I have been keeping my Olympus 720 WP camera on a lanyard clipped into the loop in the pocket of my PFD. I won’t loose it that way, but coiling up the lanyard is a hassle.
On my trip back home from Pgh yesterday I stopped at the Cabelas in Wheeling WV and by chance saw this little Nikon rangefinder retractable lanyard.
http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0038625712566a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=nikon&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=nikon&noImage=0
This item uses a SS cable, so it ought to be strong enough for boating. I will clip it to the PFD, and have replaced the split ring with a very short lanyard to hook to the camera’s lanyard anchor.
Jim
http://www.gearkeeper.com/
http://www.gearkeeper.com/ seems to be the same thing with more options for cable length and pull force - plus different attachment options.
While I like the idea of these…
– Last Updated: Jun-16-06 7:32 AM EST –
...and may pick one up to try, my one concern is that if you happen to get entangled in it, you can't cut the steel cable with a knife or rescue hook. If you're going to use a lanyard that you can't cut, keep it as short as practical to reduce the likelihood of entanglement. Also, securing the attached device to your PFD will reduce the likelihood of the lanyard being deployed in the event of a capsize, again reducing the entanglement hazzard.
I agree
My setup is thus: I threaded a plasticshoulder strap D-ring onto my right PFD shoulder strap. The retainer (yes, it was made by Hammerhead) clips to the D. The recoil housing, the size of a small matchbox lays flat against the PFD. I removed the units split ring and threaded a piece of Kelty Triptease cord for camera attachment. The cord is tough with a Spectra core but will cut readily with a rescue knife. When the camera is stowed and the PFD pocket is closed there is little to catch onto other gear.
I would not use this for surf. And my QCC500 and living in WV pretty much keeps me out of surf!
Jim