Double tank orientation

[Rainsey]

The lack of flexibility in a dry suit can sometimes also be addressed.... Unless the suit is genuinely too small, after doing the above you should have enough range of motion in the suit to reach the valves.

Adjusting the harness slightly or adjusting the tank position in the plate or the tank position in the bands can also move the tanks an inch or so in the right direction to allow better access to the valves. (Just be aware of the potential impact on your trim.)

Good feedback. The suit is not too small but what I did find was the harness was a bit tight. The kit we used belonged to the instructor and probably lack of experience on my part in using the harness added to the prob. It was explained to me to be able to fit my open hands under the chest straps for optimal fit. I found that doing the stretch of either arm while at the 5 metre S drill did help.

Inverted has fallen out of favor for many reasons (including smashing the regs when you set it down, the hose routing etc).

Yep, this was what I was thinking although the pic I made mention of had a plate under the valves for protection

you just need a slob winder.

I am a slob, thus whay I cannot stretch Cool tool though!

Might try a skill from your open water class, reach down with the non-valve turning hand grab the bottom of those tanks and nudge them up within reach. Also adopt a slightly head down orentation.

Yep, even tried this one. The instructor suggested placing my head on the sand as I could then not go any further and the tanks would slide down. Not much good in a mid water situation though.

Glad someone mentioned horizontal trim, because the PADI DSAT video has the divers on their knees while doing valve shutoffs.

Not only does this make manipulating the valves more difficult, but it's not useful for real world situations.

This is one thing our instructor flogged me over, horizontal trim.. Bottom line is you are all correct and thanks for the feedback. Work on the flexibility is number one if I am going to continue with the Tec training, cannot let old age get the better of me. I will be retiring my BC and going with my own BP/W so this gives me no excuse for not haing a correctly adjusted rig.

Again, thanks for the tips

Cheers

Rainsey

 

[Diver0001]

You could try loosening the crotch strap a bit and pitching forward or pushing the tanks up higher when you need to get at the valves. If you can touch the back of your head you should be able to get at the valves if you slide the whole kit up a little higher on your back.

Another tip to try is to think about how your arm works. If you hold your elbow out to the side when you try to reach the valves then your hand doesn't go as far back as it does when you hold the elbow out in front. Also with the elbow in front you can theoretically use the other hand to push the elbow back which might help you bridge the last few cm.

I'll bring your attention back to what Gombessa said too. Many times, the undergarment is the culprit.

R..

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

A couple tricks that have helped me:

1. Make sure you extend your arm straight out in front of you and then reach back to the the valve, if your elbow is cocked to the side it wont work well.

2. When reaching for the isolator tilt your head forward and put your hand behind your head. Then tilt your head back using it to guide your hand back to the isolator knob.

3. Loosen or tighten your shoulder straps as needed.

4. Move your tanks in your bands so that they sit at a height that would be easiest to reach the valves.

If these tips dont work sidemount may be an option for you as the valves are sitting pretty much in front of you.

 

[TSandM]

A couple of years ago, there was an absolutely superb essay on reaching one's valves on a British website. I went and looked for it and couldn't find it, but I have written to the author to see if he can give me the url, and if he does, I'll post it here. It simply contained about every strategy known to get this done.

For me, I thought it was shoulder flexibility, but it was about 90% suit and undergarments. When I bought the Fusion, valve drills became easy, both because the suit is more flexible and because I ran a little more air in it (even that one can hamper, if it's too tightly squeezed).

 

[crlavoie]

I'll second the dry suit stretch. Without it, it's all but impossible for me to reach my valves. Again, lying horizontal on the surface, close your exhaust valve down and blow the suit up until you look like the Michelin man. Stretch from finger tip to toes and I guarantee you'll have far more mobility than you ever thought possible.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

A couple of years ago, there was an absolutely superb essay on reaching one's valves on a British website. I went and looked for it and couldn't find it, but I have written to the author to see if he can give me the url, and if he does, I'll post it here.

Lynn's post with the link is here:

Lynn's link to British website

 

[karstdvr]

You could try loosening the crotch strap a bit and pitching forward or pushing the tanks up higher when you need to get at the valves. If you can touch the back of your head you should be able to get at the valves if you slide the whole kit up a little higher on your back.

..

Good advice. Steve Berman used to say he was blessed with short arms,and reaching the valves in the position most people practice was an impossibility. He always kept things loose enough so the tanks would slide up his back,making the valves easily touchable.

Sometimes inability to touch a valve may not be a function of shoulder tightness,but could be an impingement syndrome. Also,if your shoulder is adhesive,you probably won't get the mobility back.

Ask Forrest Wilson about diving inverted tanks. He is a well known figure in the cave diving community,and could always be picked out of a crowd with inverted doubles.

My solution...dive sidemount and never worry about valves being out of reach,or need help with a bubble check.

 

[Rainer]

Now where did you learn that nice trick?

I'll second the dry suit stretch. Without it, it's all but impossible for me to reach my valves. Again, lying horizontal on the surface, close your exhaust valve down and blow the suit up until you look like the Michelin man. Stretch from finger tip to toes and I guarantee you'll have far more mobility than you ever thought possible.