How Do You Tie Your Bolt Snaps

How do you tie your Bolt Snap?

  • Cave/spool Line

    Votes: 69 79.3%
  • Zip Tie

    Votes: 9 10.3%
  • Zip Tie with O ring

    Votes: 5 5.7%
  • Bungee

    Votes: 4 4.6%
  • Hose Retainer Clip

    Votes: 6 6.9%
  • Other

    Votes: 5 5.7%

  • Total voters
    87

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The square knots in cave line securing your bolt snap will never loosen if you put a drop of Superglue on them after tightening. (Comparing their usage to climbing knots makes no sense because these are meant to be permanent attachments.)

This is the method I use as well. I have never had a bolt snap come loose in using this method for over a decade. I attach bolts snapped to light handles, camera handles, and my long hose this way.
 
I use Hosehooks by XS Scuba.

I have never heard of those nor have I seen them in the shop. Interesting setup.

But hey, you do you.....I just want to be diving below you so I can collect the booty that falls off your harness/BC when your unsecured square knots fail.

This made me chuckle. I quickly tied a bolt snap to my wetnotes in the field and did not have a lighter to melt the ends. My knots came loose in the middle of the dive and low and behold my wetnotes was picked up by a diving team behind me.
 
This made me chuckle. I quickly tied a bolt snap to my wetnotes in the field and did not have a lighter to melt the ends. My knots came loose in the middle of the dive and low and behold my wetnotes was picked up by a diving team behind me.

For quick in the field attachments like that I will always use a zip tie. Cave line works incredibly well but you must take the time to do it properly. Cave line, superglue, and a lighter. They allow for a very durable, long lasting attachment that still remains cuttable.
 
I have never heard of those nor have I seen them in the shop. Interesting setup.



This made me chuckle. I quickly tied a bolt snap to my wetnotes in the field and did not have a lighter to melt the ends. My knots came loose in the middle of the dive and low and behold my wetnotes was picked up by a diving team behind me.

I edited my post to remove that as I felt it would be perceived as snarky...which it was.

-Z
 
For attaching boltsnaps to something on a hose, I use a 1/4" or so length of bicycle inner tube, like a small sturdy rubber band. Fold it around the ring on the boltsnap like a taco shell, pull one end through the other to secure it. Then with the leftover loop do the same thing around the hose, stretching the band and pulling the boltsnap through. It never loosens, it's cutaway and breakaway if necessary, and it only takes a minute. I do this for my long hose and canister light head. For the back up lights (no hose) I use a zip tie or cave line.
 
For quick in the field attachments like that I will always use a zip tie. Cave line works incredibly well but you must take the time to do it properly. Cave line, superglue, and a lighter. They allow for a very durable, long lasting attachment that still remains cuttable.

Super glue should come after the lighter though as super glue is flammable and things can get out of hand if you put the glue and then apply flame.

-Z
 
For attaching boltsnaps to something on a hose, I use a 1/4" or so length of bicycle inner tube, like a small sturdy rubber band. Fold it around the ring on the boltsnap like a taco shell, pull one end through the other to secure it. Then with the leftover loop do the same thing around the hose, stretching the band and pulling the boltsnap through. It never loosens, it's cutaway and breakaway if necessary, and it only takes a minute. I do this for my long hose and canister light head. For the back up lights (no hose) I use a zip tie or cave line.

This is similar to using an o-ring to attach the bolt snap...I think there was a time this method was quite common but divers eventually switched to using line as the preferred method because o-rings and inner tube sections have a tendency to fail at inopportune moments; not a big deal with a light head or 2nd stage because they remain attached to the diver but reels and non-canister lights can fall way and be lost or just the bolt snaps can be lost...at @ $4 to $10 a piece, the bolt snaps are a small investment in and of themselves.

-Z
 
I think there was a time this method was quite common but divers eventually switched to using line as the preferred method because o-rings and inner tube sections have a tendency to fail at inopportune moments

As I was reading old threads and exploring other areas of the web, some had argued that this was the main benefit compared to using cave line since it was easier to breakaway compared to cutting through a line. This made me wonder what sort of instances requires one to break/cut away a bolt snap? Entanglement?
 
As I was reading old threads and exploring other areas of the web, some had argued that this was the main benefit compared to using cave line since it was easier to breakaway compared to cutting through a line. This made me wonder what sort of instances requires one to break/cut away a bolt snap? Entanglement?

That is always what I was told with the primary context being wreck penetration or cave diving. I do neither but still like to have the ability to cut away the bolt snap. For the diving I do these days the entanglement hazard is fishing line and wire.

The problem I have with zip ties and inner tube is that they brake away too easily and over time become brittle and do tend to fail at the worst possible time. That is why I've stayed with braided line (cave line). It is super durable and long lasting but can still be cut away if needed. I have knots still holding bolt snaps that are over 7-8 years old and are still in great shape.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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