Bent D ring on hog harness: Up or down?

[stuartv]

When I setup my hog harness, I assumed that the bent D rings on the shoulder straps were intended to be oriented to that, when flipped down (towards the diver's feet), the bend would cause the ring to stick out a little bit - making it easier to hook something onto it.

I see the instructions here agree with me:

https://www.divegearexpress.com/library/hogrigging.shtml

But, when I stopped by my LDS yesterday, I talked to one of the owners, who has also been my main instructor so far, and he said that Tech divers use the bent D rings turned the other way, so the bend causes them to be tucked into the harness more tightly than with a straight D ring. He said this is to minimize the possibility of snagging on something.

Which is correct?

 

[tbone1004]

DGX is right, never seen them rotated the other way. If you are going forward and it gets hung up on something, when you back up it flips up on the shoulder and is tucked away. If you flip them the other way around you have to hold the ring with one hand to clip stuff to it. This is especially difficult when using the left shoulder ring for stage bottles when they hang from the clip, almost impossible to clip them off.

Not everyone uses bent D-rings either, it's personal preference.

 

[lemke]

The whole purpose of a bent d-ring is exactly what Tbone described. I'm sure some people have turned them backwards... only because they didn't have a flat d-ring handy.

 

[rhwestfall]

OMG! - "suicide d-rings"

(actually, its probably a rationalization by someone who messed up putting it together)

 

[doctormike]

I never saw anyone install the D-rings with the bend facing back towards the harness either. I did my deco training with John Chatterton, and he used these: Highseas sR-1 Drop D-ring - Northeast Scuba Supply Store

I tried them and I really like them.

 

[stuartv]

Thanks, guys. That's what I thought. It just made sense to me that they would go that way. I mean, if you were worried about not having them snag, then it seems like you'd just use flat D rings and the bent ones would never have been invented.

I never saw anyone install the D-rings with the bend facing back towards the harness either. I did my deco training with John Chatterton, and he used these: Highseas sR-1 Drop D-ring - Northeast Scuba Supply Store

I tried them and I really like them.

I had seen those somewhere along the way and they make sense to me, too. And maybe seeing those at some point had an influence on why having the bent ones angle out seemed to be the right way to do it.

OT a bit: I see this on that same website:

Utility Keeper - 2 to a set - Northeast Scuba Supply Store

Is there a reason you would use one of those instead of just using a plain slide/keeper where you run the bungee underneath the webbing that passes over the middle slat of the keeper (like a typical LPI retainer bungee on a DIR Hog harness) and tie the bungee to make a loop?

 

[tbone1004]

they're nifty if you want to keep the harness flat, they also keep the knot out of the way.

 

[doctormike]

OT a bit: I see this on that same website:

Utility Keeper - 2 to a set - Northeast Scuba Supply Store

Is there a reason you would use one of those instead of just using a plain slide/keeper where you run the bungee underneath the webbing that passes over the middle slat of the keeper (like a typical LPI retainer bungee on a DIR Hog harness) and tie the bungee to make a loop?

Yup, that was the other thing that he used that I picked up. No huge advantage there, but a bit easier than the plain bungee loop for adjusting the tension to precisely where you want it, and replacing it if it breaks or if you need to cut it.

---------- Post added December 16th, 2014 at 01:51 PM ----------

Here's another company's version of the drop D-ring - looks like it sticks out a bit more, and is designed for waist or shoulder use...

XL Dive Rite Fixed D-ring - Northeast Scuba Supply Store

 

[stuartv]

they're nifty if you want to keep the harness flat, they also keep the knot out of the way.

You're talking about those utility keepers? Seems like the nuts on the ends would make the harness less flat than using just a plain tri-slide (or whatever you call it), with bungee run through the middle.

 

[tbone1004]

the webbing bulges over the D-ring or bungee in a normal one. I don't use the ones above, but they are useful. You won't be doing anything in the near future that would really warrant them though, wouldn't worry about it. Standard hog harness will work just ducky