Do you have either of these tank straps?

[fbk]

I would not be surprised if there has been a manufacturing mod that lengthened the hook. How old are your bands?

Mine are fairly new and identical in length to the ones you pictured. Admittedly the hook length is such that you can only *just* unhook them when the strap is loosened, by design. So that if there is too much tension, it becomes much harder or impossible to get the required clearance. I think this is the reason for people reporting that the straps are "useless" and cant be quick released. They are a great product, well designed and made, and work as intended. The shorter hooks certainly don't hurt to make it even easier. It's not like the metal is ever going to bend open.

I do like the look of those DSS pads for added grip. I tension my straps nowhere near the maximum I could put on them... much less than I would risk getting away with on a single band setup. I can easily latch them one handed... on the other hand it is easy to make them so tight that you need to be king kong to close the buckle... and when it does close it slams shut with finger crushing force. Found that out the hard way!

 

[Akimbo]

Mine are fairly new and identical in length to the ones you pictured. Admittedly the hook length is such that you can only *just* unhook them when the strap is loosened, by design…

There is a fairly narrow “sweet spot” on most cam bands between minimum tightness and tight enough to get a solid snap to keep them reliably closed. The BC/pack you use can make a huge difference too.

Consider metal-to-metal contact on some back plates versus a jacket BC with lots of compressible cushion material between the band and tank. Some materials relax under tension over time so you have to make the band really tight so it isn’t loose by the end of a dive. I can see where springy material between the band and cylinder could make it very difficult to hook/unhook the Highland band.

I found it awkward to unhook the Highland until I realized there was no need to keep the tank vertical like I was used to. I was in an inflatable at the time and laying it harness-down on the deck worked as did leaning against the gunwales. Having two hands available, not having to balance the cylinder, or support the BC & pack’s weight reduced the difficulty level from PIA to piece-of-cake.

 

[cdn_bacon]

So what is the verdict on the highland straps? Are they worth it or just get regular SS cam straps? I need to order a set and can't decide if I should F with it or not...

 

[alheng]

Does the buckle scratch up the tank?

 

[Akimbo]

Does the buckle scratch up the tank?

Yes, but no worse than any other stamped cams. Now for the details:

• Any metal cam will scratch a tank — stainless is harder than Aluminum or Zinc/Galvanizing.
• Investment cast stainless steel cams have more surface area on the cam contact point than the stamped cams, so scratching is a little less than on stamped cams.
• The newer Highlands come with protective pads, but I don’t bother with them on steel tanks.
• If scratching is a primary concern, then an injection molded plastic cam would be the best choice. Just make sure you get one that is “glass filled” for greater strength.

I think you will find that this is a non-issue with the vast majority of divers, even on softer Aluminum tanks. Unless you are exceptionally obsessive, tanks will get beat-up. Don’t expect that dive shops and boat crews will handle them gently. If that is not bad enough, VIP and Nitrox labels will make them look like hell.

 

[ReeferBen]

I just got these Highland bands for my sons BCD, he is 11 and I figured it would be nice for him to not have to lift off the BC from the tank all the time. He used a SP BC in the past in a class and I saw them on that and it was a cinch. I just finished installing them on his express tech and couldn't get them to unlatch so came and searched and see I am not the only one. His came with the protective pads, which seem to bunch up as you clip the cam.

I need to either return these or mod them. It's a PIA since I thought they would work as well as the scubapro ones I saw him use.