Freedom Plate Divers Roll Call: show us your rig!

[azstinger11]

Just arrived today! What a work of art!

 

[azstinger11]

So took my freedom plate to Shaw's cove for it's maiden dive today. Have some questions about refining the setup.

Setup: Freedom plate, rail (bolted to plate directly), Hollis C45LX wing, 2 DGX trim weight pouches, rubber weight belt, AL80, crotch strap

Issue 1: I dove an AL80 and had the top cam band as high up the tank as I could (just before the rounded section starts) and I couldn't look straight ahead without knocking my head against my first stage (i could maybe get 20-30 degrees from straight down) and it totally preventing looking ahead. I have used the same tank/1st stage on my old plate + sta and didn't have the same issue. During the dive I wrote it on my slate and had my wife look at the tank position and she said it looked normal. So not really sure, whats up.

Issue 2: So even with Akimbo's rollers, I wouldn't say that the harness moves easily but yesterday during dry fitting with much effort I could pull the waist straps to cinch down. The hip d rings would move from against the plate (in the loosest setup) to maybe 3-4 inches forwards on each side (so 6-8 inches total) so right against or slightly in front of my hips. Walking around the house it seemed okay, I don't have a pool to test for reference. Today couldn't get the hip straps to tighten much at all, so that left the harness in what should have been in the loosest position. It didn't seem too bad pre/during the dive, but post dive walking back to the car and later I noticed my entire right shoulder is now bruised in a very telling 2" pattern.

I'll post pictures tomorrow of how I have the rigging currently.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So took my freedom plate to Shaw's cove for it's maiden dive today. Have some questions about refining the setup.

Setup: Freedom plate, rail (bolted to plate directly), Hollis C45LX wing, 2 DGX trim weight pouches, rubber weight belt, AL80, crotch strap

Issue 1: I dove an AL80 and had the top cam band as high up the tank as I could (just before the rounded section starts) and I couldn't look straight ahead without knocking my head against my first stage (i could maybe get 20-30 degrees from straight down) and it totally preventing looking ahead. I have used the same tank/1st stage on my old plate + sta and didn't have the same issue. During the dive I wrote it on my slate and had my wife look at the tank position and she said it looked normal. So not really sure, whats up.

Issue 2: So even with Akimbo's rollers, I wouldn't say that the harness moves easily but yesterday during dry fitting with much effort I could pull the waist straps to cinch down. The hip d rings would move from against the plate (in the loosest setup) to maybe 3-4 inches forwards on each side (so 6-8 inches total) so right against or slightly in front of my hips. Walking around the house it seemed okay, I don't have a pool to test for reference. Today couldn't get the hip straps to tighten much at all, so that left the harness in what should have been in the loosest position. It didn't seem too bad pre/during the dive, but post dive walking back to the car and later I noticed my entire right shoulder is now bruised in a very telling 2" pattern.

I'll post pictures tomorrow of how I have the rigging currently.

Either the plate is too long and the top of the plate is too high up on your back, or the straps are too tight and that is pulling the rig too high up. The other thing that might be happening is the crotch strap is too loose and shoulder straps are self tightening because you mentioned Akimbo’s slide rollers. I’ve had that type of setup begin to auto tighten on me during the dive and ended up with the rig up behind my head very similar to what you’re describing. Cinch systems remain controversial with some people swearing by them and some people hating them. I personally do not care for them.
Try locking the straps in place with keepers where you want them and don’t be afraid to tighten up the crotch strap to prevent the rig from riding up. The crotch strap can pull down the waist band a little in front to form a Y shape.
The tank should have been plenty low enough. If the top cam strap was right at the tank shoulder then that’s as far down as the tank can go. What type of first stage do you have and how do you have it oriented? Is there something sticking way up? The Freedom Plate is designed to be very close fitting and gets the tank as physically close to your body as humanly possible. The reg should be low and in enough that there is no way your head should hit it. If it’s still doing it try putting the tank on with just the wedge and skip the rail. The rail may be pushing the top of the tank too far out for your body shape.
Try dry fitting it on land both ways. Don the rig with a tank and reg and bend over forward flat to get the rig to settle up into it’s “sweet spot”. The curve of the plate and the curve of your back should find each other. Crane your head back as far as you can and see if it’s still happening. Make a note of how the shoulder straps fit and adjust them accordingly.
Post some pics of how you have your webbing set up, not that it should make a huge difference but I want to see anyway.

 

[azstinger11]

Either the plate is too long and the top of the plate is too high up on your back, or the straps are too tight and that is pulling the rig too high up. The other thing that might be happening is the crotch strap is too loose and shoulder straps are self tightening because you mentioned Akimbo’s slide rollers. I’ve had that type of setup begin to auto tighten on me during the dive and ended up with the rig up behind my head very similar to what you’re describing. Cinch systems remain controversial with some people swearing by them and some people hating them. I personally do not care for them.
Try locking the straps in place with keepers where you want them and don’t be afraid to tighten up the crotch strap to prevent the rig from riding up. The crotch strap can pull down the waist band a little in front to form a Y shape.
The tank should have been plenty low enough. If the top cam strap was right at the tank shoulder then that’s as far down as the tank can go. What type of first stage do you have and how do you have it oriented? Is there something sticking way up? The Freedom Plate is designed to be very close fitting and gets the tank as physically close to your body as humanly possible. The reg should be low and in enough that there is no way your head should hit it. If it’s still doing it try putting the tank on with just the wedge and skip the rail. The rail may be pushing the top of the tank too far out for your body shape.
Try dry fitting it on land both ways. Don the rig with a tank and reg and bend over forward flat to get the rig to settle up into it’s “sweet spot”. The curve of the plate and the curve of your back should find each other. Crane your head back as far as you can and see if it’s still happening. Make a note of how the shoulder straps fit and adjust them accordingly.
Post some pics of how you have your webbing set up, not that it should make a huge difference but I want to see anyway.

Thanks Eric, i'll post pictures tomorrow! I'm sure I'm setting it up wrong. Based off my shoulder, i'm guessing it is the over tightening issue, that would explain both sets of issues. Reg is a yoke Aqualung legend, I orient the main part of the 1st stage body back down the tank stem.

I did forget to mention that while gearing up, I had 5 or 6 divers come up and say what a cool backplate it is! I can't wait to dial in the plate!

 

[rsingler]

With apologies to @Akimbo, I got rid of my rollers too. They were GREAT for doffing my rig. But I found that my shoulder straps were getting too tight and my waist loosening up during the dive, as the two averaged out.
I went back to a tri-glide that locks my waist strap position. I find that accepting a loose enough shoulder strap to accommodate my fist does not make my rig unstable, if my waist strap is tight. So doffing is okay, if not as good as with his rollers.

 

[azstinger11]

With apologies to @Akimbo, I got rid of my rollers too. They were GREAT for doffing my rig. But I found that my shoulder straps were getting too tight and my waist loosening up during the dive, as the two averaged out.
I went back to a tri-glide that locks my waist strap position. I find that accepting a loose enough shoulder strap to accommodate my fist does not make my rig unstable, if my waist strap is tight. So doffing is okay, if not as good as with his rollers.

Ok thanks for the tip, I think I'll give that a try. I'm assuming you just put the tri-glide behind (wing facing) where the waist straps weave through?

@Eric Sedletzky as promised. This is when it was set to be as loose as possible, the hip d-rings are all the way back to the plate. The shoulder strap d-rings are actually equally leveled, just noticed in the photo they may not appear that way (think it's just the camera angle and the way the straps were lying).

 

[Soloist]

Ok thanks for the tip, I think I'll give that a try. I'm assuming you just put the tri-glide behind (wing facing) where the waist straps weave through?

@Eric Sedletzky as promised. This is when it was set to be as loose as possible, the hip d-rings are all the way back to the plate. The shoulder strap d-rings are actually equally leveled, just noticed in the photo they may not appear that way (think it's just the camera angle and the way the straps were lying).
View attachment 600558

Unfortunately the routing of the harness is incorrect at the top. Take a look at the pictures (front and rear).

 

[rsingler]

I'm assuming you just put the tri-glide behind (wing facing) where the waist straps weave through?

I put mine between the slots, so it's fixed in place. Alternatively, you could have it just inside the plate on the body side, which will limit how far the strap can loosen, while you can still tighten the shoulders and take up the slack with your waist buckle. Or you can skip the roller, and add a tri-glide out a little further on the waist, recognizing that you'll be able to loosen the shoulder strap to a certain extent, with a little work.

 

[azstinger11]

Unfortunately the routing of the harness is incorrect at the top. Take a look at the pictures (front and rear).

View attachment 600562

Ok thanks, I figured I screwed something up. That would also make sense why it could wrench on my shoulder more by skipping that upper slot.

I put mine between the slots, so it's fixed in place. Alternatively, you could have it just inside the plate on the body side, which will limit how far the strap can loosen, while you can still tighten the shoulders and take up the slack with your waist buckle. Or you can skip the roller, and add a tri-glide out a little further on the waist, recognizing that you'll be able to loosen the shoulder strap to a certain extent, with a little work.

Ok, great! I'll toy around with it and see what works.

 

[dmaziuk]

Ok thanks for the tip, I think I'll give that a try. I'm assuming you just put the tri-glide behind (wing facing) where the waist straps weave through?

I have mine on the shoulder strap side (both sides). This way there's enough freeplay between hip d-rings (when I loosen the harness) and the triglides (when I pull it tight) for comfort. My webbing's soft enough I can pull it without the rollers, esp. when wet.