Advice getting BP+W and long hose+necklace config off in the water

[PfcAJ]

Split up your weight.

I think most folks run the shoulder straps too tight.

Take the necklace off and breath the long hose.

 

[2airishuman]

What PfcAj said.

Many people struggle with this.

It is much easier if you have a reasonable amount of weight on a belt so that you are not relying entirely on the kit to keep you neutral.

The shoulder straps should be adjusted to match your shoulder mobility. Mine are tighter than described upthread because tighter straps limit the movement of the top of the kit and it works for me. Many people have less shoulder mobility and need looser straps.

You want to be breathing off the long hose when you take the kit off, which is part of the point of having the long hose: you can push the kit through a restriction ahead of you and then follow it.

It may help to practice on the surface. For some people it is easiest if the kit is floating with the wing inflated, and you're under it, particularly when putting it back on.

 

[Ayisha]

...I first tried this following the instructors example by flipping it over my head. He did this with a standard vest-style BC. I attempted to follow suit and it didn't go well...

Removing your bp/w in any direction without removing the 2 hoses from your neck isn't going to go well.

My weights are in cam band weight pockets, so no need to remove them. I unwrap my long hose, remove my backup, and still breathe from the long hose if necessary. When done, I clip it to my right D-ring. Then undo my crotch strap. I slip off my right strap, then slip off my left strap while holding it and then hand it up with both hands.

Removing the regs before the bp/w takes some getting used to just like remembering to remove a weight belt first. It becomes second nature especially because it's the same order that you remove the rig out of the water.

...Could the straps be too tight for this maneuver? They are snug, but I never notice them being uncomfortable, in or out of the water...

If you're wondering if they're tight, and it's difficult to remove your rig, your harness is likely too tight.

 

[Random Dude]

Had issues with that skill when I first transitioned to BP/W back then.

After some experimenting, found the way that worked best for me was to

1. Clip off light, take off necklace and longhose
2. Release belt buckle
3. Flip rig over head, and take off (found it easier this way, instruments on hands tend to not get caught too, and easy to free if caught since hands in front of me)
4. Immediately hold rig under me, sorta hugging it (in trim position), that way the buoyancy characteristics remain mostly same, with the weight under me instead of on me now.

Perhaps just experiment around, take some videos, see what specifically is causing your troubles in doing the skill, then make corresponding modifications?

 

[tank29]

Thank you for all of the responses! Based on the feedback, I reexamined my backplate webbing and discovered that it was too tight. I think I loosened it up almost 2 inches per side. I feel much better about the doffing process with all of the suggestions as well!

I am still unsure how to best manage the significant buoyancy change when I finally get it off. I like the idea of this suggestion: "If I am floating in the water column, I keep my hands on the shoulder straps and pretty much float horizontally above my rig using it as ballast.", but the one time I did try this (before posting here), my feet shot up and I was inverted immediately. This seems like I have a case of floaty feet, making horizontal trim pretty challenging. Should the goal for an ideal trim configuration be that I can remain horizontal while the BC is below me? I just want to make sure I'm pulling out the correct lessons here.

Thanks again for all of the advice! I really appreciate it!

 

[TrimixToo]

I'll admit to a fast skim of this thread, so perhaps this is already in a reply somewhere above.

I weight my suit and my rig separately. My weight harness offsets the positive buoyancy of my dry suit with just enough air in it to provide freedom of movement. The wing offsets the initial negative buoyancy of everything else. This makes a doff and don a whole lot easier. Since I tend to spend time in places where I can get tangled up in stuff, I want to be sure I am able to take off the rig (in mid-water if necessary but preferably against a hard top or bottom) without the rig trying to to one way while I "try" to go another.

With that in mind, I unclip the crotch strap, open the waist strap, shrug out of the harness while keeping hold of it, take off the necklace, unhook the dry suit hose, and get the rig at arm's length without much excitement. Putting it back on is easiest on a hard bottom with and over-the-head (Navy style) don, but I can also put it back on like a jacket, though that takes a minute or two longer. It always seems longer than it actually takes. I have never tried this with stages clipped on. I probably should, I suppose.

I have always been able to cut my way out of entanglement; but, if it ever happens that I can't, being able to take off the rig to get stuff off it seems a worthwhile capability to me.

This won't work nearly as well with a wet suit. You'd have to start by deciding what depth to be neutral without the rig. What the "right answer" might be would perhaps vary by dive plan. But a few pounds either way aren't horrible in my opinion, which is worth what you paid for it.

 

[rongoodman]

You want to be breathing off the long hose when you take the kit off, which is part of the point of having the long hose: you can push the kit through a restriction ahead of you and then follow it.

Words fail me.