DIR Compatible Ice Harness
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Bob3
Contributor
Hmmm... tie a reel off to a down line, leave it to the DIR folks to think up a way to dive solo under the ice. 
The harness allows for optimal line attachment, I just use my weight harness, as that's something that will not come undone unless I absolutely want it to. I'm sure the harness is "required" because of "someone's" SOPs.
Surface tender = a darn good safety device, you're supposed to maintain contact through line pulls, something that even OSHA recognizes.
Do away with the tender & you do away with said additional safety device. Besides, it's fun to stand upside down under the ice & have the tender pull you back to the hole, almost as much fun as bicycle riding upside down under the ice.
I always had a hand loop to hang on to, in addition to a hard attachment point. Easier to maintain feel.
Two thumbs up for braided poly line, also good for wrecks because it floats.
Heck, one time the ice was so thick that we had to tunnel through the mud a ways to get into deeper water, it was "chocolate milk" time.
Maybe I'll tell the story about freediving through the ice sometime...
The harness allows for optimal line attachment, I just use my weight harness, as that's something that will not come undone unless I absolutely want it to. I'm sure the harness is "required" because of "someone's" SOPs.
Surface tender = a darn good safety device, you're supposed to maintain contact through line pulls, something that even OSHA recognizes.
Do away with the tender & you do away with said additional safety device. Besides, it's fun to stand upside down under the ice & have the tender pull you back to the hole, almost as much fun as bicycle riding upside down under the ice.
I always had a hand loop to hang on to, in addition to a hard attachment point. Easier to maintain feel.
Two thumbs up for braided poly line, also good for wrecks because it floats.
Heck, one time the ice was so thick that we had to tunnel through the mud a ways to get into deeper water, it was "chocolate milk" time.
Maybe I'll tell the story about freediving through the ice sometime...
My opinion is based on 27 years of diving in the coldest state in the lower 48 states, Minnesota. If you wanted to be a well rounded diver, you had to dive under the ice. Almost 6 months of winter ...
There has always been numerous ways of diving under the ice. I have tried most of them.
This being the DIR forum, I understand the skeptical opinions on tender-diver diving. My intial instructors and dive buddies were all commercial divers. Their background was diver-tender umbilical surface supplied air. With this background the transition to tethered SCUBA was just an easy transition. That is how it was taught and to this day that is how I teach it. I am not going to get into the discussion that your style of diving is not better than mine. If I had that attitude then I wouldn't have open my eyes to the GUE DIR way of diving.
The other way to dive under the ice is to use the cave diving technique. I have done that to. It was unfomfortable at first but I got used to it. I would never try it unless you were a cave certified diver. You would need to wll versed in reel/line diving. I would also suggest that you leave somebody on the surface or some crazy drunk ice fishermen can do stupid things to your dive area.
Either of these methods is OK if you are trained and follow their procedures. You can enjoy the world under the ice both ways.
There has always been numerous ways of diving under the ice. I have tried most of them.
This being the DIR forum, I understand the skeptical opinions on tender-diver diving. My intial instructors and dive buddies were all commercial divers. Their background was diver-tender umbilical surface supplied air. With this background the transition to tethered SCUBA was just an easy transition. That is how it was taught and to this day that is how I teach it. I am not going to get into the discussion that your style of diving is not better than mine. If I had that attitude then I wouldn't have open my eyes to the GUE DIR way of diving.
The other way to dive under the ice is to use the cave diving technique. I have done that to. It was unfomfortable at first but I got used to it. I would never try it unless you were a cave certified diver. You would need to wll versed in reel/line diving. I would also suggest that you leave somebody on the surface or some crazy drunk ice fishermen can do stupid things to your dive area.
Either of these methods is OK if you are trained and follow their procedures. You can enjoy the world under the ice both ways.
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