LI-er
Contributor
I've been tweaking my dive gear set up for the better part of 4 decades. More than I probably need to, more than most divers probably do, especially for a recreational diver. But it's fun! A different sort of clip here, a larger one there, I'll never be able to click that double-ender open while wearing 5mm gloves... a snap clip will be easier and in that location not very likely to snag a piece of monofilament.. wait that brass bolt snap clashes with the chrome D ring, back in the box for you!
But leaving all those precious clips aside for a moment, in my heart there will always be a place for retractors on my rig, and I have 3 of them. No make it 4. Wait I have 5 retractors on my BCD. Damn that's a lot of retractors. But they all follow one of the 3 retractor rules that must NEVER be broken.
Experienced and/or tech divers will probably tell you never to use a retractor, which some newer divers might find surprising. Why not use a retractor, it's convenient, it's easy, you don't have to clip and unclip, less task overloading, they're really cool tech gadgets, retractors are great! But in reality retractors aren't so great. In fact there are two sub categories of divers who use retractors and that would be a) divers with retractors who have lost a valuable piece of dive gear and b) divers with retractors who have not yet lost a valuable piece of dive gear. Retractors are unreliable, the spring loaded cord has a tendency to break and it's almost like it KNOWS that you're over the edge of a wall when it's time has come. I wish I could say this never happened to me but I can't. A moment of silence for a backup dive computer that I had attached to a BCD shoulder D ring with a retractor that broke as I pulled along the tag line in a stiff current and dropped somewhere in the vicinity of the USCG Bibb near Key Largo, Florida.
That much being said, I have developed 3 specific rules for the 5 retractors that I incorporate into my every day diving.
#1- As I carry a camera rig with video lights that occupies my hands for most of the dive, it's a lot easier to have a dive torch on a retractor next to my BCD pocket. Even though the light isn't cheap, at around $100 USD, I'm willing to risk losing it in exchange for the convenience of not having to clip/unclip or wear it on my wrist. So that's retractor Rule#1. Only put an object at the end of a retractor if you're willing to lose it.
#2- In my BCD pocket I carry a compass/slate and a backup dive computer, both on retractors. They live in the zippered pocket and are only allowed out of the pocket on rare occasion, and at that point the one that is not in the pocket is firmly in my hand. The odds of losing it due to a broken cord are close to zero. So that's Retractor Rule #2. A retractor can be used on dive gear that lives inside a pocket and will only be out of the pocket when it's in active use.
#3- I carry a mini XS-Scuba combination scissors/knife. It's a great little tool, I've used it several times mainly to trim fingernails that tore loose after messing with tank valves, but has an annoying tendency to slip out of its sheath and be lost. So I added a mini retractor as a "backup". Should it slip out , it's going to be held by the retractor and I'll hopefully notice it dangling there before it's too late. This has happened several times and not only to me. So that's retractor rule #3, use it as a backup to a piece of dive gear that has another attachment point. Same goes for the retractor on my BCD corrugated hose. It functions only to keep the hose close to my torso so it doesn't dangle. Obviously the retractor isn't the only attachment point for this hose so it falls under Retractor Rule #3 as well.
What are your thoughts on retractors? Did you read this and think "Geez I am lucky I read this extremely useful and entertaining post before I lost a valuable piece of dive gear"?
Any other uses that I didn't think of here?
Maybe someone can come up with a Retractor Rule #4.
But leaving all those precious clips aside for a moment, in my heart there will always be a place for retractors on my rig, and I have 3 of them. No make it 4. Wait I have 5 retractors on my BCD. Damn that's a lot of retractors. But they all follow one of the 3 retractor rules that must NEVER be broken.
Experienced and/or tech divers will probably tell you never to use a retractor, which some newer divers might find surprising. Why not use a retractor, it's convenient, it's easy, you don't have to clip and unclip, less task overloading, they're really cool tech gadgets, retractors are great! But in reality retractors aren't so great. In fact there are two sub categories of divers who use retractors and that would be a) divers with retractors who have lost a valuable piece of dive gear and b) divers with retractors who have not yet lost a valuable piece of dive gear. Retractors are unreliable, the spring loaded cord has a tendency to break and it's almost like it KNOWS that you're over the edge of a wall when it's time has come. I wish I could say this never happened to me but I can't. A moment of silence for a backup dive computer that I had attached to a BCD shoulder D ring with a retractor that broke as I pulled along the tag line in a stiff current and dropped somewhere in the vicinity of the USCG Bibb near Key Largo, Florida.
That much being said, I have developed 3 specific rules for the 5 retractors that I incorporate into my every day diving.
#1- As I carry a camera rig with video lights that occupies my hands for most of the dive, it's a lot easier to have a dive torch on a retractor next to my BCD pocket. Even though the light isn't cheap, at around $100 USD, I'm willing to risk losing it in exchange for the convenience of not having to clip/unclip or wear it on my wrist. So that's retractor Rule#1. Only put an object at the end of a retractor if you're willing to lose it.
#2- In my BCD pocket I carry a compass/slate and a backup dive computer, both on retractors. They live in the zippered pocket and are only allowed out of the pocket on rare occasion, and at that point the one that is not in the pocket is firmly in my hand. The odds of losing it due to a broken cord are close to zero. So that's Retractor Rule #2. A retractor can be used on dive gear that lives inside a pocket and will only be out of the pocket when it's in active use.
#3- I carry a mini XS-Scuba combination scissors/knife. It's a great little tool, I've used it several times mainly to trim fingernails that tore loose after messing with tank valves, but has an annoying tendency to slip out of its sheath and be lost. So I added a mini retractor as a "backup". Should it slip out , it's going to be held by the retractor and I'll hopefully notice it dangling there before it's too late. This has happened several times and not only to me. So that's retractor rule #3, use it as a backup to a piece of dive gear that has another attachment point. Same goes for the retractor on my BCD corrugated hose. It functions only to keep the hose close to my torso so it doesn't dangle. Obviously the retractor isn't the only attachment point for this hose so it falls under Retractor Rule #3 as well.
What are your thoughts on retractors? Did you read this and think "Geez I am lucky I read this extremely useful and entertaining post before I lost a valuable piece of dive gear"?
Any other uses that I didn't think of here?
Maybe someone can come up with a Retractor Rule #4.
