SCUBA STRAPP

It’s been a while since I did an equipment blog so I thought it was time I did a write up of Scuba Strapp;  a family business since 2012 specialising in the design, development and manufacture of high quality British scuba diving straps and lanyards, and owned by a fellow diving buddy and fellow Sapper Simon.  Their motto; ‘It doesn’t just do the job, it does all the jobs’.

The first thing I will say, is that despite not being a fan of all their products, they are extremely robust and extremely well made, and have a large variety of applications.  Why am I not a fan of some of the products?  It’s all down to the clip.  I prefer to use piston style clips over ‘suicide’ or karabiner style clips, but that is a personal opinion, however by delivering a range of products with a variety of different clips they’ve certainly catered for the entire diving market. 

And I’ve used a number of his ‘straps’ on various dives; including for teaching, on my camera, on deco dives and on my BSAC National Instructor exam.  A few examples of where I’ve used them can be found below:

Teaching cards and camera lanyard (Trigger Snap with Cord).

Twisted loop.

Drop weights used on the bottom of a trapeze (Original).

Wrist lanyards used for my branch’s dive computers (Wrist Lanyard).

For more information why not check out their website or any of their social media sites. Look out for them at a dive show or demo day near you soon.

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI & SDI/TDI diver training

l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk I

APEKS HOSE RETAINER

As most readers of my blog, or for those that follow my Facebook page know, I dive a hogarthian style setup 99% of the time.  This includes both recreational and technical configurations.  As most of you may know, the principles of an hogarthian system include minimalism, efficiency, safety, and team diving.  So how do we stow the long hose?  As discussed in my twinset setup blogs we can either tuck it in the waist band of our harness or behind our light canister. 

I have tended to favor the light canister as I’ve not had much luck with tucking it into the waist band; it always seems to pop out.  This generally meant I dived with a canister light even when I didn’t need to.  Now some may say that this is not an issue, however for me, as most of my diving is off RHIBs I’m extremely conscious of the damage that could be caused when hauling the kit over the side after a dive, and even the damage that could be caused once in stowage.  Damaged caused by light cables on the floor that could get trodden on, especially if E/O, and the strain on the cable by the canister if bent when everything is bungeed in.

My crude homemade version

So, to combat this, I really wanted what I called a ‘hog stick’.  I had seen some around over the last few years from other manufacturers, especially with the newer hand held primary lights that didn’t need a separate battery, however I could not find a supplier in the UK, so I decided to make my own.

It’s crude, but it did the job and only cost a few quid.  I would have loved to cut a webbing slot into the delrin rod but unfortunately I didn’t have the tools.  Fast forward a year and I hear rumors that Apeks have something in development.  And voila, the Apeks Hose Retainer was born.  I bought mine as soon as it was released.

The hose retainer is very well made; machined from a single piece of delrin with a slot to fit any standard 2" webbing, so it can be used on pretty much any harness or BCD.  It comes with rounded ends, unlike mine, so you won’t feel it dig in to your suit when moving, and also unlike mine, it doesn’t have any clamps that could rub against your suit causing a leak.

My initial thoughts after the first few tries was that it was possibly a little too short as the hose slipped off a few times during the dives, however I soon learnt that if you pull your hose tight as you’re looping it around it works fine.

I’ve now been using it for about 5 months and recently got back from a 2 week trip where I was using it non-stop on a recreational configuration diving from RHIBs.  Absolutely no issues to report and the long hose didn’t once become unlooped. 

As usual, another excellent build by Apeks.

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI & SDI/TDI diver training

l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l

APEKS LIFELINE SPOOL

Over a year later than intended, I thought it was about time that I wrote a short piece about the Apeks LifeLine Spool.

The spools are available in four sizes; 15m, 30m, 45m, and more recently, 60m.  I’ve been using the (green) 30m spool.  Mine was purchased back in 2016 at the same time as my Apeks Manifold and Bands so I’ve been using it now for some time. 

First impressions, other than the price, is that the spool is solid.  It really is well built.   The size of the spool along with the nobly edges make It really easy to grip, and the large hole in the center allows plenty of movement if you were to hold it between thumb and forefinger.  Certainly no risk of jamming if using it to deploy a DSMB (as I do). 

Moving onto the line, it is brightly colored so no chance of mistaking it, something that I really like, just like the line on Kent Tooling’s reels.  Because of the shape of the spool, and because the line is flat rather than round like traditional line, the line is very compact and unlike other spools does not interfere with the access to the holes around the edges.  However, the flat line can cause it to slip through the p-clip.  To that end, I would only use this spool for DSMBs and not for line laying.

There is also a swivel on the end to prevent twists when reeling in, as well as a sewn strip to make access easy, especially in UK waters with thick gloves.  The system does work well, however personally I feel it can be too over engineered (if that even is a problem).  A classic ‘woody’ would work equally well.

Swivel & sewn strip 

Classic 'woody' and loop

Lastly the spool also comes complete with a 316 stainless steel double ended bolt snap. 

Overall the spool is extremely well built and is great to use for DSMBs.  It would probably be great to use for line laying, and I have previously done so, but I wouldn’t in the future due to the line trap risk.  The space saving solution has caused a small problem.  But, a minor point on an otherwise excellent build by Apeks.

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI & SDI/TDI diver training

l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l

APEKS MANIFOLD AND BANDS

Twelve months later than originally planned, I’ve finally got around to writing my review of the Apeks Manifold and Bands.  And I have to admit, Apeks have delivered yet another top notch product.

In January 2016, about five minutes after the picture on the right was taken I managed to slip over.  Now I know why they call it a slipway!  Although I didn’t notice it at the time, one of my cylinders had moved on impact and bent the manifold (left).

 

All my equipment is purchased as I’m not sponsored so I had a dilemma, replace the center section or try the new Apeks valves.  I chose the latter but got blanking plugs for my old valves and recouped some of the cash as they were ideal for sidemounters.  The new bands weren’t required but I’m a tart so why not?!? Again the old ones were sold to recoup some of the costs.

My initial thoughts were that they were very smooth to use, much more than my previous valves, and I thought that they were smooth.  So much so, one of my safety divers on a recent TDI AN/DP course  commented:

“we all need to go out and buy an apeks manifold after watching Tim turn his valves with one finger.  Git”

The valves are extremely well made, and like their regulator dust caps, have spare o-rings inside the knobs.  The bands are equally as well made and provide excellent stability to your cylinders.

I’m currently looking at getting another twinset for teaching and I’m dubious about going back to  any other valves.

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI & SDI/TDI diver training

l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l

KWARK NAVY

Back in the winter of 2010/2011 I bought myself a set of Fourth Element Arctics as they were the undersuit of choice at the time.  Fast forward 5 years or so and the water was starting to get a little bit nippy so I decided to purchase a Kwark Navy Scooter Vest as an extra layer for the colder months.  This is not a reflection of the Arctic undersuit, but more likely its age and mistreatment in a tumble dryer over the years. 

The vest was excellent.  It fitted directly over the top of my Arctics and added an extra layer of warmth without restricting movement or making any noticeable difference to my weighting. 

However, even during the summer months, it’s easy to get cold when teaching as a lot of your time is spent static demonstrating or observing skills.  The same applies to safety diving, so during TEKCamp 2016 I chatted to John Shaw about trying a Kwark Navy Undersuit.  After only one dive I was sold and placed my order immediately. 

When my undersuit arrived, I had time to look at it in much more detail.  My first impressions were that it wasn’t as stylish as some of the newer Fourth Element wear, however, if you look through that the attention to detail is excellent.  Firstly, it’s thick, much thicker than the Arctics, but super stretchy.  Seriously, you can pull it in your hands.  This means that the undersuit remains tight, and avoid unnecessary air gaps, whilst allowing complete freedom of movement.  There is no restriction as you can feel the suit stretch as you do.  It’s also very warm, even indoors.  The only real issue I had was getting the thing off!  Next, the legs come with stirrups to keep them from riding up, and the arms come with thumb loops for the same reason.  I now use these loops to allow the migration of air when using my dry gloves, rather than using a separate device.  It has a number of storage pockets, not only for your hands if you’re without your dry suit, but the chest one comes complete with a zip for storing keys etc…  And it also comes complete with a p valve hole, something that I had to add to my Arctics.

In water, the suit is extremely warm and very comfortable.  Much more than my previous Arctics, although it would be interesting to do a side by side comparison with a modern set of the Arctic Expeditions.

It is claimed that the suit doesn’t retain water and is still very warm when wet.  Fortunately, I’ve not had to test this theory, but, after a wash it does come out of the machine almost dry.

I’ve certainly no complaints about the Kwark Navy Undersuit, and in Scotland later this year I hope to combine it with the Scooter Vest which is currently redundant.  And I’m almost certain that I’ll probably be getting some of the socks too.  This is the best undersuit I have worn so far.

The Kwark range is available in a number of unisex and women’s sizes.  If you do have any questions, feel free to ask to John or myself as I can now supply these as well.

To finish off this article I’ll quote from Clare, a student and satisfied customer:

“Finally found me the best undersuit ever!! Never had such a warm dive in cold water!  Even my hands weren't that bad this week either! Kwark for the win!!”

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI & SDI/TDI diver training

l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l