Octo/Alternate - How/Where (do you keep yours?)

[String]

Long hose/bungee backup eliminates the need for any of these

 

[scubadiver888]

Just wondering how and/or where everybody keeps their octo/alternate...

Back when I first started diving we always kept it in the "safety triangle" (or some such name - in front, visible to anyone who may need it), but I never really found a good way to fix it to one spot yet still have it be breakaway. I used to have a soft rubber holder that the octo mouthpiece fit into, it worked fairly well - was just a bit of a hassle sometimes to get the thing in - are these still around?

We've been diving with combo alt/inflators (Sherwood Shadow Plus) for the last 15 years (my wife dives the same set-up as me), but since switching over to a BP/W I've determined that the Shadow Plus' hose is now a bit too long for our "H" wings and I don't like the way the knurled knob on the connector rubs the corrugated hose on the wing (so using a shorter hose isn't really an option even though the Shadow uses a 3/8" reg hose).

So, we decided to lose the combo inflators and instead added a couple of R295's to the kits. Any suggestions on what types of holders work and which don't? I don't dive a long hose, so no necklace. I figure we'll probably end up using some sort of holder with a clip or boltsnap to attach to a chest D-ring but figured I'd ask around and see what everyone else is using.

Thanks all,

Those soft rubber holders are still around. They are basically look like O==O. You put the thing around a D-ring, put one O through the other O and pull. Now there is one O attached to the D-ring and one O is free to fit the octo into.

There something like $3 to $5. A quick yank and the octo comes free.

Google "octo holder" and you can find all kinds of them from the basic I just described to ones with clips. Check out Innovative Scuba for some examples of fancier versions.

 

[ruready7]

Right chest D ring. Have Oceanic slimline with magnetic holder. Works great! I miss it when I use my other reg setup. Then I clip on lower right side D ring with hose clip.

 

[Geoff_H]

Bungeed around my neck.

 

[WartedEmperor]

I use the Dive Rite Octo holder attached to my right shoulder.

 

[stargazer61]

Has anyone tried the magnetic model? I like the fact that it offers a clean breakaway. I have to wonder what it would do to navigation though.

Pete

That solves the problem of where to put it - if buddy can't see it he can use his compass

 

[Daz]

Well - finally got around to "making" my new octo keeper(s). I was planning on using bungee and a bolt snap then hook to right chest D-ring, but my new R295 octos came with ScubaPro's breakaway keeper. I really like the mouthpiece plug that it has, but didn't like that it connects using a plastic clip, so I ended up cutting that part off and cl-ing it to a bolt snap.

Here are some pics:

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

One other "keeper" that I really like (besides the bungee necklace) is a snorkel keeper. Do a double loop around the d-ring, use the open end to stretch around the alternate mouthpiece. Easy to put on, easy to pull out, & CHEAP.

Have to say that the operators I've worked for mostly use the good old snorkel keeper. Rarely more than $2, when one loop breaks it can be turned around and tied to the D-ring. Seems like a majority of todays divers would call this a typical set-up.