I used my new DSS system in the pool for the first time, prior to leaving on a dive vacation next week. I noticed the buckle came undone a couple of times and wonder if anyone else has had this problem. I think I have in threaded right, but perhaps someone can point me to a web site showing how to thread it. (on the hogarthian threads there are links how to thread the web through the plate.) Incidentally, I noticed in the pool the bp pushing my face forward into the water unless I pedaled my feet. However, I had all my wt on a wt belt so I figure if I move a few pounds to the tank straps this problem should be alleviated.
DSS buckle
- Thread starter louis
- Start date
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CWMurf
Contributor
I haven't seen a picture on threading the buckle but it should be pretty easy to figure out. You probably have it right already. The thing about the aircraft style buckles is that if they don't have good tension they can pop open quite easily.
As for pushing your face into the water - yes, moving weight around will alleviate that problem. You will also want to put in just enough air to keep your face out of the water. I melted 1some of my weight lead and put it in the recess in my plate. That helped out quite a bt. I no longer have to have any weight on my shoulders or tank bands or valve to be trimmed underwater and balanced at the surface with my face safely out of the water.
:14:
As for pushing your face into the water - yes, moving weight around will alleviate that problem. You will also want to put in just enough air to keep your face out of the water. I melted 1some of my weight lead and put it in the recess in my plate. That helped out quite a bt. I no longer have to have any weight on my shoulders or tank bands or valve to be trimmed underwater and balanced at the surface with my face safely out of the water.
:14:
cool_hardware52
Contributor
louis:
Louis,
I'm assuming you have our hogarthian harness kit. There are several ways to weave he waist belt buckle onto the webbing. Wha I like to do is go "Up" through the first slot, down throught the second and back up through the third, leaving 6-8 inches of webbing projecting beyond the buckle. This allows for further adjustment if needed, and the adjustment can be made more easily than other weaves.
The buckles we use are very heavy duty, and if fully snapped shut should not open on their own. Are you fully closing the buckle?
Face forward at the surface is mos typically a result of being overweighted. If you are over weighted you will need to put far more air in your wing than if you are correctly weighted. This additional air will be down along your lower back. This can tip you forward.
It is quite common for new BP&W users to be over weighted. This is often because the BC's they hav been using were positive, often by several pounds.
I'd suggest a careful buoyancy check, i.e. eyelevel, with no gas in your wing. Properly weighted all you need is a few puffs of gas in your wing to get your chin out of the water.
Lastly you do need to have your harness properly adjusted, it should be fairly snug, and the crotch strap should be short enough that the rig does not climb over your head when you are verticle at the surface.
Call me if you have any questions. I'll be in the office this morning, gone this afternoon.
Regards,
Tobin
Green_Manelishi
Contributor
louis:
As Tobin wrote, properly weighted you should not be face-planting into the water.
Threading the buckle should be like threading it on a weight belt ... depends on the number of slots. If you have any of the webbing underneath the latch, then thread the non-buckle waist strap through the buckle, resulting in two pieces of webbing between the latch and the body, you probably will not be able to completely close the buckle.
Make certain you don't trim ends until you know the harness is right.
cool_hardware52
Contributor
ae3753:
I don't think it's the cam strap he's talking about, it sounds like the waist strap buckle.
Tobin
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a
Contributor
tstonedvr:
Betcha he's talking about the SS one on the Hog harness. Those kind of buckles, while stainless and all that, do tend to come undone in my experience way more than the plastic Fastex clips. I know the Plastic clips are a big no-no failure point blah blah for the DIR crowd, but in all my years of backpacking, I never had one "fail" or come undone randomly. And that's in a load-bearing situation. On a scuba rig, the likelihood of one of those clips "failing" underwater when it is bearing no load at all is truly remote.
thank you all for your comments. Yes, I am using a hogarthian harness and steel buckle purchased from Tobin. It turns out I have it threaded the way Tobin recommended in his comment. I think I am snapping it completely shut, but in the future will be vigilant about being sure I am doing so. On the plus side, when I used the DSS bp/w in the pool with the hog harness it did not move or shift even a milimeter. Plus it was very easy to slide out of when out of the pool and sitting on a bench. I know others have complained of slipping harness or difficulty in getting out of the harness. But I had absolutely neither of these problems. Only problem was the steel buckle coming lose. I think a large part of my face forward problem in the pool was too much weight as a couple of you suggested. I paid $35 to the LDS to take a "refresher" course in the pool so I could test out this system prior to my vacation. My first action in the pool was to test for neutral bouancy and I found myself overweighted. No way was I going to float at eye level with an empty bc and the 10 pounds on my wt belt. When I pointed this out to my instructor he was adamant I was just fine. I didn't argue as my main purpose with the class was simply to test out the harness and the equipment.
