Snoopy loop
A Snoopy loop is a term used in the British caving and cave diving community to describe a heavy duty elastic band made from a slice of inner tube. When they get lost they are recognizable as a common form of litter .[1]
Also known as ranger bands.
Manufacture
Snoopy loops are easy to make, being cut from old inner tubes, often thrown away by car garages. Varying diameters of inner tube can perform different tasks. To make a snoopy loop one simply cuts off a section of inner tube to a desired width using a pair of scissors - a knife cut leaves a ragged edge which can lead to tearing.
Applications
Caving
They have a wide variety of uses from sealing cuffs of oversuits and collars of boots against the ingress of water, to holding kneepads and elbow pads in place, to securing dive lines to small rocks .[2]
They can also come in handy in the case of an accident for holding injured joints very tightly in place .[3]
Diving
Small snoopy loops made from bicycle inner tubes are used to prevent backup lights clipped to a dive harness from dangling, and large loops from car tubes are used to stow hoses against sling or sidemount cylinders.
Origins
The practice of using Snoopy Loops is believed to have originated in Greece and was spotted by Cave Diving Group members in the late seventies. The practice was then propagated in Yorkshire Dales.[4]
The exact origin was unknown and was subject to much speculation.[4] An improbable explanation told of Norbert Casteret, an early French caver, having his dog Snoupi castrated by the local vet using a bicycle inner tube as a tourniquet. In reality Snoopy Loops were named by Dave Morris, a Cave Diving Group caver who noticed how they 'snooped' around boulders. It was considered a ridiculous name at the time.[5]
References
- ↑ Peter Glanville (1992). "Ten Go Caving In Sutherland". Bristol exploration Club.
- ↑ Martyn Farr. "Snoopy loops". Beyond the Blue.
- ↑ Greg Brock. "04-Aug-01: Hirlatz Hohle".
- 1 2 http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php/topic,8317.0.html
- ↑ http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=8317.0
