You won't come across the following in the usual diving texts, but the applications are endless and the safety implications will speak for themselves. The best thing of all is that if you choose to try any of the ideas it won't cost you a penny! What's this guy on about? - you say. The answer is just simple common sense.
These days there are all sorts of fascinating courses to be tried and all manner of equipment and kit configurations that catch the eye. But nowhere at this point in time will you come across the 'Snoopy'. The 'Snoopy Loop' is a term familiar to every British cave diver but worldwide its adoption has been patchy to say the least. They are not to be found in the clear warm waters of the Florida springs, the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. We are talking about the use of small loops of car/vehicle inner tube, which are freely available from the waste bin at any garage or tyre installation centre.
Described in their simplest form these rubber loops are analogous to 'heavy duty elastic bands'. They are extremely easy to make and use. Snoopies are fashioned by carefully cutting a car inner tube into loops approximately one or two centimetres wide. Using a good pair of scissors is far better than a knife as it is important to achieve a tidy clean cut. The use of a knife invariably results in a ragged loop and any form of nick, or hole, may start a tear and consequent breakage when the snoopy is put to use underwater. Like any piece of equipment I would recommend testing prior to use - in this instance you apply a good two-armed stretching trial to the loop before including it in your kit bag. You will be absolutely amazed how strong these loops are and by how much they will stretch! If you break one or two in the process it's no bad thing as you will quickly establish the reason for the failure and will naturally try and ensure that a similar weakness is avoided in the future. You will quickly learn that ragged edged loops break more easily than smooth cuts, that perished sections of tubes are to be discarded and that owing to the curvature of the tube you frequently end up with quantities of seemingly useless triangular-shaped pieces of rubber in order to maintain a uniform shaped loop.
Subsequently you may well discover a use for these initially undesirable off-cuts as well! Snoopies can be made from bicycle inner tube, all the way through to tractor and other heavy plant tubes. The loops can be fashioned to any width or shape and with a little experience, you can actually determine the amount of stretchiness so that the snoopy meets the requirement of your application.
The use of the snoopy originated in cave diving circles and the examples mentioned here have all been thoroughly tried and tested - they work brilliantly. The applications in the wider field of technical diving, and certainly with regard to wreck penetration, are obvious but I commend their use to divers generally.
The snoopy is without doubt most adaptable and versatile accessory in the cave diver's kit. I would go as far as to say that if you (as a cave diver) aren't carrying at least half a dozen of these there's something wrong! It never ceases to amaze me what uses these things can be put to. We are not talking of three or four possible applications here but literally scores and scores. And their potential use extends far beyond the world of the diver; I know of one colleague for example who saved the day (and the next three) on a high level mountaineering expedition by using one of these to re-attach his crampon when the normal strap failed!
Snoopy loops were originally conceived for purposes of line laying in caves. They have therefore immediate and obvious application in the sphere of wreck penetration. They can be used with any type of line but you would do well to reflect carefully upon the preferred type of reel, particularly when it comes to the recovery of the line. Using a large, open frame reel, allows you to wind in the line with the snoopy loops still attached, without having to stop finning for more than a second or two (you can remove the snoopy from the line back on shore later). In reduced visibility and in cold water this is an important consideration.
Beyond the subject of effective line laying and management one arrives at the diver's personal equipment. Anything that hangs free in the water is a potential worry, either from entrapment or from difficulty of location. You can use a snoopy to secure virtually anything anywhere and still deploy that item quickly in an emergency. Be it pressure gauge/console to a forearm or a harness D-ring; a quick & easy back-up/safety strap for your computer/s. How many of us have lost a knife on a dive? Whichever way you wear the thing (be it on the arm or leg) with a snoopy attached close to the end of the handle and then e.g. lightly stretched over the sheath (or your hand and wrist in the case of the forearm) you can guarantee the tool being there when you need it. You can use snoopies to great effect to cover fin straps/buckles, attach torches to helmets, give protection to cylinders, and fix heavy battery packs or an SMB to diving cylinders. Think, there are moments in diving when both your hands need to be free; those are the times when, if you've got a snoopy attachment, you can instantly drop the camera and flash, light, line reel, whatever, and sort out the immediate problem.
You can carry the spare snoopy loops in any number of different ways. British cave divers carry them 'woven' into semi-permanent rubber loops on their side-mounted diving cylinders. You might include a few in a suit or BC pocket. A possible concern here is that when you attempt to free just one you can end up releasing several and in the process lose some. Another, better, option is body mounting a few upon the thigh where they are nice and easy to get at. Just a little thought is all that is required! As with any item of equipment the most important thing is that you know where it is located and that you can get at it easily.
Snoopy loops may not look like state of the art kit but the uses they can be put to never cease to amaze. In the area of problem solving they have no equal. You may never wish to take up cave diving or venture inside a wreck, but it is a rare person who would not benefit in some way from utilising or carrying a few of these on a dive. And remember, unlike torch batteries, light sticks and all those exceedingly hi-tec bits and bobs from the dive store these won't cost you a penny. Now, there's food for thought!
By Martyn Farr.
Martyn Farr is a TDI Cavern, Nitrox and Full Cave Instructor and can be contacted at 'Farrworld' Tel/Fax 01873 811085
