cummerbund

[HeatCker]

is there any down side to removing the cummerbund on my knighthawk BC.
i understand its purpose ... ""Padded cummerbund compensates for suit compression, maintaining a snug fit at varying depths.""" ... but i can do that with the waist strap.
will the BC have a tendency to ride up without the cummerbund.
i can feel the cummerbund working when i'm down south diving wet in warm waters, but 95 % of my diving is done in a bilam or neoprene drysuit depending on water temps and the cbund ends up being almost to short with the thick undies, i feel its kind of useless.
thanks

 

[tbone1004]

remove it and if you are concerned about it riding up, buy a crotch strap

 

[frndrfoe]

You could use an extender
https://www.amazon.com/Scubapro-ScubaPro-Universal-Cummerbund-Extender/dp/B005ZAKC62

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Would you ever consider reselling your BCD? If yes - you may want to just tuck the cummerbund out of the way so you don't destroy the integrity of the BC and rendering it useless to the next "buyer".

 

[HeatCker]

three good answers..thanks
i don't think there is a slot for a crotch strap on the knighthawk, the small slot that's there is used to secure the bc to the backplate, no room for another strap.
before i remove the cbund i'll try tucking it away to see if the bc rides up.
there's little chance of me selling the bc, its 9 yrs old, well used, has the internal padding removed, has several aquaseal pin hole patches in the bladder ... it still works fine, i'll use it till i need to replace it with a bpw
don't think i'll invest in the extender but its good info to let others know it exists
thanks all

 

[halocline]

Removing the cummerbund will likely help the BC feel a little less constrictive, and there's no downside. A velcro cummerbund on a BC is a particularly dumb idea to begin with. It's restrictive, cumbersome (no pun intended), and doesn't really accomplish anything in terms of stabilizing the tank on your back.

So try it, if it doesn't solve your problems in cold water, go for the BP/W. In fact, since you brought it up, I suspect that you'll find such a big improvement going to a steel plate/webbing harness that you might as well just do that and don't bother messing around.

 

[HeatCker]

dove today with the cummerbund tucked back out of the way, a trial run.
have to completely agree with tbone and halocline .. much better without the restrictive elastic band around the waist.
wish i'd thought of removing it sooner, when i removed all the floaty padding.
the air movement was so much better in my bilam drysuit and venting so much easier.
the bc did not ride up at all, in fact with the cummerbund on if the bc rode up it stayed up until i pulled it back down.
without the cbund the bc just slips back down into position if it shifts for whatever reason.
another plus is drying time, the cbund takes a long time to dry, its thick heavy and padded.
without it the bc will dry that much faster.
i'm going to remove it.

 

[halocline]

How to improve a scubapro knighthawk, a sequential approach:

1. Remove excess padding
2. Remove cummerbund
3. Remove bulky quick release weight pockets
4. Remove plastic tank support, replace with steel backplate
5. Thread one piece webbing harness through backplate
6. Replace all plastic clips and D rings with stainless, throw out the 15 or 20 leftover plastic ones
7. Try to configure the bladder to work with new plate and harness, realize that it doesn't really fit
8. Buy appropriate size single tank wing to replace bladder.

Success!

 

[Neilwood]

How to improve a scubapro knighthawk, a sequential approach:

1. Remove excess padding
2. Remove cummerbund
3. Remove bulky quick release weight pockets
4. Remove plastic tank support, replace with steel backplate
5. Thread one piece webbing harness through backplate
6. Replace all plastic clips and D rings with stainless, throw out the 15 or 20 leftover plastic ones
7. Try to configure the bladder to work with new plate and harness, realize that it doesn't really fit
8. Buy appropriate size single tank wing to replace bladder.

Success!

I think you included a few steps that weren't required:
1. Purchase BP&W
2. Configure BP&W
3. Dive and enjoy BP&W.

 

[Nemrod]

Anything that is called a "cummerbund" I want no part of.

N