What do you use to hold your octo?

[Hatul]

The problem with the holders that have a fixed elastic loop is, if they're very tight it's a struggle to get the mouthpiece in and if it should pull out it's almost impossible to reinsert under water. The loose ones inevitably get pulled out at some point when diving.

That's why I like mine with a bungee loop adjustable with a cord stop as it solves this pesky problem. You open the loop, insert the mouthpiece and tighten as much as you like.

 

[troyce1]

Hatul, do the pull cord stops rust out?

I would think the spings inside are pretty cheap metal.
I like this idea alot though.

 

[Hatul]

Hatul, do the pull cord stops rust out?

I would think the spings inside are pretty cheap metal.
I like this idea alot though.

That was my thought as well, but they don't. The same cord locks are used on lanyards for holding dive lights. They must be using stainless steel or coated springs otherwise they would also rust when put through washing machines.

 

[troyce1]

@Hatul - Thanks.
I just browsed on Amazon real quick, as I didn't have any cord stops that I could snag off of anything (coats etc).
Not sure if you pulled yours off something or bought them, but if you know of any good ones let me know.

I was thinking this could be a nice and easy way to attach stuff directly to your BC straps as well, such as a dive knife, flashlight etc. And these can be easily moved and modified.

Have you used these for any other gear?

 

[rhwestfall]

Check your local outdoor sporting goods store (EMS, REI, Dick's, etc.) Also, Compmor.com is a great (inexpensive) source....

 

[Hatul]

@Hatul - Thanks.
I just browsed on Amazon real quick, as I didn't have any cord stops that I could snag off of anything (coats etc).
Not sure if you pulled yours off something or bought them, but if you know of any good ones let me know.

I was thinking this could be a nice and easy way to attach stuff directly to your BC straps as well, such as a dive knife, flashlight etc. And these can be easily moved and modified.

Have you used these for any other gear?

Here's one type I have:
Amazon.com: Outdoor Products Sliding Cordlock Replacements 4 Pack: Sports & Outdoors

One local source is JoAnne fabric store. Camping stores also sell them.

The bungee loop works well for the octo, but I'm not sure how you're thinking of using them to attach unanchored objects without the risk of them falling out. For unanchored objects the gold standard is the stainless steel bolt snap.

Where I have used them is in improvised bungee mounts for wrist instruments like the Galileo Sol improvised bungee mount. I posted elsewhere the details, but for this I use double holed cord locks so the bungee cannot slip out. The cord lock allows tension adjusment on the fly.
The double ones are like this:
Amazon.com: Dritz(R) Double Cord Stops For 1/8 Inch Cord 2/Pkg-Black: Arts, Crafts & Sewing

Adam

 

[jh_MacLeod]

Space Pen. Needs an 'online video' to promote sales and justify the cost.
Pencil. Does exactly the same job, to the same performance. Doesn't need a marketing budget to justify it's existence.

Sometimes your sarcasm if funny, but in this case, my opinion is that it's just a cheap shot and uninformed. I happen to have one of these space pens, and I don't think you've ever used one. I have this holder, not because I bought it, but because it came for free with a Scubapro regulator I bought. At first I wasn't impressed with it, but it seemed to hold the octopus well, so I used it. The attachment mechanism didn't look very substantial and I expected it to soon break. Well, that was about 6 years ago, and I'm still using it :-^). So, in my humble opinion, this space pen does perform a little better than your pencil, and you can increase it's hold on the mouthpiece by putting an o-ring over the hooks if you're in a high-current situation. The plug may not "seal" the reg opening but it doesn't do any harm either, whether in the water or on the boat. I've tried homemade bungee holders; they're fine. But until this space pen breaks, I like it and will continue to use it.

 

[Hatul]

Sometimes your sarcasm if funny, but in this case, my opinion is that it's just a cheap shot and uninformed. I happen to have one of these space pens, and I don't think you've ever used one. I have this holder, not because I bought it, but because it came for free with a Scubapro regulator I bought. At first I wasn't impressed with it, but it seemed to hold the octopus well, so I used it. The attachment mechanism didn't look very substantial and I expected it to soon break. Well, that was about 6 years ago, and I'm still using it :-^). So, in my humble opinion, this space pen does perform a little better than your pencil, and you can increase it's hold on the mouthpiece by putting an o-ring over the hooks if you're in a high-current situation. The plug may not "seal" the reg opening but it doesn't do any harm either, whether in the water or on the boat. I've tried homemade bungee holders; they're fine. But until this space pen breaks, I like it and will continue to use it.

I have one of these Scubapro holders in my scuba box, unused for years. At one time I did use it but it did not work well with my Oceanic regs, even with the O ring trick. It may work better with Scubapro regs. Even the plug did not fit the Oceanic opening.

And the octo on a necklace is really part of the DIR system with the primary on a long hose. Personally I keep my primary on a necklace with a standard atomic swivel hose and the octo on a holder clipped to a D ring and on a slightly longer Miflex hose (36" I believe).

 

[petrieps]

I like the snorkel keeper idea. When my last one broke I started using 3/16 bungee tied around a D ring. It's low profile, cheap and very effective. I make the loop about 3/4" and put the mouthpiece through it.

 

[fjpatrum]

Sometimes your sarcasm if funny, but in this case, my opinion is that it's just a cheap shot and uninformed. I happen to have one of these space pens, and I don't think you've ever used one. I have this holder, not because I bought it, but because it came for free with a Scubapro regulator I bought. At first I wasn't impressed with it, but it seemed to hold the octopus well, so I used it. The attachment mechanism didn't look very substantial and I expected it to soon break. Well, that was about 6 years ago, and I'm still using it :-^). So, in my humble opinion, this space pen does perform a little better than your pencil, and you can increase it's hold on the mouthpiece by putting an o-ring over the hooks if you're in a high-current situation. The plug may not "seal" the reg opening but it doesn't do any harm either, whether in the water or on the boat. I've tried homemade bungee holders; they're fine. But until this space pen breaks, I like it and will continue to use it.

I have the same issue Hatul mentioned, those keepers don't fit oceanic regs worth a damn. I used mine on my OW dives and replaced it immediately after because I had to replace my octo at least twice on each 30 minute dive. I've tried almost every option listed in this thread and the only one I've found consistently successful (not having to replace the octo during the dive) was the bungee necklace. I've been using it for the last 8 dives or so and have yet to "drop" my octo. I have ungodly amounts of bungee cord laying around in various sizes so I think I spent about 50 cents to make mine. If I didn't buy bungee in bulk, it would have cost about 75 cents.

Simple is quite often better, and I think that's the point DevonDiver was trying to make. It isn't rocket science, it's just keeping an octo in place. It shouldn't (and doesn't) require that much effort.