I've done this by setting the / register with * as you mentioned, but I still use the :s command, type / and then use the ctrl-r / key combination to paste the

I've done this by setting the / register with * as you mentioned, but I still use the :s command, type / and then use the ctrl-r / key combination to paste the contents of the / register, then type the second / and then the replacement. The g and z set of commands are pretty useful in vim.