dry suit pockets - help please

vid · August 21st, 2006, 04:26 PM

mrs vid is finally going to get pockets fitted to her dry suit, rather than using her OMS "bum bag" on her belt

usual contents for UK diving - wet notes; spare mask; spool; smb etc etc

she wants a bellows design and a velcro opening/closure

there's a lot of designs/makes out there - but the most prevalent appears to be halcyon - with a lot of dui suits have been altered with these too

any comments on designs / faults would be most appreciated, before she commits the cash

ta

vid

Jonathan · August 21st, 2006, 04:37 PM

the dir-zone ones will save you some dosh over the halcyon ones. Cue niknaks!

Crispy Fiver · August 21st, 2006, 05:14 PM

Another vote for DIRZone ones. I stuck one on the night of Fundies and the other one the other week. Both are still on and are very good. They have been described by a none DIR diver as the estate version of dry suit pockets.!!

I went for the bellows type and for me they are great. Seriously you cant go wrong.

Jamie

Phil O · August 21st, 2006, 05:32 PM

Vid

I had 2 pockets put on by SDS in Sheffield. They used Bowstone pockets which are very similar to DUI bellows pockets ... except for the price.

The ones I had were similar to item 7516 here - Bowstone - but without the logo

Tricky · August 21st, 2006, 05:35 PM

I bought the Bowstone pocket after a recommendation from Phil (and Nackers didn't have the DIRZone bellows one in stock). I dived with it for the first time last week in Scapa and I'm more than happy with it. I'll be getting a second one for the left leg soon, although I may have to remove the logo label

Joe Hesketh · August 21st, 2006, 06:06 PM

I had the standard type bellows pockets on my old suit. They were DUI, but similar to others recommended here. They all work fine. However, I have the Halcyon ones on my new suit and much prefer them for a number of reasons:

They have a tight flap of material close to the leg the length of the pocket which you can slide Wetnotes or a set of tables, etc. without having to clip them off.
They have a small pocket on the outside flap of the pocket itself - useful for putting small flat items in (I have a SOLAS whistle in one and the bolt for my p-valve in the other).
They have a sort of tapered design which is larger at the bottom than the top. Sounds weird but seems to work well in practice - a large benefit is the increased streamlining of the right side when the pocket is empty. E.g. in caves I only have a set of Wetnotes in the right side, but the bellows don’t really stay flat and fining through still water you can actually feel the pocket acting like a drogue. Haven’t noticed this with the Halcyon.

Downsides are they seem to be a little harder to stick on. Best bet to avoid any peeling is to find somewhere that will glue and stitch them (aquasuring the inside on the stitching like DUI seams). Also they are a tiny bit smaller than the DUI ones but I can still fit a large SMB and two spools in one pocket. If you need a really big one though, Halcyon now do an “Exploration” pocket which is massive.

You pays your money…

HTH
Joe

vid · August 21st, 2006, 06:48 PM

thanks for all of the responses so far - keep them coming

Quote: (Originally Posted by Joe Hesketh)

They have a tight flap of material close to the leg the length of the pocket which you can slide Wetnotes or a set of tables, etc. without having to clip them off.

joe - what size wetnotes can you get in there? a halcyon notebook, or some thing a bit slimmer?

ta

vid

Joe Hesketh · August 21st, 2006, 07:13 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by vid)

joe - what size wetnotes can you get in there? a halcyon notebook, or some thing a bit slimmer?

Vid - I have an XNotes cordura wallet thing (similar to the Halcyon) - it's fairly fat with pages plus three pencils and a foresters' compass in the back.

Joe

TobinGeorge · August 21st, 2006, 09:25 PM

Another choice:

http://www.deepseasupply.com/page27.html

Tobin

Anders Knudsen · August 21st, 2006, 09:47 PM

Well I have been using all kinds of pockets, DIR-Zone, Bowstone and Halcyon.

The pockets are quite similar, I like the new D-ring feature in the DUI and the Bowstone, but with some bundgie cord the others are just as good.

My problem is that my pockets wont stay on, I have lost a couple.

What do you guys do to make them stay on a TLS350 dry suite??

Sew them on?? And then use aquasure to make it waterproof?

What glue do you use? How many layers?? Do you cover the entire pocket with glue or just a few centimetres around the edges.

What have you all done ?? plz help a fellow diver who cant think of a good way to convince his parents that he need another TLS in another colour and with pockets mounted from DUI J ( we all love shiny new gear, even if we don’t need it )

best

Anders Knudsen

August 21st, 2006, 05:32 PM	#4 (permalink)
Phil O(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Milton Keynes Posts: 404	Vid I had 2 pockets put on by SDS in Sheffield. They used Bowstone pockets which are very similar to DUI bellows pockets ... except for the price. The ones I had were similar to item 7516 here - Bowstone - but without the logo __________________ Phil

August 21st, 2006, 05:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tricky(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, Berkshire Posts: 579	I bought the Bowstone pocket after a recommendation from Phil (and Nackers didn't have the DIRZone bellows one in stock). I dived with it for the first time last week in Scapa and I'm more than happy with it. I'll be getting a second one for the left leg soon, although I may have to remove the logo label __________________ "I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant." "Make me one with everything" said the Mystic to the Hamburger vendor. Sigmastorm RPG - Play online now free! UK Diving Forum Sryth: A Free Online Text RPG Join the Adventure! Fallen Sword: Free online RPG

August 21st, 2006, 06:06 PM	#6 (permalink)
Joe Hesketh(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 705	I had the standard type bellows pockets on my old suit. They were DUI, but similar to others recommended here. They all work fine. However, I have the Halcyon ones on my new suit and much prefer them for a number of reasons: They have a tight flap of material close to the leg the length of the pocket which you can slide Wetnotes or a set of tables, etc. without having to clip them off. They have a small pocket on the outside flap of the pocket itself - useful for putting small flat items in (I have a SOLAS whistle in one and the bolt for my p-valve in the other). They have a sort of tapered design which is larger at the bottom than the top. Sounds weird but seems to work well in practice - a large benefit is the increased streamlining of the right side when the pocket is empty. E.g. in caves I only have a set of Wetnotes in the right side, but the bellows don’t really stay flat and fining through still water you can actually feel the pocket acting like a drogue. Haven’t noticed this with the Halcyon. Downsides are they seem to be a little harder to stick on. Best bet to avoid any peeling is to find somewhere that will glue and stitch them (aquasuring the inside on the stitching like DUI seams). Also they are a tiny bit smaller than the DUI ones but I can still fit a large SMB and two spools in one pocket. If you need a really big one though, Halcyon now do an “Exploration” pocket which is massive. You pays your money… HTH Joe

August 21st, 2006, 09:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
TobinGeorge (Online) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Southern California Posts: 694	Another choice: http://www.deepseasupply.com/page27.html Tobin __________________ http://www.deepseasupply.com

August 21st, 2006, 09:47 PM	#10 (permalink)
Anders Knudsen(Offline) I dont do fish Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 271	Well I have been using all kinds of pockets, DIR-Zone, Bowstone and Halcyon. The pockets are quite similar, I like the new D-ring feature in the DUI and the Bowstone, but with some bundgie cord the others are just as good. My problem is that my pockets wont stay on, I have lost a couple. What do you guys do to make them stay on a TLS350 dry suite?? Sew them on?? And then use aquasure to make it waterproof? What glue do you use? How many layers?? Do you cover the entire pocket with glue or just a few centimetres around the edges. What have you all done ?? plz help a fellow diver who cant think of a good way to convince his parents that he need another TLS in another colour and with pockets mounted from DUI J ( we all love shiny new gear, even if we don’t need it ) best Anders Knudsen __________________ Best regards Anders Knudsen www.Gadevang-UE.dk

August 21st, 2006, 04:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
vid(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: london/surrey border, UK Posts: 356	mrs vid is finally going to get pockets fitted to her dry suit, rather than using her OMS "bum bag" on her belt usual contents for UK diving - wet notes; spare mask; spool; smb etc etc she wants a bellows design and a velcro opening/closure there's a lot of designs/makes out there - but the most prevalent appears to be halcyon - with a lot of dui suits have been altered with these too any comments on designs / faults would be most appreciated, before she commits the cash ta vid

August 21st, 2006, 04:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jonathan(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 215	the dir-zone ones will save you some dosh over the halcyon ones. Cue niknaks!

August 21st, 2006, 05:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
Crispy Fiver(Offline) New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London Posts: 122	Another vote for DIRZone ones. I stuck one on the night of Fundies and the other one the other week. Both are still on and are very good. They have been described by a none DIR diver as the estate version of dry suit pockets.!! I went for the bellows type and for me they are great. Seriously you cant go wrong. Jamie

August 21st, 2006, 06:48 PM	#7 (permalink)
vid(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: london/surrey border, UK Posts: 356	thanks for all of the responses so far - keep them coming Quote: (Originally Posted by Joe Hesketh) They have a tight flap of material close to the leg the length of the pocket which you can slide Wetnotes or a set of tables, etc. without having to clip them off. joe - what size wetnotes can you get in there? a halcyon notebook, or some thing a bit slimmer? ta vid

August 21st, 2006, 07:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
Joe Hesketh(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 705	Quote: (Originally Posted by vid) joe - what size wetnotes can you get in there? a halcyon notebook, or some thing a bit slimmer? Vid - I have an XNotes cordura wallet thing (similar to the Halcyon) - it's fairly fat with pages plus three pencils and a foresters' compass in the back. Joe