Adjustable Tightening Apparatus

An adjustable tightening apparatus, comprising:

• an elongated planar strap having a plurality of strap teeth formed on one side thereof;
• and
• a releasable locking head formed adjacent to a first end of the strap, wherein the locking head includes
• a main body having an opening therethrough to receive a second end of the strap in a locking direction to form a loop to secure around one or more items such that the strap teeth are positioned external to the loop and away from the one or more items, and wherein amount of the strap that traverses the opening controls size of the loop;
• at least one locking head tooth extending into the opening and being complementary to the plurality of strap teeth when the second end of the strap enters the opening, wherein the at last one locking head tooth is adapted to engage with at least one strap tooth for preventing movement of the strap in a release direction;
• a release pad engaged with a first side of the main body and having a first side connected to the at least one locking head tooth and a second side extending away from the first side of the strap, wherein the second side of the release pad is wider than the first side and includes a ripple strip in close proximity to the second side thereof;
• and
• a backplate engaged with a first side of the main body and having a first side adjacent the opening and a second side extending away from the first side of the strap, wherein the backplate is substantially parallel to the release pad, wherein the backplate is wider and longer than the release pad, and wherein the backplate includes an opening therethrough larger than the release pad;
• wherein the release pad and backplate extend away from the loop secured around the one or more items when the strap is in the opening and are accessible by a user, wherein the release pad is configured to be depressed by a first finger of the user and the ripple strip is to engage the first finger in order to prevent the first finger from sliding off, wherein the backplate is configured to receive a second finger of the user to provide resistance when the release pad is depressed toward the backplate by the first finger, wherein the opening in the backplate is to engage the second finger in order to prevent the second finger from sliding off, wherein the depressing of the release tab is to release the at least one locking head tooth from engagement with the at least one strap tooth to permit the strap to be moved in the release direction.