Diving with a Horse Collar

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johnmennell

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Just wondering from all you "VINTAGE" divers out there, how does a horse collar really stack up against all the new and improved gear?
 
johnmennell:
Just wondering from all you "VINTAGE" divers out there, how does a horse collar really stack up against all the new and improved gear?

It does stack up to today gear very well. the proof of that, is that most BCD's have the buoyancy behind your back in stead of at the front like the horse collar. But that all we had so it was better than nothing.
 
Like you were the meat in the middle of the sandwich. Squished between the cylinder and the bouyancy.

And always trying to roll in another direction from the one you were trying to stay in. Other than those two big points, they were fine.

I remember my first "jacket BC"... it was a revelation. Even if it was orange and ugly.

All the best, James
 
johnmennell:
Just wondering from all you "VINTAGE" divers out there, how does a horse collar really stack up against all the new and improved gear?
Well, they don't call it "new and improved" for nothing. But it's like everything else - when a horse collar was all there was, you learned to like it. They actually worked pretty well, as far as I was concerned. It helped that the "new and improved" stuff hadn't been invented yet, so you didn't know that there was anything better out there.

I have to admit when I saw the first back-inflate jobs with the spacesuit looking plastic shells around them, I thought they looked ridiculous and would never last. That particular invention didn't, but apparently they had the beginnings of a good idea there.
 
For your next dive trip take a Ford Tri-Motor and see how it compairs to a 737. About the same.

It got the job done but just not as nice.

Gary D.
 
There's a reason that horse collars have been phased out - there are still some manufacturers that make them, but most shops don't carry them.

I know that the Navy still uses them - that's about all the info on that I have.

I have a newer Aqua-Lung one that I use when I dive my vintage gear - it serves the purpose, however is not the greatest.
 
Horse collars did the job and worked well. They were a grand improvement over their predecessors which was nothing.(or a maewest at best) They would float you face up on the surface if the spam hit the fan. On the other hand the jacket style introduced the "scuba unit" to diving and greatly simplified/streamlined donning and doffing gear. The arrival of the jacket also made the cam-pack obsolete. Horse collars still have their place amoung vintage divers, but for serious diving you'll want either a up to date bc or a back plate and wings.

Jim
 
Hmm, lets see... Oh yeah I remember now! They were crap then, and 35 years later there 35 year old crap. Tortureous crap, really, every new diver should try one! Now lets never speak of these things again.
 
The old horsecollars were ok, but getting them on could be a pain since they used thin 1" webbing. You had to put the bc on first and get that all cinched in. Then the tank and molded backback went on. After the weight belt went on, if you had put the horsecollar on wrong - too loose or too tight, then you had to mess with that all over again. I guess if you had owned one, you could dial it in every time, but the few times I rented one, the adjustments were a nuisance.
They didn't stand a chance once the integrated bc jacket came became available.
 

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