Self made octo retractor

[Sasha_K]

Just wanted to give this a shot. I am very much a do-it-yourself type of a guy so....I have these 50 or so card key "zippies" you'd generally use at work for your name tag. They are left over from some marketing campaign we did. Last night I decided to give ti a try, so I connected it to a keychain 'O' ring and then to the octo 'plug'. This way it attaches very neatly to my BC.

Now the question is, how will the zippe take the water. Or, how will it take the salty water when the time comes.

The first test is tonight in the pool. Do you think it will work?

See attached picture.

[ScubaToys Larry]

I'd bet it will take at least 3 dives until the insides becomes a ball or rust that won't retract any more. Do you want the under - or over??

[unclepooty]

Mine only lasted one dive

[bubbletrubble]

Anything that isn't stainless steel (SS) will rust rather quickly. The keychain split-ring will definitely rust. If the innards of the retractor aren't SS, they will also rust. I'm tempted to take the "under" with Larry, but I don't know how long the gadget will be sitting topside in-between saltwater dives. I am assuming that his "bet" was for saltwater dives. Realistically, I think all that would be needed is one dive in salt water...with enough time afterward for oxidation to occur. :-)

I applaud your enthusiasm to DIY, but...Just curious. Why does an octo need to be on a retractor? Seems to me it just needs to be held in place until it's needed. Then with a sharp tug it should separate from the holder. Am I missing something here?

[harb99]

i would bet on the under

[Sasha_K]

Wow, all this confidence in my work :-) LOL. Still, I'm not confident enough to place a bet on the over side.

Honors based system - I'm going to report the progress. I have 3 more pool sessions for AOW, and then 6 open water dives.

RE: Just curious. Why does an octo need to be on a retractor? Seems to me it just needs to be held in place until it's needed. Then with a sharp tug it should separate from the holder. Am I missing something here?

You are not missing anything, I don't have any other toy to leave hanging off of it, so just using the octo to play around with it for now.

[Vercingetorix]

When I used that same octo insert. I zip-tied it to my right shoulder D-ring. Thus, if OOA buddy needs air, he's more tempted to grab the octo vice my reg. Now, my octo is on a necklace, so OOA buddy gets the main reg.

I wouldn't want an octo on a retractor. When the OOA diver wants air, he doesn't need yet another encumbrance to deal with.

[Sasha_K]

Ok, so after one class and 5 days of sitting at home, it startet making funny noises. So you were right, I was wrong, there you go :-)

[mchain]

I guess Larry knows what he is talking about, lol.