Clips & Swivels – Don’t
Get Too Attached
There are so many clips and swivels on the market it’s
mind blowing… Have you ever walked into a well-endowed fishing
tackle store? There must be a billion different choices. So how
do you narrow it down? Well, you need to try each one of them.
Or make it simple and check this out…
-
Try narrowing down
the specific strength you think you’ll
need for the application.
-
Test as many different types, within
the strength category you decided, of clip for ease of use.
-
Check each bend or “elbow” for places where “if” the
line was to get caught in a place that the clip was not
designed for, will it break?
-
Look for anything like sharp edges,
unfinished areas and imperfections. You’d be surprised
what the difference a small, almost unnoticeable, bur of
metal or simply a rough edge can do when a big fish is
pulling
against it.
-
Look for “Ball Bearing” swivels.
Brass is not highly recommended but it’s hard to find
a clip or swivel that doesn’t
use it.
-
The cost for a clip can very greatly. Generally speaking,
the higher the cost, the better that material it’s made
with, the longer it will last and hold up in those “unexpected” situations.
The right clip depends on what it’s going to be used
for. The strength, shape of the clip and ease of use determine
a lot.
Example
The ups and downs – Take one “snap
swivel” and
one “pigtail swivel” which are made from the
same material and both are rated to 500-pound strength.
The Snap Swivel
The main advantage of the snap swivel
you will notice, the snap is much easier and quicker to use which,
in
the “heat
of the moment” can be helpful and very important. The
snap is rated in a particular position as if you were holding
the swivel
end upright and the clip dangling below. The line, therefore,
would be on the lowest part of the snap. The problem comes
in that:
-
There is an “elbow” where the top part of
you thumb would go to open the clip. That elbow creates
an area
where, if
the line was to slide up into that position with a strong
fighting, gear thrashing fish, there is a reasonable
chance the snap will,
well, snap.
-
Because the snap swivel requires the user
to move, or compress, the snap to release the catch this
will cause fatigue
in the lowest, most important, elbow.
Depending on an almost
infinite amount of variables, I would recommend changing
the snap swivel
if you have an important trip or are going after “the
big one.”
The Pigtail Swivel
The major advantage to this swivel
is its strength in shape and design. The pigtail swivel is
also rated
in a particular
position as if you were holding the swivel end upright
and the clip dangling below. I haven’t been able to find
a weak point on this type of clip and they seem to last
a longer period of time
compared to the snap swivel. The down side(s):
-
The pigtail
requires a bit of technique to use. Once the technique
is learned the application
becomes simple and routine. However, in “the
heat of the moment” scenario, it can be a bugger… They
also seem to get caught on anything, from hair to other
lines and to the
line it’s clipped onto itself.
I recommend, due to the relatively low cost for a diver,
who generally utilizes only a few clips and swivels, to buy
the “best” ones
you can find. Change all your clips and swivels out once in a while.
Any metal, when opened and closed time after time, will weaken
until it “unexpectedly” breaks.
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