Crooked BP/W

[creamofwheat]

So I've been diving with my new BP/W. Only have a few dives on it so far, and i THOUGHT something felt a little "off" but couldnt quite figure it out...until a couple days ago. Turns out it is sitting slightly crooked on my back, with the tank valve aimed for my left shoulder as opposed to the back of my neck. it is fine on the surface, but once i am horizontal underwater, it shifts to the crooked position.

my thought is that i may not have it adjusted quite properly yet. do you think i need to shorten the shoulder straps a bit more, or shorten the crotch strap...or.....? i can dive with it just fine, but it is slightly frustrating, so any suggestions would be wonderful. thanks.

 

[JeffG]

Are the shoulder straps set to the same length? (ie put your knee on the plate and pull the two shoulder straps. Are they the same?)

 

[mahjong]

My initial thought too--that the shoulder straps might not be the same length. But even if they are slightly off, if your waist strap is good and tight, your BP should not sag to the point where too much tension is on the shoulder straps--and if you have 3-bar slides locking the harness in the lower corners of the BP, then a tight waist belt should hold the BP from sagging below the waist. That said, do make sure your shoulder straps are the same length.

 

[H2Andy]

ya... primary suspect: same length on both straps

also, are both straps threaded the same way? some people sometimes
thread them differenlty into the lower slot.

 

[creamofwheat]

thanks...next chance i get i'll double check that the shoulder straps are the same length and threaded the same way...and next time i dive, i'll tighten the waist strap. i usually keep that strap looser because of my weight belt (a 22lb weight belt is somewhat painful if there is another tight strap about...), but i'll be sure to wear the waist strap tighter.

 

[Darnold9999]

Your drysuit whip might also be a bit short or the valve on the suit pointed in the wrong direction or your tank too high (causing the whip to be too short) - pulling the 1st stage to your left shoulder. Wouldn't happen on the surface, but in the water where everything weighs less it might be pulling everything out of alignment. Just a thought.

 

[mahjong]

So you wear a weight belt--depending on how you distribute the weight--and especially if you are using block weights--when you go horizontal underwater the weights could ride up off your waist a bit and if a block happens to be just beneath one side of the backplate this could easily twist the backplate's positioning on your back.

 

[PfcAJ]

I had a similar issue to what you are describing. After checking the straps...over and over again, I determined it to be because of the cam bands. Now, I'm assuming you're diving a single because of your reference to the tank valve (not manifold or valves).

If this is the problem, when you cam the first strap, check the plate and make sure it is straight, if not, give it a good push to the side to correct it. Then tighten the second strap and make sure the plate is straight.

After watching a video of myself, I saw how crooked it really was. It doesn't feel that bad, but it is. (At least in my case, you might have a completely different issue, but its worth investigating before you go adjusting those straps!)

I hope this helps!