Nht bag fails - beware!!!!

[HAYDUKE375]

It was 3 hours before lobster season officially began and I was scrambling for a lobster card.

Sports Chalet saved the day, and soon, I was off, jamming to tunes, speeding towards the ocean. I was esspecially excited to be diving with my new NHT Divers lobster bag, and was hoping it would greatly improve my yeilds, not to mention all the trash I would be able to haul outta the ocean and off beaches...

I did however have some concerns with the quality of manufacturing; specificlly the use of zip ties in a load bearing part of the design.

So, the clock hit 12 AM, and I hit the water...Vis was 8-10. I spot my first bug quickly... its big, but, it was between urchin covered boulders and the surge was up, so I moved on and kept scouting. Ten min later I foundd my first 2 bugs in the open. As the surge pushed me past them, I dove and approached the bugs from behind. The bug had no idea what hit him and before either of us knew it I had a tight grip on him. I reached down , fumble to find the opening to the NHT bag, pulled it open, then suddenly, the rubber band gave way and the bag unraveled in my hand.. .I couldnt believe it!
Until... I thought of those zipties.

It was a great dive, I harvested a LEGAL bug... but its never a good time to have a critical piece of gear fail.
Upon inspection of the bag it was clear that rubberband had slipped through the zipties.

Rather than asking for a replacement from NHT, I opted to fix the problem myself and post the fix on here... luckily they're quick ... Here are the mods I made and reccomend, I hope they save you some trouble...

1. back up the zip ties , or replace the zip ties , with a "constictor" knot that you would use to tie new speargun bands ... 2mm cordage from a local outdoor store should do the trick... The Constrictor knot is essentially a Clove Hitch with a extra wrap...- Pic below-

2. Tie a handle onto the the rubber band with some 1/2 inch tubular nylon...Simply thread loop a 14" section of 1/2" tubular nylon around the rubber band and through a few sections of net, then fold the nylon back on itself, and then tie and overhand knot in the tails.

pic to follow...

~DUKE

[Namor]

Wow that sucks! I have over 100 dives on mine and have filled it with over 25 lbs of crabs and fish without failure. I even have used it with heavy loads out of the water with out a problem. Sorry about your loss, Ive never had a problem with mine and I use it year round with big sheepshead crabs and fish of all sorts, I've got to believe it was a defective assembly job. That said Im going to check mine and make sure its good to go.

Jeremy

[miguelitro]

more good info

Safety Notice!!!


- As the belt bag will be positioned over the groin while in a vertical position, such as when surfacing, we recommend that certain animals NOT be put into a NHT Belt Bag while strapped to a diver’s waist. These animals include, but are not limited to:

California Scorpion Fish
Snapping Turtles
Sea Urchins
Large Crabs
Sharks of any kind
Wolf or Moray eels
Rockfish
Pit Bull Terriers
Additionally, certain man-made objects should not be carried in an NHT Belt Bag while strapped to a user’s waist. These include:

Knives
Chinese throwing stars
Loaded firearms
Chain saws
Bags of broken glass
BBQ skewers
Or any other sharp objects
Finally, studies have shown that carrying block ice in an NHT Belt Bag has resulted in a temporary shrinkage of the male reproductive organ. We do not recommend such usage for this bag.

[Captn Ron]

Originally Posted by miguelitro

more good info

Safety Notice!!!


- As the belt bag will be positioned over the groin while in a vertical position, such as when surfacing, we recommend that certain animals NOT be put into a NHT Belt Bag while strapped to a diver’s waist. These animals include, but are not limited to:

California Scorpion Fish
Snapping Turtles
Sea Urchins
Large Crabs
Sharks of any kind
Wolf or Moray eels
Rockfish
Pit Bull Terriers
Additionally, certain man-made objects should not be carried in an NHT Belt Bag while strapped to a user’s waist. These include:

Knives
Chinese throwing stars
Loaded firearms
Chain saws
Bags of broken glass
BBQ skewers
Or any other sharp objects
Finally, studies have shown that carrying block ice in an NHT Belt Bag has resulted in a temporary shrinkage of the male reproductive organ. We do not recommend such usage for this bag.

[MiguelT]

That's weird, never heard of them failing like that, but good to see there's an easy fix. The only issue I've had with my NHT bag is that it fits so many big bugs you end up feeling like you're dragging a manatee around your waist

[spea feesha]

I had an issue with these bags yesterday at the PSO event. I don't think these things are made for fish as everything i put in it kept sliding right out, I found one of the fish 4 times until it finally dissappeared completely. I Had even more frustrations with the slip tip for my Gat-Ku, tip would not come off once through a fish so they would keep sliding off. Not oer it yet though, may try sanding around the shaft.

[fishnstix]

i lost one with a couple bugs the other nite. i'm calling it bad luck and am looking to buy another one.

[dmay]

I've had mine for 4 or 5 years and never had any issues. I dove with someone a few years back that had gotten theirs get caught on the reef and one good tug broke a piece of the mesh off to free him up. I believe they were designed to break in certain situations so that the bag doesn't drown you.

It's possible that the zip tie is used for that purpose as well. The line you use may not break when needed where the zip tie would. I'd contact the manufacturer to find out for sure so we don't kill someone because there was an intended purpose behind a zip tie being used instead of something else.

[sagen]

I've had great luck with mine for over 3 years now...although when I only have one or two bugs in it I get a blow to the balls every once in a while when there pinballing around....

[Spineshot]

Duke,

I'm sorry to hear about the problem. Like many others, I've been using my NHT bag for many years without any problems. I know Matt personally, and told him about your issue. Here's his response...

"Lance, thank you for notifying me of the incident where one of our bags failed. Given that it was this customer's first time using a new bag, it is likely that the bag failed due to a problem on our end, whether it be human error or even a design malfunction. Either way, we take this seriously. Please let that person know that we apologize and will send him a new bag if he contacts me as a thank-you for letting us know about his experience. We did create a large batch of new bags this summer, and I am open to the possibility that this occurrence may repeat itself. I believe his fix would solve the problem, and I will make sure all new bags that go out from hereon out are similarly whip-tied. If there is a forum to let others know about this, it would be a good idea for everyone to make this quick modification. We also will reconsider a change in design for the next batch we manufacture, which may not be for a couple years. We consistently test the bags for this type of stress, and as you know in practice we routinely stretch the rubber aggressively to fit in 10 lb+ bugs. I'm hoping this is an isolated incident but want to minimize the chances that this happens to anyone else.

Matt"

[Michael J]

Matt Lum.
Class Act.
Nuff said.

MJ.

["Yard-Sale Josh"]

Originally Posted by Spineshot

"Lance, thank you for notifying me of the incident where one of our bags failed. Given that it was this customer's first time using a new bag, it is likely that the bag failed due to a problem on our end, whether it be human error or even a design malfunction. Either way, we take this seriously. Please let that person know that we apologize and will send him a new bag if he contacts me as a thank-you for letting us know about his experience. We did create a large batch of new bags this summer, and I am open to the possibility that this occurrence may repeat itself. I believe his fix would solve the problem, and I will make sure all new bags that go out from hereon out are similarly whip-tied. If there is a forum to let others know about this, it would be a good idea for everyone to make this quick modification. We also will reconsider a change in design for the next batch we manufacture, which may not be for a couple years. We consistently test the bags for this type of stress, and as you know in practice we routinely stretch the rubber aggressively to fit in 10 lb+ bugs. I'm hoping this is an isolated incident but want to minimize the chances that this happens to anyone else.

Matt"

[mbear]

note he said... "we routinely stretch the rubber aggressively to fit in 10 lb+ bugs."

[EJM]

Think you might have bought a lemon. I've had mine for 3+ years and it has yet to fail me with original equipment. I just make sure to rinse it off in fresh water post EVERY dive.

[XavierDeRoos]

I want one. Awesome customer service response! Good business tactics=more business