Stowing back up lights

[Belmont]

Also, rubber bands are like latex seals, be careful to cut them clean, a nick will ruin them.

 

[Andy_HFC]

I only have 1 back up i wear on my left, can light on my right. I usually find the retaining band has slipped further down my webbing than i realised. I clip the light off then I reach down with my left hand to the very bottom of the webbing, work my way up until i feel the band, then stretch it way out and pop the light head in and that's it.

I can do it with 5mm wet gloves now in 10C water no probs now. It does take a bit of practice though, try it a few time on land, then mess about at your safety stops. (that's when i get my finest work done!)

One handed - no way dude!!

 

[TSandM]

I can stow mine one-handed, if I'm not wearing dry gloves. It's not that difficult, if you practice.

 

[FishDiver]

I can stow mine one-handed, if I'm not wearing dry gloves. It's not that difficult, if you practice.

When I wear the plate, I am wearing dry gloves. I also lose my sense of touch quickly in cold water.

 

[Andy_HFC]

I can stow mine one-handed, if I'm not wearing dry gloves. It's not that difficult, if you practice.

I thought we always wear dry gloves!

 

[ligersandtions]

When I wear the plate, I am wearing dry gloves. I also lose my sense of touch quickly in cold water.

It's possible to restow wearing dry gloves as well. Finding the tubing is the hard part, but if it's cut too thick, stretching it around the light will also be difficult.

I clip the light to my chest d-ring, ensure that it's off, slide my thumb down my harness until I come across the tubing, slide my thumb in there and pull away from the harness while forcing the light into place. It's not necessarily the easiest task, but it's manageable. Luckily I've only had to do this as a drill and not in real life

 

[Belmont]

I bring the rubber band up close to the D-ring and push the dog clip under it.

Then I attach it to the D-ring and slide the band towards the other end of the lamp...voila!

 

[TJF]

You can use a slide with a piece of bungee to hold em. Easier than the bands IMHO. Probably not DIR, but it's the same concept. Run the bungee under the slide same as you would with a D-ring.

Couldn't find anything on the GUE site about using bungee/shock cord. Is it not recommended but accepted?

 

[LiteHedded]

Couldn't find anything on the GUE site about using bungee/shock cord. Is it not recommended but accepted?

i wouldn't. just because a knot will come undone a lot easier than those things break

 

[TSandM]

Actually, I have tried bungie before with very poor success, but I didn't have it run through the triglide to stabilize it. A triglide would solve the problem of the bungie rolling up the light until it is effectively swinging free. But you wouldn't be able to use the deployment technique of grabbing the bottom of the light and pulling upward (which moves the inner tube up the light until it's effectively freed). And the bungie could end up in the wrong place on the light, if you use different backup lights that are different sizes. Otherwise, it sounds like a reasonable strategy, and certainly would make replacing the holder much easier than it is with inner tube, which requires reweaving the harness.

I personally wouldn't worry too much about the bungie coming untied. Yes, it can happen, but inner tube can break, too. I have bungie on a lot of things -- necklace, inflator hose holder, and wrist mounted gauges -- and so far, I haven't had anything untie.