Background
Quite a few years ago, I posted about the DIY dual cam band brackets that I had acquired through Mike Hall. I’ve had numerous people reach out to me to get more details and to build their own version of these. The last time this happened, the person offered to build me a new set since mine are starting to show some age. During that process, he learned that rEvo was planning to build their own version of the “dual cam band” travel style brackets so he held off.
They recently started selling these brackets so I bought a set to test and use. This post will provide details on the new brackets and the benefits compared to the DIY solution.
DIY Solution Limitations
The biggest (and really the only) issue I have had with the current system I’m using is that the lower cam band sits a little too low on the tank and can often slip down and not get a firm hold. This isn’t really a big problem in practice and I’ve never had it cause an issue. However, it is a bit annoying and due to the way the brackets are constructed and welded, there really isn’t any way to change that.
Below are some pictures of how the bracket looks without a tank, how the strap sits when first cinched and then how it often slips down.
Again, this isn’t a big deal and I’ve used these tank fixation brackets for almost five years. The other downside is that if it breaks or has a problem, I don’t have an easy way to fix or replace them since I’m not a welder. I know people who are so I’m sure I could find a solution, but it isn’t “easy.”
New rEvo Brackets
I’m not sure if this was partly inspired by Mike Hall and his original dual cam brackets and/or my posts about them, but rEvo designed and built their own version of these brackets (spare part R630 for O2 side and R631 for the Diluent side.) Since mine are starting to show some age and I would like a better system, I splurged and bought a pair of the brackets. Below are the pictures of the brackets from the rEvo site:
They definitely solve the problem of the lower cam band slip down and are nicely designed. They also feature an angled bracket to better hold the tanks (not that this was a problem with my current system but it is a nice touch). Photo comparison of the two types of brackets:
The brackets cost €105 each but that includes VAT and I’m buying them outside Belgium. The cost to me was €87/each plus shipping from Belgium via FedEx (not cheap) at €57 for a total of €231 which is about US$240 at the time of writing.
I’m not sure how much all the parts & pieces would cost nowadays to build my own brackets, but I think it would probably end up costing a little less, but probably not by much.
I put the new brackets on and installed a tank. Sure enough, the lower cam band sits higher on the tank and not so close to the neck. I did a dive with them last weekend and they worked very well. Overall, I’m happy with the new brackets and will keep the old ones around as backup in case I ever need them.
The larger tank bands always seemed to be an overkill for this situation. Many brands make a narrow band about one inch wide for smaller tanks. Scubapro called it a clinch and Diverite has a similar unit for argon tank backplate attachment. Diverite seems more interested in worm gear ( jubilee clamp style) steel bands recently.
You might want to see if the narrow band makes it easier to grip the tank, higher in the slot. This would stop the problem with angling of the material which is leading to the release issue.
I was always curious why they did not use a single tank adapter in this design, that you could move up and down the back frame of the unit? That would seem easier.
Andrew
Thanks for reading and for the feedback.
rEvo does make a single tank adapter but I found it a bit unstable for a tall steel 3L tank. I think I referenced in the original post I wrote when we built the DIY version of the dual cam-band adapter. I tested it and preferred the two cam band version.
I love the dual cam bands so much that I’ve left them on permanently instead of just using them travel.
Thanks for working with revo to get this upgrade. It’s a huge improvement.
Thanks for reading and for the feedback, Anna. I do the same as I have 4 different O2 and Diluent tanks at home and the travel brackets make it easy to move things around.