24" HP Hose for Pressure Guage?

[FLDVR]

The Crotch strap is just under "Soprano tight". If I had a Beer belly it would probably fit just fine . I currently have a letter in to Gue to address this issue.
There is no way I can dive comfortably and in easy trim with the waist belt going across the middle of my abdomen plain and simple...
This is why the spg needs a longer hose to reach the belt pulled down to the bottom of my abdomen.
Also with the waistbelt pulled lower it is easier to arch my back and lift my thighs up making trim a lot easier.

The bottom line is that I'm suspicious of the one size fits all back plate.

 

[jonnythan]

The waist belt should be *under* your gut, not across. You want it in a "supporting role" if yanno what I mean. You don't want to wrench down over your stomach.

 

[divestoclimb]

Isn't it supposed to come just over the navel? That's comfortable for me.

 

[Dan Gibson]

Leaving freaks of nature aside, I just wonder what all those members of projects like the WKPP, OCDA, Britannic expediation, etc. did in the past. The members appear to come in all sorts of sizes from short to tall. What size plates did they have available? I don't recall progress being halted due to plate size.

The bottom line is that I'm suspicious of the one size fits all back plate.

 

[Soggy]

The bottom line is that I'm suspicious of the one size fits all back plate.

6'4" is not that big. I'm pretty sure Mike Kane (GUE instructor, on the board here) successfully uses a regular backplate and he's a pretty big guy. Ask King Kong Matt what he does. He's like 6'8". Last I knew he was using a standard plate, but I could be mistaken.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

The Crotch strap is just under "Soprano tight". [...] There is no way I can dive comfortably and in easy trim with the waist belt going across the middle of my abdomen plain and simple...

That sounds like it might be a little too tight. You want the waist strap to be around your waist, right about where your navel is. The crotch strap should be snug, but not so tight that you can't slip your hand under it (usually this means no more than an inch or so of slack). There is a picture on the BAUE web site that illustrates everything pretty well. Please ignore the folded under crotch ring.

I think that if your harness were adjusted properly, then you would find that the perceived problems with comfort and trim would not be an issue.

This is why the spg needs a longer hose to reach the belt pulled down to the bottom of my abdomen. Also with the waistbelt pulled lower it is easier to arch my back and lift my thighs up making trim a lot easier.

This may seem like a minor nit, but the SPG should hang at the hip, not at the "bottom of the abdomen". If that is where yours is hanging, then your HP hose is definitely too long.

Again, I think the problems you are experiencing are due to a poorly adjusted harness. I am 6'1", and have my harness adjusted exactly as described above. I use a 24" SPG hose with my Scubapro first stage, which is just about perfect. I have no problems arching my back. As for the thighs, those should stay relatively flat, with minimal to no "lifting" during your kicks. Most of the kicing motion comes from the knees down, with the thighs moving mostly in the horizontal plain, if at all.

The bottom line is that I'm suspicious of the one size fits all back plate.

As a previous poster pointed out, the height and torso length are less of an issue than most people think. With the backplate and harness positioned and adjusted properly, most people will find the distance from the first stage to the left hip to be fairly consistent (about 24", in fact ... ).

To be sure, there will be some folks who are "out-lyers", but they will be rare, and at the extremes for height. I have seen a standard backplate adjusted to properly fit a wide range of folks, from small (~5 feet) to large (well over 6 feet).

In any event, it's going to be a sub-optimal (and potentially frustrating) system to use until you get it properly dialed in. I think you should probably talk to the manufacturer of your plate (or perhaps the shop that sold it to you) to help you get this sorted out. Alternatively, you might consider taking a Fundamentals course to get some more hands-on assistance with the fine tuning.

 

[Fernando]

I'm sorry of this is a dumb question, and I don't mean to hijack this thread or anything, but if you're diving with a single tank and no stages and etc., qhat's wrong with clipping your SPG to your chest D-Ring? This way you don't even have to unclip it to see it.

 

[jonnythan]

Fernando, you may want to read the stickies in the DIR forum regarding the system.

It's a holistic system.. every piece builds on other pieces. Every basic piece stays the same as you add components. It's critical to the system that everything stay the same as you add and remove pieces like scooters or stage bottles or exposure protection. The SPG is always in the exact same place, whether you're diving a 30 foot reef in an Al80 or doing a 5 mile cave penetration at 300 feet.

When the crap hits the fan, you always revert back to what is ingrained into your muscle memory... and doing everything exactly the same and having all of your pieces in the exact same place completely eliminates any thinking you may have to do about where your stuff is on this particular dive and frees up those brain cycles for figuring out the current emergency or simply enjoying your dive.

It's a holistic, team-based standardized approach designed to eliminate thinking about stupid things like "where is my SPG?" and maximize safety, enjoyment, and team effectiveness.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I'm sorry of this is a dumb question, and I don't mean to hijack this thread or anything, but if you're diving with a single tank and no stages and etc., qhat's wrong with clipping your SPG to your chest D-Ring? This way you don't even have to unclip it to see it.

Good Question, I started a whole thread on SPG placement here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=150923


I had it on my chest D-ring for years, now I been diving DIR for several months, and switched my whole configuration over to DIR, read the thread, and you will understand why it's so important for SPG placment

 

[SparticleBrane]

I believe the backplate issue might be more important for smaller people than for larger people. My girlfriend is of a small size, I believe she's...5'5"? Anyhow, a standard backplate seems just a tad too large for her, it covers her back and then some. She might be a candidate for a slightly smaller plate.
Then again that was with a DiveRite plate; I'll get her to throw on my Halcyon plate at at some point. The Halcyon plate is a little more curved in places than than the DiveRite.