I am thinking to purchase one, maybe two, high buoyancy, float arms (When using only a single strobe with snoot for macro photography, I do not have enough space to mount all floats required to the single remaining arm)...

When I look at the prices for float arms, I see that a single arm can cost around 200 Euros (e.g.: https://www.nauticam.com/products/90x170mm-carbon-fiber-aluminum-float-arm-buoyancy-450g). While I find it o.k. to pay hundreds or even thousands of Euros for lenses, camera, housing and similar sophisticated gear, I find this price for a comparably simple item of equipment rather daring...

In the internet I see that similar float arms can be purchased at a wide price range from a variety of sources, also at substantially lower prices. The range goes from other brands with good names, similar to Nauticam, but substantially cheaper (e.g. Inon, just to name a brand) down to brands that are known for budget prices (e.g. Seafrogs)...

My experience with cheap and highly priced simple items is not always the same, so far: #1.: I have a set of regular Nauticam arms (S, M, L and XL) and the quality is good. Previously I was using a set of budget arms ("D&D"). The only difference that I was able to detect is, that the Nauticam are slightly lighter, what is a small advantage when travelling by air, otherwise the "performance" is pretty identical. #2.: The clamps are a different story: The ones from Nauticam last now for years, while the cheap ones lost their grip after about 1 year. Here the saying "buy cheap, buy twice" applies and I always would buy Nauticam clamps again..

Hence my question whether there exist differences in performance and durability between different manufacturers and whether someone could recommend budget priced float arms that are of good quality...

Thank you, Wolfgang

Hi Wolgang @Architeuthis

Years ago I had exactly the same problem.... float arms are expensive very expensiv... And before you find the good setup (before you change some part, lens or... ) you will need to buy bigger smaller, longer, shorter etc.. to find the good combination.

NOOO Thanks it's the reason I started with DIY... I spend a lot of money with that.... learned a lot... and now I have THE solution (for me)

If I need more beyoncy I can calculate how many more volumeI I need... and change my arm to achieve the target. (for the opposit the same ;) )

OK it's a little work, time and some money but I have exactly what I want.

I don't know how many know how you have in DIY (3D Printing in this case) but it will be good to explore this direction

It is tough to do better than good old ULCS aluminum grid arms with Stix Jumbo float blocks. They cost less than the Nauticam float arms and they WILL last a lifetime. They are pretty much indestructible. I am still using ULCS arms that I bought 20 years ago. Change the o-rings every decade or so, and you'll be set.

I agree with Dave. My ULCS stuff is 20+ years old and my Stix 15. All still good!

Ebay and Amazon are full of inexpensive float arms. Most of them work quite well. Couple of things, unlike some float arms from the camera housing companies they have no internal connection between the end caps. They often leak, usually if they are going to it will be on the first few dives. When you begin to ascend, the arm becomes pressurized and blows the end cap off. Yes, this has happened, to me. I dumped the water out and glued it back together with epoxy adhesive and it is still in use.

I have a couple of sets of inexpensive float arms I have used on many dives over several years. One of my dive buddies had the same sort of arms and one of his flooded also but ti did not pop apart, just had water sloshing around inside and loss of some buoyancy. So, I guess it can be hit or miss.

For absolute reliability, aside from Nauticam or equal floats, the Stix floats on ULCS arms is possibly the best way to go.

Edited Friday at 04:44 AM3 days by Nemrod

I've had pretty good luck with the DivTek brank on Aliexpress. Only complaint is the anodizing on the balls isn't as strong as ULCS or Nauticam.

I also have a set of ULCS float arms but they don't have the lift for my housing. Too bad since they are bomb proof.

As already stated, Stix are pretty much the standard if they provide enough flotation. On an 8" arm I can fit 2.5 of them for a total of about 450g of buoyancy. I use Stix, but they often just aren't enough and I need to add something more. If you want/need the serious buoyancy arms, the Inon megas are much less expensive than the Nauticams and I have never heard of them leaking, but they aren't quite as floaty as the same size nauticams. But close. The Nauticam carbon arms provide the most buoyancy but are overpriced. Nevertheless, I use them when I need all the floatyness I can get. In that case I will pair two of the Inon or Nauticam float arms with an arm with Stix on it. I generally use the jumbo ones and have cut some in half for additional flexibility in flotation.

There are other brands out there, but I don't know much about them. By the way, if you go much beyond 130' deep, the Stix will compress and they don't regain their shape right away. By about 150' feet, they lose a lot of their buoyancy.

So you are saying you don't have enough arm to mount stix floats I assume?

I've had good experience with the INON Mega float arms :

https://underwater.com.au/shop/inon-mega-float-arms.html?srsltid=AfmBOor-N9Og_rOsVktINaj5kcBjeHfFdAxIgvWnuYQp-zD7ocxAZywL

available in either 390 or 650 gram buoyancy, I've had mine quite a few years, they seem quite durable and price is not crazy. I also have a couple of Isotta float arms, basically an aluminium shell, they cost a little more, I have two of 670 gr arms for my wide angle setup, quite a bit cheaper than Nauticam but seem like they should be durable., about 40% cheaper than Nauticam. The Isotta are limited to 70mm dia so are quite long if you need a lot of buoyancy, the INON are big diameter and shorter.

a long clamp between the two arms of each side to the M helps to get them to fold flat against each other.

I just ordered a set of these:

Ultramaxdive

HELIUM Variable Buoyancy Arm System

Innovative design HELIUM VBA (Variable Buoyancy Arm) System from ULTRAMAX allows you to create your BuoyFloat Arm’s lifting force from 0.5 lb (227g)~1.0 lb (453 g) using modular segments design to fit

My instructor has a set and seems to like them for travel as they break down (he also uses Ultralight style arms and Stixx floats). They have the added benefit of being a waterproof stash for keys, etc. They are about the same price as arms+floats, but seem to be less than the Nauticam carbon fiber float arms (they supposedly don't leak, or at least are less likely to fail than the Aliexpress variety).

Edited Friday at 04:38 PM2 days by ACHiPo

Nice product

Another vote for Stixx.

I got some of the cheap ones (BGNing) to try out and they seemed ok to me - not that I had anything to compare to! I think I used 2 x 5 inch and 2 x 8 inch, with those long clamps with the hole for a shackle to keep them far enough apart to fold up together.

I haven't used them all that much so can't really comment on the long term usage, or quality - but they did the job and didn't leak in the week that I used them (20 something dives in Dumaguete). They look to have a threaded rod all the way through to stop the end popping off.....but I haven't taken them apart to confirm!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003127674881.html

I do think I might need even more lift though so might need to reconfigure things a bit! The stix collars look good for the 90mm port 🤔

The clamps I used were these but nauticam do ones with shackle holes too (handy for lanyards):

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006060100346.html

The required bow shackles were quite small, I think an m3 or m4 shaft from what I can remember.

These INON Float Arms serve me for several years now:

https://www.hydronalin.eu/inon-mega-float-arm-s-mit-390-gramm-auftrieb_2058

They come in various shapes.

Very lightweight, durable and have two M5 threads on which you can connect accessories such as LensHolders, Actioncams etc.

First, I thank you all for your highly valued input...👍

From what I read here the Inon float arms seem to be an excellent solution (good quality at approx. 30% of the price of Nauticam arms plus additional fixture for a lensholder)...

When using a single strobe, I just do not have enough space to attach all the floats (to the non-float arms) to compensate the buoyancy of the rig as I do now with a two strobe macro setup (Nauticam A7R5 with 90mm macro plus SMC-1 on flip holder; I do not know the exact down-force without strobes, but with two HF-1s I need 2000g buoyancy and the rig is still slightly negative).

=> I am thinking of mounting two Inon float arms (650g buoyancy each) "naked" to the sides of the housing and mount the single flash to the middle. Plus a Stix float belt to the macroport (583g buyoancy; https://www.uwcamerastore.com/stix-float-belt-sx-fb10) and compensate the rest with detachable floats to the arm on the middle flash.

Is this a good idea (the dilemma is, as Caolla wrote, that one has FIRST to buy everything and only THEN can test out...)?

=> Is a float belt on the macroport a good idea or is the belt an obstacle, e.g. when putting the rig on the seafloor to get a nice perspective? Has someone here experience with using a float belt on a macroport?

Edited Friday at 12:36 PM3 days by Architeuthis

The float belt is very commonly used in macro photography, assuming you need so much flotation. It can get in the way of strobe placement if you like to put your strobes next to and parallel to the port, but moving them out or tilting them gets around that. I often use two Nauticam or Inon float arms off the camera housing and next are two arms with Stix floats and that is sometimes enough or gets me close.

You may wish to get a couple longer clams to give you full articulation with the fat floats. If you do not mount a focus light or other accessory on top if the housing, another option some people like is to use triple clamps off the housing and then run a smaller diameter float arm across the top of the housing. I have never been fond of that, but some like it. It sounds like this would not work for you, though.

The belt should not be much of a problem as far as placement on the sand for a low angle, I would think, although I don't think I have ever done that, so I could be wrong. I am pretty sure if I was THAT low, my reg would be in the sand as well.

Another option if you want to DIY is Divinycell, which you can get in sheets:

https://www.amazon.com/Divinycell-Foam-Core-Plain-Density/dp/B0CLSF9PG9/ref=sr_1_2?crid=JY47IS3E3HKB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b_JwoVsc8pqY8WO7MD4kCYHUfHofjvgIpfGABfyOVHvGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.hxRbQIWOVRjcgI_4TK3xtFpaW5RcxFWf9OddIVgo_LI&dib_tag=se&keywords=divinycell+h80&qid=1767376994&sprefix=divinycell+h80%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-2

You can either make your own belt, or otherwise cut it to shape and attach it where it's out of the way.

The cheapest solution :
Some plumbing pipe form local dealer (castorama for me in France).

I cut the right pipe length to have buoyancy adapted to my setup, and its perfectly neutral.

In addition I 3d printed a support so it doesn't move on the arms with a hole for the fiber

I have 2 sets, one for fresh water and one for salt water.

Total cost for both is around 30€
(The black wrapping is only cosmetic...)
I use them since 4 years, with many dives up to 40m with no issues.

If you need that much flotation I would suggest you don't want it all on the strobe arms, though if you just attach floats with no arms you can place them horizontal rather than vertical. I had 1760 gr in an M formation on my rig and it tool a LOT of torque to point it up even though it was close to neutral. I ended up taking off two smaller float arms and running it negative. I'm thinking of finding some block rigid foam and placing about -400 gr worth under the housing, bolting it on through the tripod screws.

As a matter of principle, I refuse to pay $200 for a piece of machined metal.

I still have my old Stix arms (with the hard plastic caps) from 2006 but those are getting a bit wobbly now. So I picked up float arms from Kraken or someone similar for around $200 for a set of 4: 2 buoyancy arms, 2 regular arms and 4 foam inserts that fit onto the regular arms.

19 hours ago, Architeuthis said:

=> Is a float belt on the macroport a good idea or is the belt an obstacle, e.g. when putting the rig on the seafloor to get a nice perspective?

Exactly my experience; this is why I do not like float belts.

Two -650g INON Mega Float Arm M is my base configuration for the Backscatter HF-1. I combine them with stick arms each to be able to fold them in nicely in 45 degrees left and right. This will usually give you your base trim.

A third float on a ball in the middle if needed. I recommend to test all in a bathtub at home before embarking on a trip.

one additional thing for my configuration :

ad the floats are not on the arm axes, you can easily adjust the front-back trim by rotating the arm-float around its axe without changing the global position.

There is also the Marelux flexi buoy:

Available in 400, 800 and 1500g of lift. Honestly, when I saw it I was half impressed by the idea and half amused by the idea. Okay, maybe mostly amused. I have never used one nor seen one in use and I cannot quite imagine swimming around with a big green bag floating in front of my face, but it is inexpensive and offers a lot of adjustable buoyancy.

I just can't see using the thing, but maybe someone here is familiar with them and can share their experience

4 hours ago, FrancoisC said:

one additional thing for my configuration :

ad the floats are not on the arm axes, you can easily adjust the front-back trim by rotating the arm-float around its axe without changing the global position.

Thank you for the input Francoise. This looks like a great advise to me...

To make sure that I understand you right: you say when big float arms (e.g. like Inon with 650g buoyancy each) are attached to the housing on both sides and nothing else attached to them (with e.g. a single strobe in the middle) one can adjust the "front-back" trim (that is painful to the wrist in case not balanced well) easily by turning the float arms forwards/backwards?

Edited Saturday at 03:43 PM1 day by Architeuthis

6 hours ago, JohnD said:

There is also the Marelux flexi buoy:

Available in 400, 800 and 1500g of lift. Honestly, when I saw it I was half impressed by the idea and half amused by the idea. Okay, maybe mostly amused. I have never used one nor seen one in use and I cannot quite imagine swimming around with a big green bag floating in front of my face, but it is inexpensive and offers a lot of adjustable buoyancy.

I just can't see using the thing, but maybe someone here is familiar with them and can share their experience

There were a couple of u/w photographers with this clipped to their rigs the last time I was in Anilao (in October). It was somewhat obnoxious on the boat (often covers up your rig strap on the boat - boathandler tempted to pick up the rig by this). Underwater it seemed to be out of the way when shooting, but does obstruct visibility over the top of our rig a bit (for those that hunt for subjects while holding a rig in front of them).

5 hours ago, Architeuthis said:

To make sure that I understand you right: you say when big float arms (e.g. like Inon with 650g buoyancy each) are attached to the housing on both sides and nothing else attached to them (with e.g. a single strobe in the middle) one can adjust the "front-back" trim (that is painful to the wrist in case not balanced well) easily by turning the float arms forwards/backwards?

I have actually one strobe at each end.

And I can adjust the trim without changing the stobes position.