mares quatro incident

[coralcrazed]

I was divin recently and my fin fell off. doen't sound like a big deal but at that moment I had too much air in my BC and started to rise quickly. I immediatly dumped my bc but instictively I first tried to swim down. a hard thing to do without a fin. here is a solution.

http://www.cyber-strategy.org/pers/FinStraps.html

[coralcrazed]

I am surprised that no one else has ever had a problem with thier fins. I was really hoping to get some responces of what people thought of the link? I am planning to do this to my quatros but am a bit hesitant. the original straps that come with the fins are real cool looking but they do allow the staps to come off the peg shown in the pictures of the link. I also find that I am constantly trying to re-adjust the straps which could lead to task loading. lets face it... th last thing any diver wantsto worry bout is thier fins. Anone out there recommend or has don this. I'm looking for advise weather or not to takle this project? thanks

[ScubaToys Larry]

I moved this to the DIY Forum. That link has been around for a long time, and I have heard of some people doing it. I think it's just one of those things that unless someone wants to tinker... by the time you gather up the parts and put it all together... if you pay yourself for your time - I don't know if you come out ahead of just buying some spring straps

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detai...ntaSpringStrap

And popping them on.

[TAH 73]

coral crazed, the issue you MAY be having with the Mares Quattro's, is there was a redesign of the buckle assemble quite a while ago.
As soon as I find my digi cam I will take pic's of the inside of the old buckle vs the new.

[BSea]

I looked at doing this till I priced everything out. It's just about as cheap to buy a pair even without the time invested. I don't mind a little DIY, but I usually do it to have some thing unique, or to save some money. This didn't do either.

But they do look good, so by all means go for it, and let us know how it works for you.

[Hollywood703]

lol....was out diving this weekend and my buddy had his mares avanti strap break....Mine are 11 years old and look brand new.

[torrey]

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

I moved this to the DIY Forum. That link has been around for a long time, and I have heard of some people doing it. I think it's just one of those things that unless someone wants to tinker... by the time you gather up the parts and put it all together... if you pay yourself for your time - I don't know if you come out ahead of just buying some spring straps and popping them on.

Good point. In accounting, this could be thought of as something called "opportunity cost", or the value of what is given up to pursue one opportunity over another. In this case, you have to decide how valuable your time is. If you love doing something like this yourself and get emotional satisfaction from it, then there's a trade-off. If you don't like doing stuff yourself and are just trying to save money, then you have to think about how long it will take to do and what else you could be doing with that time lost...whether it be another hour or two watching tv, spending time with kids, at the movies, studying for school, prettying up the yard, etc.

As Larry mentioned, you can also determine what your hourly wage is at your job, then figure up how long it will take you to make these straps plus the cost of materials. If it comes near the cost of pre-made straps, then you may be better off working an extra hour or two at your job (if you can) and just order a set.

[CompuDude]

Spring Straps rock.

Depending on which ones you buy, however, it's not that much more cash to buy commercially-built ones compared to DIY straps. So unless you really enjoy the experience of a DIY project, I'd just buy a set of spring straps.

Edit: Torrey beat me to it! LOL

[torrey]

Personally, I've never had any problems with any of my fin straps, so I don't really see what all the excitement is over spring straps.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by torrey

Personally, I've never had any problems with any of my fin straps, so I don't really see what all the excitement is over spring straps.

That's because (a) you've never had a problem (but there are a lot of people who have had problems, so you've just been lucky), and (b) you've never tried them.

There's nothing wrong with regular straps, aside from their being far less durable than spring straps. It is a joy, however, to be able to pop your fins on and off in a second, literally, and have them be perfectly adjusted each time. It's a small joy most of the time, but if you're doing a beach dive and struggling to get your fins on and get through the surf zone before you get pounded, that small convenience makes a big difference. Also, if you're holding up the line at the boat's gate while you futz with your fins straps, you learn to appreciate spring straps as well. DMs who remove your fins for you at the swim step also really like them.

Small convenience... but it can be a huge help nonetheless. Once you get used to that convenience, you'll never want to go back.