Retractable or Coiled Cables for Flashlights, slates, etc.

[victorzamora]

What do you do with your primary dive light?

Well, my primary light is a big canister light that has the battery attached to me and then the lighthead is on a cable that gets mounted to my hand. When not actively using it, it gets clipped to my chest d-ring...but it's almost ALWAYS on my hand. However, that's a bad example and I'll answer with my "primary" backup lights.

I gather that most of you generally don't use a retractor to attach your light to you. Instead, you use a bolt-snap.

Correct, I never use retractors and exclusively use bolt-snaps.

Do you use a bolt-snap on each end of the light, to keep one end from flopping around? I'm guessing not.

Nope.

So, victorzamora, you specifically mentioned this - if you have one end of your light bolt-snapped to you somewhere, how DO you secure the other end so it's not just dangling off you?

It's been mentioned before, but not clearly: Innertubes. You can get bicycle innertubes and cut them in slivers and use them to hold your light in place. I also sometimes use the epaulettes on my BCD, as the one I'm diving now has that option. Back to the "primary" way of doing it: You clip off your light on a d-ring and then tuck the light into a piece of rubber tubing that holds it in place. To deploy, you pull the lens-end out of the rubber band, turn the light on, and then unclip it.

And when you actually use your light, do you unclip the bolt-snap and hold the light in your hand, such that, if you were to happen to drop it, it could just float away?
I do not have it clipped off while using it (some really rare laziness-induced situations in caves aside). I unclip it completely from me to use it. It is much less encumbered in that manner. You shouldn't be worried about dropping the light, though. It's simply not really a problem.

Do you use enough line in attaching the bolt-snap to the light that you can use the light while it's still clipped to you? And how do you secure it from dangling when you're not using it?

No, the line is as tight as possible. The only thing separating the light from the boltsnap is the knot in the line. While not using it, innertube holds it in place and keeps it from dangling.

Related question: I read an article about how to attach a bolt-snap to a piece of gear. I think it said to use "cave cord" or "cave line" or something like that. Is that the same thing as regular paracord 550 nylon line (I.e. 550# tensile strength, typically black)?

No, cave line is DRASTICALLY different from paracord. Paracord has multiple twisted strands inside of an outer nylon braided sheath. Cave line is a simple braided line. Cave line is MUCH smaller diameter than paracord, and is typically white.

https://www.divegearexpress.com/library/boltsnap.shtml

 

[divad]

I you're worried about dropping the back-up light, (say, in a deep dark hillbilly lake), you can clip it to a gauge bungie on your wrist.

 

[stuartv]

Thanks, Victor! Not only did you clear up how to carry a light, you also cleared up an unasked question, what do people do with bicycle inner tubes that I keep reading about? I had also seen some equivalent rubber bands on the shoulder straps of some harnesses I looked at in my LDS. NOW I get it!

Oh, and that link on how to tie off a bolt-snap is to the same article I read the other day. I just didn't go and search the site further to see exactly what cave line is.

And, evad, thanks for that tip, too. Good idea.

 

[Hatul]

the only thing I would use a coiled leash on is......

nothing!

Great advice above.....

I use a coiled leash for my camera and it works well for that. It's just too easy to lose expensive gear if not attached. If you can think of another method I'm open.

For my primary light I like the oxycheq glove (Goodman style) to attach to my wrist. The backup light can be held with bicycle innertube +- boltsnap. The problem with retractors is their minimum length is too long and it leaves things dangling and they tend to get tangled up. Having said that I do use a small retractor for my depth sounder when I take it.

 

[eelnoraa]

I have had issue with retractor in a dive. Not mine to be precise, it was my buddy's. He has a light on it. The two main issues with retractor it the low tension on the line and the line being stainless steel twist wire.

Low tension means if the object at this end (light in this case) is caught on something, you don't know until you are swimming away. In colder water with thick suit, you basically can't see what is caught. If you try to turn around an debug, the wire maybe making another wrap around the kelp.

Then the thin steel twist wire. it is too thin, impossible to untangle once wrap around something like a kelp. And it is not easily cut by a knife.

The above actually happened. My buddy and I were diving kelp Forrest. His light was caught. He turned around and tried to free himself, but he couldn't untangle the wire from the kelp. I came in and tried to cut the wire and didn't succeed.
Then I decided to cut the kelp instead and free the entanglment. He ditched that retractor after that.

 

[divad]

And, evad, thanks for that tip, too. Good idea.

Like most good ideas, it probably wasn't mine. Just trying to help back you up to the rabbit hole.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Another helpful thing is to drill into yourself the following steps: turn on the light, and then unclip it. Sooner or later, you'll drop it into the tangled, silty mess of an engine room floor and either be glad you did or spend an extra 5 minuets feeling around for it because you didn't.

 

[divad]

Practicing signaling "OK" with the light before you un-clip it might be easier than trying to remember to turn it on first.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Whatever makes it so the light is on before it's disconnected from you.

 

[divad]

What about a retractable-illuminated-lanyard-playing show-tunes?