equiptment placement on BC

[bug]

I have been PADI certified for about a year and a half now. I have had a bunch of really great dives and I can't wait for more. Anyways.. as I digress.

I recently started purchasing my own gear. I have a Scuba Pro Knight Hawk BCD. I am trying to figure out where to put my new UK SL4 light. The knight hawk has limited pocket space. So I am left to the D-Rings. So should I use some retractors for my light and camera etc? Or just clip it to the D-rings and unclip when I need it? I would like to know what other people have done and what has worked best.

I know it all person preference, but I am looking for some ideas.

I am also looking at getting a dive knife. I don't expect to be doing spear hunting. So should I get a full size knife? maybe a midsize? Once again a good spot to mount it? I would like to keep it off my legs or arms. I am hoping somewhere on my BC. I have thought of the inflator hose. But full size knife won't fit on it.

Thank you for any information!

happy and safe diving

-Matt

 

[MikeFerrara]

Well Matt for a knife I carry EMT shears on my belt and a small knife in a thigh pocket. Clipping equipment gets sloppy if it just dangles there. I clip a small light like a SL$ to a shoulder D-ring and the other end of the light is held tight to the harness strap by a rubber band. The light lays flat against the strap under my arm. To deploy the light I flip one end out of the rubber band turn the light on then unclip it (if I even need to). I am diving a harness with a back plate. I have found that even with all the rings and pockets they put on BC's one can have a hard time configuring equipment cleanly. I don't like retractors for anything. They are dangly and just something else to get tangled.

 

[detroit diver]

I don't like retractors, so I would clip the light off to the highest D ring on your right shoulder. That removes it away from the inflator on the left side, and keeps it in view for entanglement purposes.

I don't like retractors because of the potential entanglement issue. That, and the fact that they fail often.

Buy the smallest knife that you can with one serrated edge. The macho thing with big knives is just that. I use a 4 inch knife on my waistbelt, and it has a blunt end, not pointed. I'm not stabbing anything! I don't dive a BC, but I would put it somewhere where both hands can reach it without having to bend at the waist. If you're entangled, you need immediate access with both hands.
My dive buddies use cheap kitchen knives where the blade goes thru the handle. They break off most of the blade and file the end smooth and flat. The blade is about an inch or so, and the handle is about 2 inches. That's really all you need. About $1.50 + holder.

 

[Diver0001]

bug once bubbled...
I have been PADI certified for about a year and a half now. I have had a bunch of really great dives and I can't wait for more. Anyways.. as I digress.

I recently started purchasing my own gear. I have a Scuba Pro Knight Hawk BCD. I am trying to figure out where to put my new UK SL4 light. The knight hawk has limited pocket space. So I am left to the D-Rings. So should I use some retractors for my light and camera etc? Or just clip it to the D-rings and unclip when I need it? I would like to know what other people have done and what has worked best.

I know it all person preference, but I am looking for some ideas.

I am also looking at getting a dive knife. I don't expect to be doing spear hunting. So should I get a full size knife? maybe a midsize? Once again a good spot to mount it? I would like to keep it off my legs or arms. I am hoping somewhere on my BC. I have thought of the inflator hose. But full size knife won't fit on it.

Thank you for any information!

happy and safe diving

-Matt

I'm with Detriot on the location of the light. You can easily attach a bolt snap to the SL4 with a bit of rope or tie-wraps (I use rope). Looking at your BCD I think I'd try to thread a bit of bungie through the quick release to put around the light and hold it down so it doesn't float around.

As for when you need it: I personally wear a bit of bungie around my wrist instead of putting a lanyard on the light. (I'm making myself sound like Captain-Bungie here.... ). Think of it as a permanant lanyard that I use to clip off whatever I'm using.

When I need the light I unclip it from my BCD and clip it off to the bungie on my wrist. It's an extra step but the solution is cleaner. You need something like this because the SL4 is really negative and if it slips out of your hand for any reason it will sink faster than you can catch up with it.

R..

 

[Rick Murchison]

Looking at the Knighthawk, I'd attach a bolt snap to the butt of the light and put a couple of rubber bands cut from a bicycle innertube on the lower part of the right shoulder strap, just below the quick release. Clip into the shoulder "D" ring and use the rubber bands to hold the light snug along the lower shoulder strap. I think this is pretty much what Mike, DD & Diver0001 are getting at.
As for cutting devices, on a normal recreational dive I carry shears and a small blunt-tip "BC" knife. Depending on the BC, the shears are carried either on the belt or in a pocket, the knife on the belt or on a shoulder strap. When spearfishing I carry a pig-sticker on the inside of my left calf. (Don't let anyone tell you a little knife will do for dispatching speared fish - the right tool for that job is a full size heavy duty drop-point)
Rick

 

[Dectek]

Great advise by everyone. I was expecting to read things like get rid of the BC. You are all a credit to this board.
My real reason for this reply is to steal the attention for a second.
Rick,
This may sound like a stupid question but hear goes. Is the word Dispatch a "G" rated way of saying kill? I did not know if I was taking the word out of context.

 

[pdoege]

Hmm,

According to websters.

To relegate to a specific destination or send on specific business.
To complete, transact, or dispose of promptly.
To eat up (food); finish off (a dish or meal).
To put to death summarily.

I'm a pedant today!



Peter Doege

 

[detroit diver]

Dectek once bubbled...
Great advise by everyone. I was expecting to read things like get rid of the BC. .......

It doesn't mean we weren't thinking it

 

[Big-t-2538]

IF you want a full size knife, the only real way around (that I know of) keeping it off your leg or arm is mounting it on your belt. I keep my full-size knife on the inside of my left calf. I also have a BCD knife mounted on the chest strap of my BCD (it has a cumberbun, cumberbun buckle, and a chest strap buckle).

As for the light, my dive buddy has never had a retractor fail, but make sure your light is tucked away against your body in some stramline fashion. Don't let the thing dangle around.