Ditching the poodle jacket

[gcbryan]

Flimsy was a very poorly chosen word and I'll excuse myself for the day I have in it. I'm collaborating in a very horrible but necessary way with having a friend sectioned. So some words have been ill chosen.

How quick is it to get into these more minimalist harnesses? I don't like faffing around and I like to be kitted up early in preparation for a dive. I do not like rushing (except when posting on SB).

I've determined to drop Tobin a line and see what he has to say. I'm a big believer in good service and clearly the quality of his goods is supported by what people are saying here.

Thanks,
John

It's not hard at all once you get it properly adjusted which will take a few dives. You leave the arm straps a little loose but the slack is taken up once you fasten the crotch strap.

There are some other advantages as well. Since your shoulder straps aren't moving you can use the shoulder d-rings to attach backup lights and using bungee or inner tube have it held against the strap out of your way.

Since you now have a waist belt rather than a cummerbund you can have a small knife attached there. This now means you have less dangling from you or less that you have to put in a pocket.

Regarding steel tanks (is this the same thread?) they are lighter weight, less buoyant, and aluminum tanks aren't generally available in larger sizes. Here in the PNW the water temp is consistently cold and the depths are consistently deep and therefore larger single tanks are more commonl

Greater weight is carried by divers and therefore it's good to get as much as possible off the waist.

 

[mdax]

You can't go wrong with a dss bp/w with the back plate weights screwed on.

https://www.deepseasupply.com/

 

[InTheDrink]

When you set up a backplate rig, you can decide how many D-rings you want, and where you want them. Most of us find three on the harness and one or two on the crotch strap are plenty. The two chest d-rings are for clipping off backup lights (which ride along the harness, and are secured with rings of inner tube around the webbing, which Tobin includes in his setup) and for clipping off regulators, primary lights, and eventually extra bottles. The left hip d-ring is for your console or SPG, and sometimes for a reel or SMB and spool, although you can also clip those to your butt d-ring.

For all the other little stuff I carry, I use my pockets. That includes wetnotes, a spare mask, a Dive Alert, a mirror, an SMB and spool, sometimes (when I'm assisting) a disassembled snorkel. Pockets are kind of a necessity for a BP/W diver, whether you buy one that slides onto the harness or whether you put them on your exposure protection, or buy X-shorts.

BTW, I have never dived or even seen a Freedom Plate, but if you are small or have narrow shoulders, that method of running the harness might work very well. I cross my shoulder straps, because otherwise, they tend to slide off onto my arms.

A properly adjusted harness is VERY easy to get in and out of. If it is difficult, it is almost certainly too tight. Looser shoulder straps and tighter crotch strap fix that. I can actually get in and out of my harness faster than I can get in and out of the jacket BC I use for classes.

Thanks for the practical input Lynne. It's all the stuff that seem obvious to people diving these rigs frequently that is a complete mystery to people like me. So thanks for telling me where you put stuff on each ring - really! It may sound obvious to you but it really isn't for me.

Good to know too that a harness is easy to get into. That's important to me. The way I go to sleep each night is imagining kitting up. Equally, when I am kitting up for real it is an exercise in relaxation. So it is very important to me that my rig aids rather than hinders that.

Thanks,
John

 

[scubafanatic]

I may well take your advice and ping Tobin. My only concern is that some of the kit looks albeit pricey. The plate I was looking at was over $200 - this seems kinda steep. I'm presuming these are US rather than AUS dollars. Steep, no?

J

well, if you put a pencil to it, and added up how much you spend annually on scuba (gear/trips/etc) what % of that sum total would $ 200 represent? (be honest here!) Then add in the fact it's pretty much impossible to wear out a 'plate'...lasts essentially forever.

 

[InTheDrink]

well, if you put a pencil to it, and added up how much you spend annually on scuba (gear/trips/etc) what % of that sum total would $ 200 represent? (be honest here!) Then add in the fact it's pretty much impossible to wear out a 'plate'...lasts essentially forever.

Good point (and again, one that wasn't immediately apparent to me). $200 for a plate is not much and within reason I'm keen to get good quality stuff that travels well.

But you clearly don't have a wife and three kids to support which makes even getting a latte a decision point

J

 

[scubafanatic]

Interim post, but I've dived with Saspotato and her buddy and rigs were removed to get under various shelves to get bugs. So what part of not believing me and calling me a liar are inconsistent. Sorry, but just cos you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And you did indirectly call me a liar. Not good especially as I've enjoyed being your weight grabbing buddy over the last 36 hours

J

p.s. please don't do the 'well they weren't holding their breath. this is scuba after alll'.

WOW !!! I didn't imagine that either you or Saspotato were THAT desperate for lobsters ??? (or anyone for that matter, unless you're a local subsistance fishing local fisherman/diver!) I'm not seeing either of you as being anywhere near 'financially challenged' enough to need free ones that badly, so it is a competitive thing? I'm just not seein' the risk-reward payoff here, but to each his own, I guess...or maybe I'm just a little annoyed to hear of divers rooting out the last dregs of sealife, sterilizing the sea for future generations, leaving lobsters with no refuge....show some mercy, please!

 

[InTheDrink]

It's not hard at all once you get it properly adjusted which will take a few dives. You leave the arm straps a little loose but the slack is taken up once you fasten the crotch strap.

There are some other advantages as well. Since your shoulder straps aren't moving you can use the shoulder d-rings to attach backup lights and using bungee or inner tube have it held against the strap out of your way.

Since you now have a waist belt rather than a cummerbund you can have a small knife attached there. This now means you have less dangling from you or less that you have to put in a pocket.

Regarding steel tanks (is this the same thread?) they are lighter weight, less buoyant, and aluminum tanks aren't generally available in larger sizes. Here in the PNW the water temp is consistently cold and the depths are consistently deep and therefore larger single tanks are more commonl

Greater weight is carried by divers and therefore it's good to get as much as possible off the waist.

Likewise, thanks for the practical input. It's very important to an essentially internet diver (me). I live in the UK, my buddy lives in Thailand, my LDS just shut down, and I never got round to making friends with the club. They didn't seem that friendly (and didn't seem that good either, not that I am).

If I've got webbing then I'll attach stuff. But I do hate dangling. It's like trying to watch tv after the kids have gone to bed. Doesn't need to be perfect but it should at least seem perfect and seamless.

Will be happy to get weight off the waist and given my current weighting and suit not sure I will even need any.

But the one and only thing I can't wait for is being in a rig that makes me feel even more like an astronaut.

J

 

[InTheDrink]

WOW !!! I didn't imagine that either you or Saspotato were THAT desperate for lobsters ??? (or anyone for that matter, unless you're a local subsistance fishing local fisherman/diver!) I'm not seeing either of you as being anywhere near 'financially challenged' enough to need free ones that badly, so it is a competitive thing? I'm just not seein' the risk-reward payoff here, but to each his own, I guess...or maybe I'm just a little annoyed to hear of divers rooting out the last dregs of sealife, sterilizing the sea for future generations, leaving lobsters with no refuge....show some mercy, please!

Cool your boots. It wasn't me or Sas. It was someone we were diving with (ok, one of our buddys). I leave only bubbles (really).

In terms of risk/reward - come on, get real. On a 90 min 7m (30ft) dive you'll prick around with pretty much anything cos it's fun. If it kills you then you really deserve it.

I mean, come on.

J

(FYI I've never killed or harmed as far as I know any organism including reefs underwater). I am fond of chicken however.

 

[InTheDrink]

and we are getting increasingly off topic.

To bring it back in line, scubafanatic:

You've got $1,000 to spend on a rig (no regs, no fins, masks etc. - just your buoyancy gig/rig).

How would you spend it

J

 

[Deep South Divers]

Koplin SS "medium" plate
Koplin "light" STA
12' of webbing from DiveGearExpress.com
5 D rings, 5 triglides, and a stainless buckle from DiveGearExpress.com
Halcyon Eclipse 30
Halcyon crotch strap
Mountain bike (2") inner tube from local bike store

Take the rest of the money and go diving.