Customizing a BC

[waterwraith]

I have a Sea-quest Pro QD+SL. I love the BC but it only has one tank band. I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to attach a second tank band or if anyone knew a company that could do the work? Also does anyone have any advice on how to keep a tank from slipping?

 

[Scubakevdm]

Wet the tank strap first.

 

[RICHinNC]

One of my bcd's is the same one....and I agree with Kev....wet the band
first..it will stretch as you tighten it up. I never investigated putting a
second band on. My bp and wing has two...but never looked into adding
one to my SQ. Let me know how it goes.
rich

 

[loosebits]

There are two reasons to have two cam straps. The usual reason is it makes your BC look cooler and is mainly a marketing ploy. The only real reason is if the backplate isn't curved to fit a tank, the tank will twist on the BC. Most backplates on jacket style BC are curved to hold a tank (see that hard piece of plastic in your BC where the cam strap attches, that's the backplate). On setups such as traditional backplate and wings, there is no curve in the plate so two cam straps must be used.

If your tank is slipping, you may not have the cam strap theaded through the buckle correctly (they are not theaded in an intuitive way) or the strap isn't tight enough or you aren't wetting your BC and the expanding strap is causing you to drop the tank.

 

[Boogie711]

On setups such as traditional backplate and wings, there is no curve in the plate so two cam straps must be used..

Well, Loosebits - pardon me if I say it looks like you've apparently never actually DOVE with a BP/Wing. Do you have any idea what a single tank adaptor is????

If you did, you would have realized that statement is just plain wrong.

Sheesh.

 

[in_cavediver]

Well, Loosebits - pardon me if I say it looks like you've apparently never actually DOVE with a BP/Wing. Do you have any idea what a single tank adaptor is????

If you did, you would have realized that statement is just plain wrong.

Sheesh.

Well..... My Halcyon plate doesn't use a STA. It actually just has slots for the 2 cam straps and the wing is made for it as well with the slots. Granted, the Halcyon plate/single wing isn't quite traditional but for someone who has a halcyon, it could be an easy mistake to make.

As for me, I just bolt my tanks on and those bands never come loose.....

Mike

 

[Matthew]

Ive had my Pro QD for 3 1/2 years now and I've never had problems with the tank slipping, even without wetting the band. I just pull it as tight as possible. It's harder to adjust tightly though, when I use a different size tank from what I usually use with the BC, because of the creases that have formed on the band where it is threaded to the buckle.

 

[scubatoys]

The other option is get rid of the standard cam latch. The ScubaPro cam latch is real nice... Then there was the Mares Air lock system... which is a waste of time. But Apollo just came out with a new system that you basically screw down to tighten.

These things work great. You screw it down then flip the little handle down, and you can get these as tight as a banjo string - and they are really not much bigger than a conventional latch. It does take a few moments to re-adjust for different sizes though.

 

[Tiny Bubbles]

That tank looks aweful low in that picture. I hope it didn't slip!

Does anyone know where I can find a good deal on some of the big stainless halcyon super cam buckles, or does anyone make a similar buckle? Those things look heavy duty. But a pair of those buckles retails for as much as a tank.

 

[BuoyantC]

If you don't mind two more cents worth! As an instructor, the shop I work with uses SeaQuest and tanks come loose all the time. Even tanks I have attached - wet. I brought this to the attention of a rep who actually argued with me that it happens!
Personally I think there is a problem with the material that SeaQuest is using for their strap. It seems to take a l-o-n-g time to "break in". If it were my BC, I'd look into replacing the strap with one from another manufacturer.