Thoughts about this flashlight pocket with retractor?

[J322Y]

"So, hold the flashlight with no lanyard or other connection while in use?"
Wrist loop. Take the flashlight out of the pocket (or when doing a night dive, out of the gear bag pre-dive) and put your wrist through the strap. Which can be paracord, or light webbing, or paracord through some surgical tubing. Optional to have a slider on it, which can be tightened up so it can't just slide back over your hand by accident.

Thanks Rred. That's what I'm doing now. Paracord, tubing and slider all in a pocket.

I dove BHB yesterday and had the light on my wrist for an hour even though I only used it for about 10 minutes in total. Did the same the day before in Key Largo which worked fine, but I had the flag at BHB and sometimes when handling the line it got tangled with the wrist strap.

In general I want to avoid something hanging on my wrist if it isn't getting more than occasional use. But I also don't want to fish the light out of a pocket every 5 minutes. I'm a new diver and maybe my needs will change but for now I like using a light frequently but for very brief periods.

A better question might have been; is this pocket with retractor a good concept assuming it functions properly and is durable?

 

[rhwestfall]

I guess I'd be more inclined to use a light sock and a modest sized light...

YMMV

 

[Rred]

I guess the retractor concept works--but is the leash long enough so that you can hold the light in either hand, as needed, to the full extension of that hand? And would the leash itself be a PITA if it was extended like that?

Those kind of trade-offs are a personal decision, what works best (happiest) for you. Dive flags...yeah, Floridia is a bit FWC-anal about that. I can't believe that Florida's infamous boaters are any better than the folks in the northeast, who figure "Gee, there's a colorful thing in the water, I'm going to go check it out" and zoom right up to the flag...instead of keeping away. And of course the entanglement issues for the diver.

I suppose you could also velcro the light on your forearm. You'd need to reach across to turn it on, but then just "point your arm" to shine the light in something.

 

[stuartv]

For dives where I will only need my light intermittently, I carry it DIR-style (bolt snap clipped to shoulder D-ring, light head tucked into bungee loop). When I want to use it, I pull the light head out of the bungee loop, turn it on, and leave it clipped to my D-ring. It's easy enough to (usually) point where I want while still clipped to me.

Otherwise, the Oxycheq light sock that tbone mentioned.

 

[scubadiver888]

Thanks gentlemen. So, hold the flashlight with no lanyard or other connection while in use? I'd hate to drop a $200 tool while diving a wall in deeper water...

Like has been suggested here, I tied a snap to the end of my lights as described here: How to Attach a Snap | Dive Gear Express®. Losing your light is a valid concern. I'd practice unclipping the light (easy), using it, clipping it back (a little harder), putting it back in the bungee (hardest). Especially hard if you are wearing 7mm gloves. Practice with the gloves you'll use in open water. Practice in a pool if you can.

First time I did it, I had trouble getting the light back in the bungee. I had a little trouble clipping the light to the D-ring but got it after a couple of tries. First couple of times I just gave up on getting it back in the bungee. You just have to make sure it is firmly on the D-ring before you let go of it.

 

[BRT]

Like has been suggested here, I tied a snap to the end of my lights as described here: How to Attach a Snap | Dive Gear Express®. Losing your light is a valid concern. I'd practice unclipping the light (easy), using it, clipping it back (a little harder), putting it back in the bungee (hardest). Especially hard if you are wearing 7mm gloves. Practice with the gloves you'll use in open water. Practice in a pool if you can.

First time I did it, I had trouble getting the light back in the bungee. I had a little trouble clipping the light to the D-ring but got it after a couple of tries. First couple of times I just gave up on getting it back in the bungee. You just have to make sure it is firmly on the D-ring before you let go of it.

Or just use a retracter and not worry about losing it.

 

[J322Y]

I got the pocket. Only used it once for a day dive in a spring, so I didn't a light at all. However I did test it out and it's as simple as you would expect. I do like the idea of my flashlight always being tethered to me as opposed to unclipping and reclipping it.

My second choice would be a sock, but all things being equal I would rather not have something stuck on my hand for the whole dive when I'm only using the light for a few seconds here and there.

I'm trying to imagine the downsides to using 2 inches of my belt for the light/pocket. The biggest one I can come up with is cost.

I got the SeaSoft pocket and I had to tweak it to get the performance I wanted. I'm going to do a detailed comment on Amazon covering the issues and how I addressed them, and I'll share the info here when I do.

 

[scubadiver888]

Or just use a retracter and not worry about losing it.

If using a retractor works for you then I'm not one to say don't. Personally, I cannot imagine drift diving in the St. Clair River with an entanglement hazard. Last time I was there it felt like 4 or 5 knot current with 5 to 10 foot visibility. Things come up on you REALLY fast. There are a number of wrecks, tires, debris, etc. which you can get hooked on or possibly injured. It is considered an advanced to very advanced dive. If you do things like that, retractors are a real hazard.

However, if you aren't drifting in situations with hazards or penetrating wrecks, using a retractor will probably be fine.

 

[J322Y]

If using a retractor works for you then I'm not one to say don't. Personally, I cannot imagine drift diving in the St. Clair River with an entanglement hazard. Last time I was there it felt like 4 or 5 knot current with 5 to 10 foot visibility. Things come up on you REALLY fast. There are a number of wrecks, tires, debris, etc. which you can get hooked on or possibly injured. It is considered an advanced to very advanced dive. If you do things like that, retractors are a real hazard.

However, if you aren't drifting in situations with hazards or penetrating wrecks, using a retractor will probably be fine.

That seems like excellent advice. Thanks.

I did consider that issue to some degree. I tied the quick release clip of the retractor to the light with braided nylon line, and the loop of the pocket uses velcro, so it could be removed without ditching my BCD, in theory anyway... None of this is to deny the logic of not using this rig in heavy current, etc. In that case it does seem smart to use a sock or other method.

 

[Bruce Justinen]

Hi this is Bruce from SEASOFT SCUBA. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case I think it really would be. Here is a really short video with our Flashlight Pocket and retractor. Any questions, - ask away.