Muck stick?

[nwflyboy]

On a recent dive trip, my wife lost one of her treasured dive accessories: her pointer/muck stick. I'm looking for a replacement as a Christmas gift.

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about....this is a simple stainless steel rod, about 12-14" in length, about 1/4" diameter, with a hole drilled through one end (through which one can put a split steel ring to attach the thing to a retractor. It's used for several things: it makes a good tank banger (since it's metal on metal, it makes a pretty distinctive sound). It's great for pointing to things. And yes, it's useful at times to push off a rock or other non-living part of a reef or the bottom (and yes, it should be used carefully and selectively for that).

We bought these several years ago on a dive trip someplace in Indonesia or Thailand (can't remember exactly where). My wife lost hers on a dive on our last trip, and she was very bummed.

Yes, I could go find a steel rod, cut it to length, round off the sharp edges, and get a hole drilled through it. But I don't have the metalworking tools handy to do a good job of that. So I'm probably willing to pay some ridiculous amount to buy one (hey, it's dive gear, it's supposed to be horribly overpriced for what you get....right?). But I can't find one.

Anybody know where these can be found?

Thanks.

 

[iztok]

OMG! Did you have to remind me of tank banging in Thailand?! I was about to swim to the DM and break their arm off as it was so loud under water!

 

[diversteve]

There's this one: Two Tanked Productions - Reed's Rod

 

[EevelMonkee]

These are made and sold by a scubaboard member. I have one and its nice.

Scuba Tank Banger Dive Stick SeaQuest Zeagle ScubaPro - eBay (item 280500109104 end time Dec-25-10 15:22:22 PST)

 

[nwflyboy]

Thanks for the, um, pointers.

Let's see, 30-35 bucks for one with a threaded hole in the handle for a camera/tripod mount, or 9 bucks for one with a rubber hand grip and split steel ring.

Hmmmm. I'm sure they're both decent gear.

I think I'll buy the 9 dollar one.

Thanks again!

 

[cubalake]

nwflyboy, and others,

I'm interested in buying a pointer for the sole purpose of stabbing the ocean floor to hold myself in place while my dive buddy takes photo's. I don't want to attach the pointer to my BCD. My thought is to buy the one noted on ebay but at a length of 7". My intention is to slide the pointer under my wet suit arm sleeve. 7" would allow me to bend at the elbow without interference. I'm thinking up my sleeve on the palm side of my arm.

I'm trying to think of drawbacks but haven't thought of any. However, I'm open to opinions and suggestions on my idea.

Thanks.

 

[EevelMonkee]

nwflyboy, and others,

I'm interested in buying a pointer for the sole purpose of stabbing the ocean floor to hold myself in place while my dive buddy takes photo's. I don't want to attach the pointer to my BCD. My thought is to buy the one noted on ebay but at a length of 7". My intention is to slide the pointer under my wet suit arm sleeve. 7" would allow me to bend at the elbow without interference. I'm thinking up my sleeve on the palm side of my arm.

I'm trying to think of drawbacks but haven't thought of any. However, I'm open to opinions and suggestions on my idea.

Thanks.

Having the pointer in your sleeve may reduce the effectiveness of your wetsuit by creating a gap between the suit and your skin. Would also want to make sure the pointer had a very rounded tip to prevent damage to your suit and skin while sliding the stick up your sleeve. May also be difficult to get in and out of the sleeve because of the tightness of the wetsuit. If you have a pocket on your BCD you may want to consider what size pointer you would need to fit in that pocket. Attaching the pointer to a d-ring on your shoulder strap is really not a problem. You can even use a bungee, hair band, etc. placed lower on the vertical strap to secure the bottom of the pointer to prevent it from dangling when not in use.

 

[Reefwalker]

We now have these in stock along with other handy underwater photography accessories.
Reef Images - Underwater Photo Accessories - Reef Wreck & Critter