is that, imagine you are breathing off a stage bottle and your long hose is clipped off to a D-ring. Then somebody goes OOA and you need to quickly deploy the long hose to them. And you find that the bolt snap has gotten sand or something in it and is jammed and you can't unsnap it from your D-ring. With a cave line tie, you can cut it off but you might not have time to get out your cutters, etc.. If you use a breakaway attachment, if the boltsnap is jammed, you can just break the reg/hose off from the bolt snap an deploy it to the OOA person. Very much quicker than trying to cut cave line.

I have mine as you described, but after reading this thread, I will change it to something else. Still waiting for further opinions before I make a decision on what to change to.

 

[Bigeclipse]

I am OK with zip ties on the SPG's but I have mine all tied in with cave line. For my regs though, I have never liked breakaways or tied on bolt snaps.

This video from Brett shows the method that I use *albeit with modifications for Poseidons*, but this I think is the best option. Allows you to pull it free to breathe on it with the bolt snap still on the rig, easily allows it to be cut free if you need to, but also provides a much more secure attachment to your body when you aren't breathing on the primary since it won't dangle or get caught on anything. In an OOA the bungee will slide down the hose so you can get enough hose out quite quickly and either undo the boltsnap and slide it back up after everything stabilizes, or cut it free if the boltsnap is stuck.

I kind of like this approach. Might switch to this.

 

[Caveeagle]

I kind of like this approach. Might switch to this.

I am also planning to us this approach to my HOG 2nd stages. Several of my regs are Poseidons too, so I would be interested to see tbone's solution for this. Although I'm sure it would not be too hard to figure something out. ** there are several pics in the 'Sidemount Profiles' book showing a zip tie across the body of an Xstream 2nd stage holding a bold snap. I know this is a unique 2nd stage, but that just seems awkward.

 

[tbone1004]

yeah their approach is strange. Basically you take Brett's approach but with super thin bungee *I use 1/8" and make it appropriately long to snap over the mouthpiece zip tie on the Poseidons since they use a much larger mouthpiece bore than normal. The bolt snap comes out on the mouthpiece side of the shower head and hangs down. I'll grab a picture of it tonight if I remember. On my sidemount rig I have a bungee loop that holds the shower head so I don't actually use the bolt snap outside of donning and doffing bottles which is nice. All of my regs including my secondary in backmount have it. The secondary will get clipped to the left shoulder d-ring while I'm donning and doffing the rig so it doesn't get caught up behind my head.

sorry for derailing...

 

[The Chairman]

I use these Dive Rite attachments as well. They are brilliant!