How do you clip your gear off?

[Teamcasa]

It's not the button! Duh, that would be very noticeable. It's the channel the buttin rides up and down in. That spot gets sharpened into little blades.

Either way - gear needs to be checked out a little closer.

 

[Randy43068]

These kind of comments always get my attention. Doesn't anyone check their gear after a dive or before the next one? It's hard to imagine how often one must use a particular boltsnap to actually wear down the button enough to give it a "razor sharp" edge and still not notice it.

Cheap gear is cheap. Not all brass clips and snaps are cheap. Not all stainless clips and snaps are better.

Buy good quality gear - brass or stainless - check it often and replace it well before it gives that potentially lethal cut on your thumb.

I'd take issue with this. One doesn't have to shop for "good" stainless bolts, but one can assume the brass ones will cut you.

I had the same issue and will not use brass bolt snaps. From my experience, the brass ones have very high suckage factor. Having said that, why dick around with them?

 

[mfolsom]

I have a few of these and thought I'd try them to secure some stuff to my BC. Velcro ty wraps

 

[Teamcasa]

I'd take issue with this. One doesn't have to shop for "good" stainless bolts, but one can assume the brass ones will cut you.

Really?

I have used the same brass clip for my video camera on more than 200 dives. Still no blood loss or deadly razor sharp edges. Not all stainless snaps are created equal - that's not an opinion, it's a fact.

 

[The Blue Whale]

In addition to a few ss carabiners, I like to carry about a half dozen of these elastic loops. The velcro ties are great too, but get caught in the other velcro stuff. Not to have all 6 on the dive, but they come in handy to keep gear together. I've used them underwater too for a lot of odd tie downs. Securing gear as a planned process is one matter, but dealing with surprises during a dive is another. Having some tools with you make sense and these little elastic loops have come in handy on several dives. You can see what I'm talking about at: ELASTIC LOOP

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

I use cave line to secure almost all my boltsnaps, with the sole exception of my long hose. For that, I used an o-ring. Works just fine.

The divers I've seen using brass have all received cuts from the boltsnap's latch. Sharp little buggers. File it down so you don't keep jabbing yourself, or switch to marine-grade stainless steel.

 

[Jax]

I'll echo the statement, brass sux, get stainless!!

I started off with brass clips. Then I kept getting cuts on my right thumb and couldnt figure out why. None of my gear was sharp. Then one day, I realized it was my bolt snap. IT had self-sharpened like a razor. It was slicing me and I never felt it. I cut them all off that day and went with SS.

These kind of comments always get my attention. Doesn't anyone check their gear after a dive or before the next one? It's hard to imagine how often one must use a particular boltsnap to actually wear down the button enough to give it a "razor sharp" edge and still not notice it.

Cheap gear is cheap. Not all brass clips and snaps are cheap. Not all stainless clips and snaps are better.

Buy good quality gear - brass or stainless - check it often and replace it well before it gives that potentially lethal cut on your thumb.

Same thing here. I just need to replace them still. I use gloves when I can to minimize the cutting, but, we'll see.

It's not the button! Duh, that would be very noticeable. It's the channel the buttin rides up and down in. That spot gets sharpened into little blades.

I'd take issue with this. One doesn't have to shop for "good" stainless bolts, but one can assume the brass ones will cut you.

I had the same issue and will not use brass bolt snaps. From my experience, the brass ones have very high suckage factor. Having said that, why dick around with them?

Really?

I have used the same brass clip for my video camera on more than 200 dives. Still no blood loss or deadly razor sharp edges. Not all stainless snaps are created equal - that's not an opinion, it's a fact.

I use cave line to secure almost all my boltsnaps, with the sole exception of my long hose. For that, I used an o-ring. Works just fine.

The divers I've seen using brass have all received cuts from the boltsnap's latch. Sharp little buggers. File it down so you don't keep jabbing yourself, or switch to marine-grade stainless steel.

Everyone told me I wouldn't like my brass because I would get little cuts on my water-softened skin. Everyone was right. However, my brass snaps are all fairly new - maybe 12-15 dives on them. There is nothing sharp, and I have gone to great pains to file anything that even seems sharp.

What is it that makes brass cut fingers?

 

[PfcAJ]

Its where the bolt slides against the body of the clip. It just gets sharp over time. I've filleted my thumb on more than one steel clip, however.

The best brass ones are probably better than the worst steel ones, though. I make a point to get rid of crappy steel ones and deposit them in the circular file.

 

[captain]

Only if you use cheap zip ties. Look for ones with a 50lb or higher tensile strength. Tyraps are a great alternative but they use SS in the locking mechanism which means a little extra care is needed. Not sure the black/white thing either. Plastic is usually not bio-degradable it is photo-degradable and I would assume a black or white will degrade at nearly the same speed. If anything one would think white would outlast black as white reflects IR better.

Any type of black plastic will last longer in sunlight than natural color (white) the carbon black added to the plastic blocks the effect of UV.

 

[captain]

These kind of comments always get my attention. Doesn't anyone check their gear after a dive or before the next one? It's hard to imagine how often one must use a particular boltsnap to actually wear down the button enough to give it a "razor sharp" edge and still not notice it.

Cheap gear is cheap. Not all brass clips and snaps are cheap. Not all stainless clips and snaps are better.

Buy good quality gear - brass or stainless - check it often and replace it well before it gives that potentially lethal cut on your thumb.

There are also bronze bolt snaps that are just as good as stainless and a lot cheaper.

Sea Dog Die Cast Manganese Bronze Swivel Eye Bolt Snap Sizes 3/8"-1 1/4"