Advice on putting on gear

[Bierstadt]

Lots of good advice here. I will add two fundamental realities of scuba:

1) Gear that keeps a human being safe and warm underwater is HEAVY. There's no getting around that.
2) There is no substitute for experience. You are a new diver and that doesn't just mean underwater. Gearing up is it's own art and mastering it takes time, practice, and thought. The payoff is well worth it though. You need develop a routine for gearing up that you can do every time. This will require trial and error, adjustments to your approach, gear changes, and time and experience. For your recreational scuba gear it will probably not be a long process to create a reliable routine. You should have most of it already from your class; now you just need to practice and adjust your routine where it isn't satisfactory for you. I bet 10 dives from now gearing up will be much easier for you - assuming those dives are not so spaced out that you forget your routine between them, of course.

As has been said, deal with the weight issue by not trying to muscle around with it. Use a bench or any other support surface available. And respect your thermal clock - once your suit goes on in the summer you only have so much time before you overheat. The better your system the less time you will spend in your suit above water. Practice and think and adjust and you will get much faster. Good luck.

 

[Marie13]

I don’t care how sturdy the stairs at Gilboa are now. That’s nice. However, getting the gear up and down can be a huge problem for someone who is having issues with gear weight or other stuff.

 

[Ulfhedinn]

If I dont have access to the bed of my truck. I use a portable table to setup my rig. One like this "https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B072X4T...7?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&tag=alltopratings-20"

As for hoods I cant stand them and will go out of my way even though I shave my head to not wear them if I can. You don't "need" to wear one if you are not that phased by the cold.

This might not help you but its a good reference. My friends call me the mule of diving. I gear up and then help others... My wife and one of my dive buddies every time.. and maybe a few others with getting that BC/Wing on. Dive with a mule.

 

[TMHeimer]

Some very good advice from SlugMug on the previous page. Especially (for me) not getting distracted gearing up while someone comes over to talk to you (other than your buddy of course).
One thing I learned in the Rescue course was the best way to gear up by yourself (you don't have to be diving solo to do this)--

Use a picnic table, bench, or the trunk of your vehicle if possible--or sit on the boat's bench. Sit down in front of your rig with the right shoulder strap fastened but not the left. Grab the left strap (and with it probably your inflator hose) with your right hand and maneuver it behind your head and shoulders to the left side and buckle it. Y ou may want to use your left hand, or both-- whatever is easiest for you, not hard to figure out. Continue doing up the rest of the BC, etc.
This way, no worrying about buddy doing this or that & holding tanks up forever and a day, etc.
I imagine this easy method is not taught in OW course because it might encourage students to dive without a buddy. Can't think of another reason.

If shore diving, walk to at least chest/stomach deep water to put fins on with BC somewhat but not fully inflated. Spring straps for the fins are by far the best-- no buckles.
I imagine this sometimes isn't taught in OW course for the same reason. Unless you have a physical disability, there is no way you should need a buddy's help donning fins in water.
I remember thinking when I assisted at the pool "why are they learning to put fins on standing up with a buddy?--all that balancing stuff?". There may be one, but I can't think of a situation where you have to be standing up on land putting on fins-- You do it sitting on a boat and in the water if from shore.

As others have said, find the way that fits you best and stick to the routine. It may change slightly over time. There are advantages to buddy diving, but other that the pre-dive buddy check, there aren't many (if any) advantages to buddies assisting each other gearing up.
The pre dive buddy check is something you will rarely see most divers do, partly because the buddies may know each other well and it's streamlined so it looks like they're not doing anything.
Actually, you could "dress yourself", then re-check everything in order yourself-- that could also be called a buddy check I guess.

 

[TMHeimer]

It was mentioned above, but I will say it again. Getting your kit on in the water is much easier imo if the situation warrants it (not off a boat, nice entry). Did my rescue a few weeks ago and after taking it off like 20 times, it was so nice putting it on in some water.

Agree if as you say, the situation really warrants it. I have done this at times years ago and find that it is easier to do it on land, since if you put the unit on in the water you also have to carry it to the water, make sure it doesn't float away a bit while you get fins from the beach, etc.-- or haul unit & fins into the water together. Now if you have a very long walk and pull a buggy with all your stuff in it, putting the unit on in water makes more sense, plus it keeps the reg mouthpieces away from sand. I try not to have long walks at my age.... It's probably a little easier for most to quickly find the buckles and attach them on land rather than in the water. I recall seeing students struggle a lot doffing and donning the unit at the ocean while on the surface. Add into that any wave action....

 

[inquis]

If you don't have a bench/table/truck available, you can bend/kneel down to get one shoulder in. Your buddy can help get the other arm through the loop once standing. This way the buddy doesn't have to bear the entire weight with their arms or actually lift much of anything.

 

[inquis]

There's a more dynamic approach to do it by yourself, but I suggest you practice with a backpack/bookbag first. Stand the BC up on the tank bottom and face the BC. Cross right hand over left and grab the straps, right palm down, left palm up. The idea is to lift the package, swing it left and up as you turn to the right and bend down in order to get things balanced on the back of your neck/shoulders (tank horizontal) as you're hunched over. Elbows will be bent about 90 degrees at this point. Momentum is crucial. At your leisure, finish threading arms through as you slightly straighten up and the BC slowly slides down your back.

Again, work out the mechanics and timing with something far lighter first! (If you're left handed, consider reversing all above directions. The hand on top seems to do most of the work for me.)

 

[yle]

I guess my question is: since I am very small, does anyone have any suggestions for putting on gear and helping your buddy put their gear on? By the time we were done getting everything on I was sweating profusely.

My students will usually wear a 7mm wetsuit with hood for our beach dives. Overheating and sweating while putting on gear can be a real problem, and can get dangerous. My simple solution: after they don their wetsuits I have them jump in the water for 30 seconds, then get back out to put on their gear. Not only is it kind of fun floating around in a thick wetsuit for a brief time, it's also very unlikely they will overheat while putting on gear and wearing a wetsuit soaked in cold water.

As for putting on gear: there's no rule that says you have to put on gear standing up. We do that in our OW classes so that our students know how to do it, they have that option, but I emphasize they should find a way to don their gear that minimizes stress. Sitting on a bench while putting on your gear (or standing in front of a truck bed with gear on the tailgate...) is a reasonable solution.

 

[yle]

I was supposed to wear a hood during my ow dives because it was early June and I live in Ohio but the hood was tight in the upper face area and loose in the chin area so I didn’t wear it. The chin piece kept going over my mouth and my upper head just felt constricted. It was what they rented to me. I just chose not to use it.

If you're going to be diving in cold water, find a hood that fits right. Rental hoods tend to be one shape with a few sizes. But hoods come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, thicknesses and qualities, from different manufacturers. It might take some searching, but find one that fits your face right. After you wear it a bit, it will conform to your face and you'll actually want to wear it. (Same thing with a wetsuit... a lot of shapes and sizes. Find one that fits right and after you use it a bit, it will fit you like a glove.)

 

[TMHeimer]

My students will usually wear a 7mm wetsuit with hood for our beach dives. Overheating and sweating while putting on gear can be a real problem, and can get dangerous. My simple solution: after they don their wetsuits I have them jump in the water for 30 seconds, then get back out to put on their gear. Not only is it kind of fun floating around in a thick wetsuit for a brief time, it's also very unlikely they will overheat while putting on gear and wearing a wetsuit soaked in cold water.

As for putting on gear: there's no rule that says you have to put on gear standing up. We do that in our OW classes so that our students know how to do it, they have that option, but I emphasize they should find a way to don their gear that minimizes stress. Sitting on a bench while putting on your gear (or standing in front of a truck bed with gear on the tailgate...) is a reasonable solution.

Good advice about jumping in after putting on the wetsuit before continuing. My former buddy did that here with his drysuit. Of course the reverse is true in cold water-- have a plan, do it quickly but don't forget anything.