C-Forum

Does anyone know where I can get those nice aircraft-style seat belt buckles, the kind that tighten easily and open by flipping up the outer plate?

Like cars had back in the late 1960s...

Thanks mates!

Aargh!

JC Whitney has several models available in their replacement seatbelts section.

aargh,
are you looking for plastic or metal buckles?
i make custom straps using a variety of hardware and webbing.
i've enclosed a few pic of different setups.
let me know if there's anything i do for you
john
East Coast Canoes

cip1.ca or www.cip1.ca - they deal in replacement parts for VW-s

I'd stay away from the plastic, they tend to pull out on lap belts, better luck with those in thigh straps, perhaps less force on the buckle (distributed 4x ??)

They're about 30 buck each, worth it IMO. The buckles are steel but I've had mine for a few yrs now and they haven't rusted ... might be a concern if you paddle salt water rivers / ocean or leave your boat out in the rain right side up.

Mike.

yup... quick release of the latch... especially if your using it as a lap belt.

http://www.google.com/search?q=aircraft ... lz=1I7ADBR

They attach to the seats of the airplane with little caribeaner-type gates. There is sometimes, though rarely, a cotter pin holding the gate shut. Some have two attachment points; others, four.

Seatbelt extensions are used during the safety talk and are usually stashed in the overhead compartment on the plane's right at the front of coach class. Often there are a few more stashed in the seatback pocket behind the last first class seat on the plane's right. If you pay attention to the safety talk, you can see where they are placed afterward.

If you use a seatbelt extension, you should cut the male part of the bucket off the strap and buy 2 inch flat webbing to attach it to the boat. You'll need most of the strap on the seatbelt extension in order to attach the female part of the buckle to the boat and still have enough extra strap to adjust the fit.

Airplane seatbelts are aluminum. They are lighter than the steel car seatbelts and will not rust.

Skybelts (link) is a company that sells airplane style seatbelts with a variety of straps. The straps that come with their buckles slip more than those that come with actual airplane seatbelts so they loosen up a bit.

Hi White Water World!

We now have new improved 2008 airplane buckles that will hold the webbing tighter!
Please contact me directly if you are interested in an aluminum aircraft buckle, or visit our website http://www.skybelts.com/
Thank you!
Happy Travels.

I just ordered a couple of the aircraft aluminum Skybelts. I'll let you know how they work, but these seem like they'll be THE ticket! ...can't wait!

so I've been out a couple times with the new buckles. I even got to practice a wet exit! for the third time this year

These things are reallly cool! I connected the two buckles with a rip cord. The release is instant and best of all, complete. No matter how much pressure is on them.
To tighten em, just pull on the strap end. Simple. Bomber. Good!

On the down side....The webbing that came with them was 1 1/2" seatbelt webbing...soooo soft, but I think they did loosen up. So I made new straps out of 2" polypro webbing which is more grippy and doesn't absorb any water. Now they stay tight. The other downer is they add some weight to the boat. I didn't actually weigh them cuz i'm not a geek, but they do weigh more than the plastic ladderlocks thatI took out.

I would use these things over snowboard bindings any day. There's just no comparison as far as strength goes. And they are so simple i can't see them getting screwy over time.. Plus, how cool is it to have aircraft sht in your boat! (although they are stamped on the backside with "not for aircraft use") but whatever

I haven't installed them yet, but it seems that one of the biggest advantages of the set belt style buckles is how much easier it is to get back in the boat tightly and quickly after scouting. I flipped at the bottom of Lava Dam on the White Salmon last weekend after hopping out to scout. I had a really good boof the day before and I planned on doing it again. But i biffed it and when i went to roll, I realised I'd left my thigh straps so loose that I wasn't in my boat anymore.

IMHO this is the way to go!

I ordered and installed the airline seat belt buckles from skybelts (www.skybelts.com) in my Atom C-1 and they worked really well. The buckles will work with 2in webbing, so I used the existing straps in the boat and not the 1.5in webbing that came with buckles. Adjusting the tension of the straps was easy and I've had no problems with the buckles slipping or with the quick release. Also, you can order the buckles without the belt.

Hi guys! I am glad to hear the buckles are working well for your whitewater needs
It sounds like maybe the straps aren't quite right... so for anyone else who would like to try the Airplane buckles we can sell them without the belt.
Just give us a call directly 1-866-SKYBELT
Thanks and have great day!