bp/w setup questions

[Zaixon]

Just picked up my bp/w last week and got it all together. Put it through some test dives over the weekends and have a few questions and stuff.

First off what does everyone do about the inflator hose. It seems to not hang over the left shoulder on its own and would end up floating behind me on a dive. I ended up just putting some bungee cord on the harness and sticking it through it. Just wondering everyone else's solution on this.
Also how snug are the shoulder straps suppose to be? When diving it it seemed somewhat loose, and seemed to move around on my back a bit. I know they need to be tighter just wondering how tight to make em. and i'm guessing the D rings dont go all the way up on the shoulders, going to need to mount deco bottle on the side
And are single tank adapters necessary? I'm diving the dive rite al plate, voyager wing, and steel 100 tank, no weight
didnt seem to need the STA

Any other tips for the rig much appreciated too, thanks!

 

[fisheater]

Start off with this setup.

BAUE How To Size a Backplate

 

[scc135]

The bungee cord should be fine for the inflator. My BPW came with a rubber ring that I shove it through, but I've seen plenty of bungees.

I think rule of thumb for the shoulder straps is that you can still fit 2 fingers under the shoulder strap in front of you. I put the d-rings front mid chest level. This link should help. Not familar with deco bottles.

BAUE How To Size a Backplate

STA may not be necessary. From what I see, I don't think the Dive Rite requires it. Deep Sea Supply doesn't use one either. Something like my Halcyon does.

 

[chrpai]

I have a large o-ring threaded through my left d-ring / triglide that sticks out above the d-ring. I tuck my inflator into there to secure it and attach my spare dive light to the dring. I also have some strips of bicycle tubing below that that secure the bottom half of my light.

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If your weighting is good and your tank is secure and stable then you shouldn't need it. I need one for mine because I can't thread the tank straps through the wing.

 

[g1138]

Backplate should be where you can rest your wrist on your shoulder and still touch the top of the plate with just the first digits of your fingers. Loosen/tighten the shoulder straps until it's at this point; that could mean fitting 2 fingers between the harness and your shoulder, a fist, or even larger.
Once it's at this point, the waist strap should be tightened and the crotch strap should be tighten so the top of it fits inline with the top of your waist strap (sometimes tigheter, for instance if you're wearing a thick farmer john wetsuit.) Together, the shoulder straps keep the plate from rocking side to side, the waist strap keeps the Bp against your back, and the crotch strap keeps the Bp from riding up on you. This way, no strap should slide off unless you want them to.

D-rings should be at your clavicles, hold your arms to form a T with your body, then bend at the elbows. Your thumbs should be roughly at the center of your D-rings.

You do not need to sling tanks to hold your shoulder straps in place.

Back D-ring on your crotch strap should be as far back as you can reach, waist D-ring as well (usually both are a 4-finger width away from the plate).

Inflator hose has to be kept secured down to avoid floating behind your back. This can be a bungee loop kept with your D-ring (thread it with the same triglide just as the D-ring is) or a loop/rubber keeper at the top of your shoulder strap (slide the entire corrugated hose through this, like the velcro on a stock BC).

You shouldn't need a STA with your setup. Dive Rite designed the wing to be able to take a single tank without it.

 

[Paulmal]

The D rings on your chest go about where your nipples are. I use a pony tail thingy to keep the corrugated hose in place. The single tank adapter is not necessary use the slits in the wing and plate to put the cam bands through.

 

[bergersau]

I treat the inflator hose like this
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...ng-lpi-corrugated-hoses-bp-w.html#post4332817
I also have a loop of bicycle inner tube holding the corrigated hose to the webbing above the shoulder strap D ring.

Start with the Shoulder D rings at collar bone height, you can adjust from there as required once you see how that works with your stage.

As to the tightness of the harness. Do you use a crotch strap?
The crotch strap should keep the shoulder straps snug in the water, you may need to tighten the crotch strap a little (Not too much - unless you enjoy that sort of thing of course )

 

[Zaixon]

thanks for the quick replies and info all! I know i'm gonna love diving with this setup, already have 5 dives on it. Gonna make some adjustments tomorrow now.
I'm guessing to use bungee cord to secure lights and other items as well. crotch strap didnt come with an extra D ring for the back so def gonna pick one of those up, seems like a good spot for a lift bag or safety sausage.

 

[Paulmal]

Bungy cord will work for lights off the chest d-rings but bike entertubes or the neprome sleeve on some crotch straps work better. Put a couple on so when your first one breaks during a dive you don't have to re-weive your harness.

 

[g1138]

Bungy cord will work for lights off the chest d-rings but bike entertubes or the neprome sleeve on some crotch straps work better. Put a couple on so when your first one breaks during a dive you don't have to re-weive your harness.

While it is a good idea to have 2 sets of inner tube on each shoulder strap, should one break, it's not necessary to re-weave your harness to replace them.

You should be able to slip the inner tube loops over your buckles, tri-glides, and even through the slots of your plate. It takes some minor wiggling and stretching, but saves you a lot of minute tweaking to get your plate weaved back correctly.

The exception to this would be the DSS plate, which uses a rubber molding on the plate slots to keep the harness in place.