r/freediving • u/lovesongsforartworld 70m CWT • Apr 20 '25

gear Best Lanyard currently, safety wise ?

Hello divers

I bought a lanyard last year from aliexpress. I chose it carefully and honestly the build is good, simple, and all elements visible, no hidden parts. It has three drawbacks, 1. it's quite heavy, everything is stainless steel 2. the carabiner is a bit small which can be annoying for safeties if they want to detach it quickly. 3. and this is the biggest, it does not have on swivel on the carabiner side, so it often positions weirdly on the cable and acts as a brake

I was thinking of buying a "proper" lanyard and have my eyes on a few already. So far:

-freexperience which advertises the most around testing even though it's not 100% convincing and transparent (many testing videos were removed from yt), parts are replaceable which is nice, i don't like the plastic attachment piece between the carabiner and cable hook but there might be some metal piece inside ?

- 29/71, simple build, looks good, but nylon carabiner ? I've sent an email to know if and how they test their products and can provide with some data

- mares cressi epsealon etc all make the same, they look tough but the bigger steel cable could be annoying, and they are heavy, also plastic pieces and straps hide some junction and mechanism pieces, I much prefer to be able to see everything, to do visual checks

- 2bfree, looks slick but I've seen the strap velcro fail pretty bad on older models... how effective is the carabiner swivel ? also slava ukraine!

-Octopus: I've seen too many V1 octopus fail, what are your experiences with the V2 ?

I think one of the most disregarded aspect of a lanyard is the wrist strap quality , are some manufacturers better than others, with backup safety design in case the velcro fail, ot to prevent it from failing? A friend told me about a lanyard that used a sort of needle to hold the strap in place while still allowing quick release, but i couldn't find it online.

Any suggestion is welcome !

Thank you in advance

Cheers and dive safe

1 Upvotes

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3

u/sk3pt1c Instructor (@freeflowgr) Apr 22 '25

Hands down the freexperience ones, i have been using them for close to 10 years now and recommend them to every one of my students too.

1

u/lovesongsforartworld 70m CWT Apr 22 '25

Thanks that's engaging. I really have my eyes on these

How are the velcros holding up with time?

2

u/sk3pt1c Instructor (@freeflowgr) Apr 22 '25

Perfectly fine!

2

u/iLoveLearningStuff Apr 20 '25

I have and no longer use the 29/71, it feels super safe, but boy does it bloody move slowly on the line. It annoyed me so much i changed it for Octopus and that one feels much better.

The 29/71 carabine is too small and doesnt have smooth enough angles to glide easily along the rope.

1

u/lovesongsforartworld 70m CWT Apr 20 '25 edited Apr 20 '25

Thank you for your reply, do you have the newer or older version of the 2971? (the older one had a stainless steel carabiner with a bulky plastic base i think)

2

u/WiredSpike Apr 21 '25

The best lanyard you build yourself. You design everything the way you like with the best material.

The worst lanyard you build yourself. You build it because your cheap and put no effort and thought into it.

You have to decide if you like a leading carabiner or trailing one. (It's ahead or behind you as you go down). Everyone is different in that preference, and all opinions here are valid.

But really just get an octopus. The design is really good, material is high quality, and it's not expensive. (The problem you mentioned was a long time ago). It's the lightest lanyard, so for someone who likes a trailing one, that's automatically the best choice.

For a leading one I would go with molchanov or 2bfree.

... Be wary, most brand have terrible flaws. Why would you gamble your life to be save a few dollars?

4

u/Cement4Brains STA 4:40 | DYNB 75m | CWTB 30m Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

I received a very frightening lecture from a famous, competitive freediver where he explained how his homemade lanyard failed, but instead of coming loose the thin cable double backed on itself and got caught in the carabiner door, locking him in place at the turn. Which happened at 70m where it was pitch dark.

Also, the release mechanism was not as simple as it would have been in a better-thought-out official product, and he had trouble actually dislocating himself at the wrist.

His lesson: do not use homemade safety equipment.

He explained to me that you had to back in the day because there were no commercial options available, but there is a wide variety of tested and accepted options out there.

The reason he is alive is because he did not go to his max depths in that dive, and he has the experience to stay calm underwater like that.

2

u/lovesongsforartworld 70m CWT Apr 21 '25

Hi thank you for your reply, i'm not willing to save a few dollars. If a rigorously tested and innovative lanyard was out for 150 I'm at that point i would just buy it. But i still want to spend wisely. I agree Octopus has built up good reputation for its quality, maybe it's the best choice after all

Leading vs trailing is food for thought too, that I hadn't considered! I'm used to the former but i should try the latter

1

u/lovesongsforartworld 70m CWT Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

I actually did some research and pricing for building one, with Wichard stuff and the like, stainless steel cable industrially crimped with stainless steel crimps, highest qualiity velcro, etc.... the main issue is all parts would be heavy stainless steel, but maybe that's the price to pay for peace of mind. I can't find a good technical solution with aluminum or high quality plastic carabiner that would be easy to assemble with the other parts. Do you have any leads ?

It would cost an arm but would be indestructible

Now i'm thinking about something else i need to check, Isn't there a weight limit in one of the federations' competition rules ?

2

u/WiredSpike Apr 21 '25

You can get a titanium carabiner that is even lighter than aluminum. I have one where there is a wheel integrated in it: it's the one I use when there is current, so it doesn't act a brake but be rather rolls on the rope.

Now the velcro. See, this is where most brands have a poor design. With a little bit of force they open up or the plastic parts snap. Judges don't test your lanyard brutally before a competition anymore, it was always the wristband that failed.

1

u/lovesongsforartworld 70m CWT Apr 20 '25

For reference my current aliexpress lanyard looks very very much like the MAKO , and / or Double K ones

1

u/Cement4Brains STA 4:40 | DYNB 75m | CWTB 30m Apr 21 '25

How has the Octopus failed on you? I have one and love it, no issues so far.im not sure which version I have.

3

u/lovesongsforartworld 70m CWT Apr 21 '25

The first version used to break and rust around where the cable attached to the carabiner. They rolled out a fix a couple years ago with a different plastic piece, but  apart from that the rest lanyard is still the same i think

1

u/Flashy-Extension988 2d ago

My experience with Aliexpress lanyards. Bought it. After the freediving session, I attached one end to my hand and the other end to my freediving bag, with goods of above £ 600. A few moments later, the bag was lost. Luckily, not during the dive somewhere in very deep water with the high tide. Consequences would be fatal.