First stage hitting head

[ivan73]

I have OMS BP/W (Hogarthian style harness system) and I spent 4 hours trying to adjust it (using some websites provided by people from this forum). At the end of the day everything matched as explained. For the first trip I was very excited to see the beauty of BP/W systems and everything was perfect except that my first stage was hitting my head. I have a Yoke to DIN adapter on my first stage (it's an almost new second hand Apeks XTX200) and this thing was hitting really the middle of my head. STA was already positioned at the lowest possible level. Anyway I thought I didn't adjust my BP correctly so I lower it a lot. No much improvement. Finally a dive instructor took 30 min to adjust the BP and eventually he return it to the initial position. When he wanted to lower the tank well it was not possible (if I understand correctly the first stage has to be at the level of the OMS sign, which acts as a protection. The wing is the single tank one, 32 lb. lift). He told me that I have to drill new holes in my STA; that's what I did (well now I'm not sure if I drilled low enough but let's hope for the best, again have to try on the field).

So maybe my question comes too late, but is there another solution (anybody experienced this problem)? I'm asking this in the case that my higher strap is still not low enough. Another possibility is not to use STA because I saw I can put the straps much lower on the BP. If I got it right with OMS this is not the best solution (in the same time I would need some weights, now I'm diving without any (so nice), thanks to the STA which is pretty heavy, 1.5 kg).

A side question: I've just read people do not travel with their Wing on BP, why? Everything seems to me pretty robust and BP are nicely done, does not seem to me that it can make holes in the wing.

Another side question, the same instructor told me to buy some bar slides in order to secure the exact position of my BP (he said with time it could move)? I always thought that once it's settled it's forever (well at least for very long time)?

Thanks for your comments.

Cheers,

Ivan

 

[lamont]

hmmm..... this sounds familiar to me....

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=52098

i have no idea how i solved that problem but it doesn't bug me anymore...

you got much further than i did, i never bothered trying to drill holes...

(i did switch from yoke to DIN though...)

 

[Izu]

Be patient and dont cut that webbing yet !:no
I had the same problem but had already cut the webbing short because I thought I was dialed in. Wait until it truly fits and the BP rides low on your back then leave plenty of slack held in by inner tubing on the waist in case you want to adjust it out again in the future. I tried an STA but for single tank diving, found the stock BP slots to be good enough.

 

[Nemrod]

Actually NO, what you need to do is cut a second set of camband slots for the upper camband as I have done here. People set their tanks to high these days.

The lower upper slot will allow you to drop the tank height sufficient to no longer bang your head.

N

 

[ivan73]

Thanks for the images that's exactly what I did (sorry English is not my first language so probably it was not so clear what I wanted to say)

 

[halocline]

I just turn the tank around so the reg is on the far side of the tank. If your rig really keeps the tank close to your head, like mine, you might find that having the reg on the opposite side actually helps the hose routing and results in a cleaner, more streamlined rig. In my case it's probably less of an entanglement danger, because the yoke knob is now pointing in rather than out. The reg barrel points down, so if your current set up is with the reg pointing up, you just switch a few LP hoses and you're all set. If your current set up has the reg pointing down, you'll need to move the HP hose to the other port. (I don't know anything about the port set up on your reg, I'm just describing how mine works)

The one potential issue with this is that the tank valve is now on the left rather than the right. So, you just practice reaching with your left hand. The other potential issue is that there is usually some good samaritan standing by on the boat ready to save my life by informing me I've got it all backwards.

 

[Colliam7]

For the first trip I was very excited to see the beauty of BP/W systems and everything was perfect except that my first stage was hitting my head. I have a Yoke to DIN adapter on my first stage (it's an almost new second hand Apeks XTX200) and this thing was hitting really the middle of my head.

Have the same problem when I have to use the Yoke to DIN adaptor - it moves the reg forward (toward the back of the head) just enough to DRIVE ME CRAZY. So, one step is to use DIN tanks if at all possible. The other is to adjust the vertical positioning of the tank, as several have suggested (love the STA modificiation pictures, BTW).

 

[TrickyRicky]

Hi,
I use the Oms backplate/single tank adapter system with the hog or comfort harness. My reg is the Apex XTX 50 with the yoke fitting. I don't ever remember hitting my head against my first stage. Perhaps the yoke/dinn adapter is the problem. It may take away any clearence that was there without it. At my LDS they told me I change my yoke style to a Dinn with a $65.00 part. This may be something you may want to inquire about before you start making modifications that may degrade the value of your gear.

Hope this helps.

Rich

 

[BabyDuck]

i don't think having it touch your head is a bad thing. if you're horizontal & looking forward, i think it *should* touch your head. if you can't look up enough to look forward - that's a problem!

i hope you're able to fix it to your satisfaction.

 

[dschulte]

Are you using your crotch strap? If not, give that a try. That should prevent the tank from comming up on you.
:monkeydan