How to properly attach gear for streamlining?

[Casarez]

OK, I am green as the grass to diving so I am hoping some of you with more experience can help me out. I purchased the list of gear recommended for my advance course. But now I am trying to find out how to get it all attached/on my BC. I feel as if I have a million little things clipped on and dangling.

I got the rubber connection that my octopus connects to on the right strap ring. I also have the half of the clip my analog depth gauge and SPG clips to so it crosses across my body to the right strap ring also. The BC I got (Seaquest Balance) is nice enough to have a place I can attach my small knife to. But it seems I also need to find space for the safety sausage, whistle, slate, and two dive lights.

There is a pocket on the right hand side but I am not sure if stuffing everything in there is the best idea. Any help?

 

[Doc]

Pockets, stuffing.... you bet! Keep it simple.

But it really depends upon the specifics of the dive.

An example for "warm water/pretty fish" Caribbean diving?

Run your SPG/Compass hose and console under your left arm pit, across your chest, tucking it through your right chest strap.

Up, out of the way, yet instantly usable.

KISS

These "keychains" from REI are useful, too....

 

[TSandM]

I love pockets on my exposure protection. I have pockets on my dry suits, and I use X-shorts when I dive wet. Putting a loop of cord through the grommet on the pocket gives you a place to clip stuff off, so even if the pocket opens, you won't lose things. And velcroed pockets on exposure protection are much easier to get open and get things out of than zippered BC pockets.

 

[don Francisco]

There are no rules about where to carry all that stuff, other than not to drag it along the bottom.
Use your common sense, and experiment until you strike the right balance between compactness & easy access. Here's how I do it & why. You might use some ideas as a starting place, but in the final analysis, remember to please yourself & not to worry about anyone else's opinion.

Octopus runs below right arm & hose is folded over, slipped into the hollow tube of my BC shoulder strap. Keeps it close to the body & readily available. (I know that folding the hose will weaken it eventually, but 500+ dives later it isn't eventually yet)

Console is lead through the BC under my left arm & out below the cumberbund, then cliped off low, where I can read it without unclipping. The only drawback is that folks always want to help me untangle the hose when I suit up.

Whistle is permantly attached to the BC inflator hose, where I can't forget it.

Safety sausage & Sensus Pro are clipped on a ring fairly far back under my left arm. They're out of the way, & hang close to my body regardless of trim, yet decently accessible when needed.

Lights are carried tucked into the cumberbund, with the lanyards clipped off, or sometimes in a pocket until needed.

Other junk, camera accessories, mirror, slate, etc. which varies dive to dive, is usually in a pocket or clipped to a D-ring then twisted around & tucked under a strap.

I'm fairly fanatical about stuff dangling, so everything is kept close to my body, kind of button down collar diving. This doesn't mean you have to be. As I said, carry things in a way that best suits your convenience.

 

[Casarez]

Run your SPG/Compass hose and console under your left arm pit, across your chest, tucking it through your right chest strap.

Up, out of the way, yet instantly usable.

I have mine set up similar now bit with it clipping to the right chest strap rather than tucking it underneath. But I did not think about running it under my left armpit. Do you have go go under or over the left chest strap?

 

[Casarez]

I love pockets on my exposure protection. I have pockets on my dry suits, and I use X-shorts when I dive wet. Putting a loop of cord through the grommet on the pocket gives you a place to clip stuff off, so even if the pocket opens, you won't lose things. And velcroed pockets on exposure protection are much easier to get open and get things out of than zippered BC pockets.

Interesting, I am reading up on dry suits in order to be able to dive during the winter months here. Something to add to the considerations.

Quick question though, is it comfortable diving with stuff in the pockets?

 

[TSandM]

Yes, you don't notice the stuff in the pockets at all. The pockets bellow out from the suit.

The X-shorts make it easy when diving wet, too, and if you don't want to spend the money on them, you can use a pair of boy's swim trunks with cargo pockets. I did that for a while. The swim trunks aren't as streamlined as the X-shorts, though.

 

[Casarez]

There are no rules about where to carry all that stuff, other than not to drag it along the bottom.
Use your common sense, and experiment until you strike the right balance between compactness & easy access. Here's how I do it & why. You might use some ideas as a starting place, but in the final analysis, remember to please yourself & not to worry about anyone else's opinion.

From reading these boards I understand what may work for one may not for another. Still, it is good for me to even get ideas to try out.

Whistle is permantly attached to the BC inflator hose, where I can't forget it.

Interesting way to carry it. I will have to try that out.

Safety sausage & Sensus Pro are clipped on a ring fairly far back under my left arm. They're out of the way, & hang close to my body regardless of trim, yet decently accessible when needed.

Hmm, I do not have any rings on my back. Maybe I need to look into adding some for things like this. Thanks though for the information.

 

[Casarez]

Yes, you don't notice the stuff in the pockets at all. The pockets bellow out from the suit.

The X-shorts make it easy when diving wet, too, and if you don't want to spend the money on them, you can use a pair of boy's swim trunks with cargo pockets. I did that for a while. The swim trunks aren't as streamlined as the X-shorts, though.

Interesting, I will have to go check out X-shorts. Thanks!

 

[don Francisco]

Casarez, just ro clarify, the safety sausage is on my side, not on my back, but it's fairly far back so that I never notice it during a dive.
Keep experimenting, what you do now may not be what you end up preferring later on, but that's OK. dF