Chest Strap: Necessary or Not?

[MXGratefulDiver]

Regarding psychology, I think I'm mostly bent......over

walking a mile to some groovy spots where boats can't go.

Sounds like fun ... when it's too rough to launch the boat, we surface swim ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mitsuguy]

Okay, show me a BCD that feels and acts like a backpack. Show me a BCD that puts the load on your hips.

Or maybe the problem is, most folks on here haven't done much backpacking and don't know the joy of a well designed and good backpack.

As someone who does quite a bit of shore diving with a decent little hike, and someone who backpacks as well, I can completely agree on the above...

My backpack is a Kelty with a nicely padded waist strap... When worn (and packed) properly, there is no weight on your shoulders at all... This means you need something to keep the shoulder straps from slipping side to side, thus, sternum strap... On mine, the sternum strap is a rigid strap, with a bungee to pre-load it a little...

On my bp/w, which I do, again, a ton of shore diving, I have no sternum strap at all. I don't do any chicken wing acrobatics to get into it either... It's a non-adjustable rig, mostly similar to a hog setup, I would guess... With my shoulders in proper posture for walking, standing, diving, it is snug, the straps hit my shoulders perfectly, and everything is great - no sternum strap...

Now, granted, everyone has their own preferences, but, from my experiences, a sternum strap is just a bandaid for an ill fitting or ill adjusted BCD...

I also don't wear a crotch strap with my BP/W, but thats because I rarely dive without a wetsuit and they are uncomfortable to me without a wetsuit on...

 

[paddler3d]

If someone knows how to make this happen, it really sounds like a BC that carried its load like a an actual proper backpack, would sell!

Someone needs to get Arcteryx and Osprey in the same room as BC designers.

 

[mitsuguy]

If someone knows how to make this happen, it really sounds like a BC that carried its load like a an actual proper backpack, would sell!

Someone needs to get Arcteryx and Osprey in the same room as BC designers.

Honestly though, my BP/W, properly fitted does put some weight on my hips... not a lot, but, some...

 

[vladimir]

DennisS may sort of have the 1st argument I've seen for the sternum strap on a BC.

But I'm still going to call it useless.

A properly designed backpack is going to transfer the load to your hips. This is achieved by the hip belt. The shoulder straps are there to merely keep the load to your body and then the sternum strap is meant to pull in the shoulder straps so they don't cut into your underarms where their is a large vein and nerve, which the shoulder straps can apply pressure to.

A BC is meant to compensate for the weight of our scuba gear and control buoyancy. It is also meant to hold the tank on our back.

It is not designed to use as a backpack.

Sternum strap on a BC, useless.

The chest strap doesn't have to turn your BC into a properly designed backpack to be useful. It just has to make your BC a better backpack than it is without the chest strap. For those who carry their tanks that way.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As someone who does quite a bit of shore diving with a decent little hike, and someone who backpacks as well, I can completely agree on the above...

My backpack is a Kelty with a nicely padded waist strap... When worn (and packed) properly, there is no weight on your shoulders at all... This means you need something to keep the shoulder straps from slipping side to side, thus, sternum strap... On mine, the sternum strap is a rigid strap, with a bungee to pre-load it a little...

On my bp/w, which I do, again, a ton of shore diving, I have no sternum strap at all. I don't do any chicken wing acrobatics to get into it either... It's a non-adjustable rig, mostly similar to a hog setup, I would guess... With my shoulders in proper posture for walking, standing, diving, it is snug, the straps hit my shoulders perfectly, and everything is great - no sternum strap...

Now, granted, everyone has their own preferences, but, from my experiences, a sternum strap is just a bandaid for an ill fitting or ill adjusted BCD...

I also don't wear a crotch strap with my BP/W, but thats because I rarely dive without a wetsuit and they are uncomfortable to me without a wetsuit on...

Once again ... it depends on how the harness is built. Let's just look at backplate systems for a moment ... to reduce the number of variables.

A backplate with a standard harness ... where the lower part of the shoulder straps feed into the bottom slots on the backplate ... doesn't need a sternum strap because of the way the straps are routed. They tend to sit rather high on your shoulders, and when weight is applied (as for walking in your rig), the routing of the straps pulls back and somewhat in.

On the other hand, a backplate harness such as a DiveRite TransPlate ... where the shoulder straps feed into the waist harness ... will sit differently on your shoulders, and depending on how you're built, a sternum strap may be needed to keep the straps sitting properly on your shoulders. That's why that particular harness provides one that's easily removable ... because some people need it and some don't, depending on the physiology of the diver.

Even a standard harness can present problems for people with smaller frames. In lieu of a sternum strap, some people will cross their shoulder straps behind their head in order to make them lie higher up on the shoulders.

Once again ... there is no one size fits all. What YOU use may not work for someone else's rig ... it depends entirely on how the rig is designed, and how their body is built.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[tbone1004]

Although my Transpac doesn't fit like my Kelty does, it comes a lot closer than any hard plate I've used... I have a really long torso and the normal backplates don't cut it for that and with really broad shoulders the straps cut into them and cut off circulation to my arms. I've been "fitted" by instructors who have been using them for 50 years in cave diving and they just don't fit my chest.
Transpac comes pretty close to the backpacks and that's exactly how it was designed. I feel like the plate for me is more used as a backpack for carrying the tanks than it is an actual BC. I do mostly shore/cave/river diving and not a whole lot on the boat. Unless I use a dolly to bring my tanks to the shore line, which I do now with SM, I don't want to lug those things and have both of my arms completely numb 30 seconds into the trek.
Flame me all you want for diving a transpac, but it's what works for me, and if given the option I'll use my chest strap every day. Carrying 130+ lbs up to half a mile each way screams backpacking to my ears

 

[MRadke]

Okay, show me a BCD that feels and acts like a backpack. Show me a BCD that puts the load on your hips.

Or maybe the problem is, most folks on here haven't done much backpacking and don't know the joy of a well designed and good backpack.

OK - That's an easy one, Zeagle Ranger. The Zeagle BCs are designed to be worn down on the hips. I did both boat diving and cenote diving this week and can tell you that the weight is settled well on the hips when packing it on land. My Ranger is an older model that came without the chest strap. I didn't miss it.

 

[RonMurray]

I don't like a chest strap when diving dry. Invariably comes right across my drysuit inflator. I switch to no plain bp/w when diving dry - single or doubles.