DAMN CROTCH strap

[dumpsterDiver]

I have been using an aluminum backplate and a Dive Rite Venture Wing (30 lb) for single tank diving for about 18 months now. I initially was using a crotch strap but it tended to slow down the process of getting dressed and I didn’t like the fact that I was wearing it over my weight belt. I eventually figured that if I had to ditch the weight belt fast, I could just pop the harness waist strap and then the weight belt buckle which would allow the weight belt to usually pull away pretty cleanly.

After a while I tried diving without the crotch strap and I really didn’t mis it much (actually I was glad to simplify my rig). I tried this out in the summer and when wearing little or no wetsuit, the crotch strap really seemed to be unnecessary, As I moved into the winter season this year and started diving with full 2-piece 5 mm wetsuit and 18 lbs of lead and a big steel tank, the wings would need to be nearly full at depth to keep me neutral. I really became aware that the wings tended to push my head down when completely full, especially when I was trying to hold my head up to allow me to look ahead and forward (as all scuba hunters do constantly). We never seem to be sight seeing and looking down, but rather straining our necks and eyes to get a glimpse of fish that are ahead of us at the limit of the visibility.

I even went so far as to put 2 loops of bungi between my DIY STA and backplate which kept the wing from fully expanding in the small area right behind my neck ( a self-made miniature bungi wings of death configuration). This helped a little, but my neck was still not as comfortable as when using a normal vest type BC. I have really been considering going back to the old conventional stabilizer jacket BC.

Finally, last week I decide to try the damn crotch strap again. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! It held the rig down and I experienced none of the neck discomfort and the pressure on my neck. Since I seem to have to discover many things on my own: I have come to the following conclusion for my diving:

When diving in the summer when I have a thin wetsuit, I use only around 4-10 lbs of lead (depending on Al or steel tank) and my wing is consequently filled minimally to maintain neutral buoyancy at depth, I have no real use for the crotch strap. I will not use it for this type of diving. It provides me no discernable benefit and it slows me down and complicates removal of the weight belt.

In cold water, where I have a lot of suit compression to deal with and the wing has a lot of air in it, the crotch strap is a necessity for my comfort underwater.

I know that the conventional wisdom is that the crotch strap is an integral part of the BP/W set up, but for me it seems to only be needed in the cold.

 

[do it easy]

There's something scary about doing a giant stride in a thin wetsuit and wearing a harness with a crotch strap. It doesn't bother me in a drysuit and doubles, but I just couldn't do it in a 3mm and a single tank.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

This is an intersting post... glad to see someone thinking outisde of the box, being honest about their experience rather than going with the mainstream group on scubaboard.

 

[EvaL]

Interesting insight. Thanks for sharing. I would never have known. I use transpac with Venture wings and crotch strap with brass ring (which I clip to my camera, not scooter). I understand why you stopped using the crotch strap - it's a pain for me, all geared-up, having to reach down and slide it on the waitsbelt before locking it down while holding back everything else attached to the belt - it must be more difficult doing so in backplate.
Dive safe.

 

[Colliam7]

There's something scary about doing a giant stride in a thin wetsuit and wearing a harness with a crotch strap. It doesn't bother me in a drysuit and doubles, but I just couldn't do it in a 3mm and a single tank.

I agree that this is a useful post, to see what others find functional and dysfunctional.

Personally, I have never had a negative experience doing a giant stride in my 3mm, single tank, with a crotch strap. The CS just seems to work for me - wet or dry, with doubles or singles. I bought my first BC (Ranger) in part because it was 'CS-enabled'. The issue of the weight belt being underneath did come up when I moved to a BP. And, if I do a lousy job of buckling me weight belt (diving wet) and it gets a little loose, it is a bit of pain to fix it with the CS. Diving dry, I don't need a weight belt, and the issue resolves itself.

I echo the comment that a CS can be something of a pain to get into, and learning to do so on a rocking boat required time and attention. Now, I don't even think about it - I just grunt and groan and do it, even though I still forget to do so about once every 20 dives.

But, if it works for someone else to bag the CS under certain conditions, I doubt that the BP police will mind.

 

[ageddiver]

The heavier the rig you're wearing the more important the CS will be. With a lighter rig (single tank) the waist belt will steady the rig just fine on its own. But with a set of heavy steel doubles, you'll find that if you get into a head down position the rig will slip forwad without a CS and make you unbalanced - sometimes very unexpectedly. And if you're using a DPV of course, the CS is a necessity. I agree that it's not always necessary, but I think it falls into the category where it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

BTW, it also sounds as if you're overweighted with the steel tank. Your wings should only require a minimum of air to keep you neutral - if your wings are almost full, you should be able to drop a significant amount of weight from your belt. Have you tried lightening the load?

 

[Cheekymonkey]

I agree that this is a useful post, to see what others find functional and dysfunctional.

Personally, I have never had a negative experience doing a giant stride in my 3mm, single tank, with a crotch strap. The CS just seems to work for me - wet or dry, with doubles or singles. I bought my first BC (Ranger) in part because it was 'CS-enabled'. The issue of the weight belt being underneath did come up when I moved to a BP. And, if I do a lousy job of buckling me weight belt (diving wet) and it gets a little loose, it is a bit of pain to fix it with the CS. Diving dry, I don't need a weight belt, and the issue resolves itself.

I echo the comment that a CS can be something of a pain to get into, and learning to do so on a rocking boat required time and attention. Now, I don't even think about it - I just grunt and groan and do it, even though I still forget to do so about once every 20 dives.

But, if it works for someone else to bag the CS under certain conditions, I doubt that the BP police will mind.

Yea i'm newer to the crotch strap, but a bunch of my dives with it have been giant stride and I have yet to have a problem with it. I do have a 2'' strap though, maybe that stops it from, being as uncomfrotable in that situation?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

BTW, it also sounds as if you're overweighted with the steel tank. Your wings should only require a minimum of air to keep you neutral - if your wings are almost full, you should be able to drop a significant amount of weight from your belt. Have you tried lightening the load?

I'm not over weighted, however I am bulky and fall into the obese range of height/weight.

A thick wetsuit undergoes a lot of suit compression, and yes the wings are nearly full upon reaching the bottom at the start of the dive with a LP 120 with 3400 psi in it.

Comments like: "Your wings should require a minimum of air to keep you neutral" leads me to believe that someone doesn't really understand the effects of suit compression and the change in weight of a full versus an empty large steel tank.

I used to freedive in Maine at shallow depths of around 40 feet and would use around 24-26 lbs of lead and for scuba diving with an aluminum tank, I would throw 4 more lbs in the BC pocket. At depths over 80 feet, my old sea quest ADV 3, which had about 30-35 lbs of lift, was sometime completely full; if I ascended 8 feet the BC over pressure valve would sometimes burp.

 

[diveprof]

Dang! I thought the main reason to wear a crotch strap is that 9 out of 10 women think that a man in a crotch stap is sexy.

Seriously, good post. I have dove my SS backplate and Venture wing (Steel 100s) both with and without the strap. With this set-up I cannot tell much difference, though I do tend to drift back to using the crtoch strap (must be because of the 9 out of 10 thing).

 

[djanni]

My first experience with a crotch strap was will trying out a bp/w which I dove 18 times during a week long trip. I struggled with the weight belt thing myself. Over the strap under the strap. Don't think I ever figured out which was best.

I never wore a crotch strap with my Zeagle Stiletto and even though I would sometimes roll over on my back or my side inside a swin through to get a picture I never felt I needed a strap.

Last year I bought a Transpac and with it I need the crotch strap when rolling over on my back or on my side and in general I will say the crotch strap makes the Transpac more stable unless I'm nearly back up/stomach down.

I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's because of the cummerbund on the Stiletto?