Sherwood Avid BC Tank Strap Brackets Failed

[DestinyAnna]

Anyone else experienced BOTH of their Avid bc tank strap 'brackets' (hard plastic composition material) making a clean and sudden break from the back of vest? Both of mine broke this weekend as I was entering water for a shore dive. Tank swung to side pulling 2nd stage from my mouth. I was on surface thankfully but the strap breaks are a serious issue. Looks as though the material failed. I only have 178 dives on this bc. I believe its a 2012 or thereabouts model.

 

[bobfmdc]

Anyone else experienced BOTH of their Avid bc tank strap 'brackets' (hard plastic composition material) making a clean and sudden break from the back of vest? Both of mine broke this weekend as I was entering water for a shore dive. Tank swung to side pulling 2nd stage from my mouth. I was on surface thankfully but the strap breaks are a serious issue. Looks as though the material failed. I only have 178 dives on this bc. I believe its a 2012 or thereabouts model.

This is apparently a frequent problem with Sherwood's BCDs. I bought a used one last fall in a group of dive gear, knowing it was broken and planning to use it for parts. I did some research on ScubaBoard and found several threads mentioning the problem. I tried to contact Sherwood and no one would return my calls or emails. I finally gave the BCD to a small dive business owner and he got a response--"eat your loss and use it for parts."

It is a bad design and I am amazed that people have not reported it to the feds to try to get a recall.

 

[csky217]

My Sherwood Avid purchased in 2011 had a similar problem after about 4 years - one band suddenly came free during a dive. However, it wasn't both at once. My LDS noted that this was an ongoing problem though possibly fixed in newer models.

I loved my old Avid but won't buy another one.

 

[drrich2]

Undercurrent had a couple of articles on Sherwood BCDs;

Sherwood, You Have a Camband Problem (Sept. 2016 issue). From that article "Bill Watts (Coconut Creek, FL) wrote to us to say that he believed his Sherwood Avid BCD has a safety issue that the manufacturer is ignoring. The plastic holding the retaining straps for his tank broke, and since the camband apparently does not actually run through the fabric of the BCD, the tank was released. When the plastic breaks, there is nothing to hold the camband to the BCD."

Sherwood is Shirking It's Responsibility for Diver Safety (Sept. 2017 issue). From that article - "If you recall, Undercurrent(September 2016) reported how there were multiple instances of the plastic camband mounting points separating from the main BC, and with it, the user's tank."

Richard.

 

[macado]

This also happened my Sherwood Avid BCD that I used in the pool. What a waste. I ended up tossing it in the trash. They should have issued a recall.

I did end up epoxying the plastic back together and it held for another month or so before it failed completely again. (So it really wasn't worth the effort..) I used JB Weld if you wanted to try it but my results weren't great.

 

[DestinyAnna]

I'm glad to have found this as I'm looking for a two tank strap bcd replacement also. Suggestions?
BOTH of my Sherwood Avid tank straps busted (both plastic composite brackets) in March ...at the same time leaving my neck strap as the only means of holding my tank. My dive buddy held it and we made it out of the water. Could have been tragic . I contacted Sherwood and sent pictures after having a reputable dive shop confirm issue. They danced around it and did nothing productive about it. Be advised... There have now been many of these same incidents and they are being documented. There's going to be an article featuring this in Undercurrent dive magazine I believe

this month.. Sept. 2018. Be advised. Be cautious with your Avid. Sherwood is not making safety a priority. Not a reputable brand here.

 

[DestinyAnna]

My Sherwood Avid purchased in 2011 had a similar problem after about 4 years - one band suddenly came free during a dive. However, it wasn't both at once. My LDS noted that this was an ongoing problem though possibly fixed in newer models.

I loved my old Avid but won't buy another one.

I loved mine also but not buying Sherwood anything from here on out. Not safe. Thx for response!

 

[DestinyAnna]

This also happened my Sherwood Avid BCD that I used in the pool. What a waste. I ended up tossing it in the trash. They should have issued a recall.

I did end up epoxying the plastic back together and it held for another month or so before it failed completely again. (So it really wasn't worth the effort..) I used JB Weld if you wanted to try it but my results weren't great.

I need it to be safe as I dive in open water around Puget Sound. I trashed it and learned a good lesson. I'll do my research next time. Thx for response.

 

[bobfmdc]

" I'm glad to have found this as I'm looking for a two tank strap bcd replacement also. Suggestions?" from DestinyAnna.

I should have included this in my earlier response.

Re: Suggestions--I considered buying an aluminum single tank adapter like the stainless steel one offered by DGE* but cheaper. You can't just bolt it to the back of the Avid because there is nothing solid there; the plastic that broke only extends about 1/2" past the hole and is thin--that's why it broke. My plan was to get an aluminum plate (for example, McMaster-Carr), slip this behind the holes and bolt it to the tank adapter with some stainless steel bolts & nuts.

I also saw a MacGyver style fix on line with a flattened pvc pipe molded to go in the holes left by the broken connections. Ingenious, but really ugly.

I figured it might cost me $100 to get the BCD working as I described. In my case, I would have tried it if I was going to use the BCD, but my plan was to get a BCD for my daughter, a new diver, and I thought it might be a bit too exciting for her if it didn't work. I could not, in good conscience, sell a BCD so modified, so I just traded it away for someone else's parts bin.

In the meantime, if anyone is still using these things (as is one of my dive buddies), I would suggest thinking ahead about what you will do when your tank floats by unattached to your body. One obvious solution is to grab your BCD inflator hose, which is still attached to your reg. At least this keeps the thing from jerking your second stage out of your mouth. Then you can put your tank under your arm and finish your dive. I also suggest clipping the hp hose of your air gauge to a D-ring (my desired configuration anyway). This gives you two points of contact with your tank other than the thing in your mouth. (Note: Maybe you should also have a plan about how to get these things off and your tank and reg back in the boat if you are on a boat dive.)


*(Dive Rite Single Tank Adapter {13 in | 33 cm}

 

[billinwilliamston]

You can add me to the list of formerly happy Sherwood Avid owners. The bottom tank mount totally failed as I was making a safety stop. I was pretty confused as to why my tank was floating next to my head. I was not so confused when I got on the boat. When I got on the boat and inspected the BC, I saw that the bottom tank mount had totally failed (part of it was missing) and the top tank mount was 80% - 90% compromised as well. A diver who was below me saw a broken part falling and grabbed it, so I have most of the pieces. I have not had a chance to visit my LDS to see if they had seen anything similar. They were using Avids as their rental BCs when I bought mine, so they may have ran into the problem before and gotten something out of Sherwood. I would love to blame this on the TSA, who just love to hand inspect SCUBA equipment and had been in my bag this time as well, but I don't think this one is their fault.