Freedom Plate Divers Roll Call: show us your rig!

[lexvil]

I do mine with an H and separate waist belt, attaching the shoulder straps with “T”s

 

[KDAD]

My plate didn't have rollers at first but just the webbing through without triglides. The waist and shoulder harness kept moving around and getting too loose. Once I added the triglides everything was good.

 

[azstinger11]

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.

If you happen to remember where did you get your webbing? I used the stuff stuff from Piranha. It’s good webbing, but maybe too stiff for this application.

 

[azstinger11]

Also, huge shout out to Eric and the entire Freedom plate diver group here. I really appreciate the tips/tricks/and ideas!

 

[Kupu]

If you happen to remember where did you get your webbing? I used the stuff stuff from Piranha. It’s good webbing, but maybe too stiff for this application.

After reading up on options, I used webbing from Dive Right In Scuba on my new Freedom Plate. I have much stiffer webbing on another plate, and will probably switch it out for the DRIS webbing since it is just right for my taste. Soft enough to be comfortable, but plenty stiff enough to hold shape for donning and doffing.

 

[dmaziuk]

If you happen to remember where did you get your webbing? I used the stuff stuff from Piranha. It’s good webbing, but maybe too stiff for this application.

Same as @Kupu: DRiS.

 

[Soloist]

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.

Mine are fixed as well. I use tubular webbing, plastic tri-glides and stainless D-rings between the rear slots to prevent abrading and keep the harness in place when slinging tanks. The @Akimbo rollers are brilliant, but I had the same issue.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

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

I’ve been tied up with family stuff, sorry. I’m back now.

The shoulder straps, yikes! @Soloist beat me to it. All you you need to do is run the two ends back out the the top slot and that will fix that.
The other way to adjust your webbing that’s quick and easy is to remove all the keepers, rollers, etc., and load up the rig with a tank. Don it on dry land, bend over forward and hike up (jump up) the tank while simultaneously pulling on the waist straps straight out. They will slide stubbornly but they will slide with a little finesse. I forgot to mention too that you’ll need to wear your suit or a winter coat or whatever to simulate the thickness. When the straps slide into place and the rig feels good have your wife mark the webbing in between the waist slots on the back with white china marker or chalk then put the keepers at those locations. Make sure the straps are equal too.
Do these things and you shouldn’t have anymore problems.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The best webbing I ever found was some stuff from Trident that my dive shop had in rolls. The old stuff was better (ca. 2005), the newer stuff is a little thinner and stiffer, but it works OK. They must source from whoever they can get it from but it’s inconsistent.

 

[stuartv]

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.

You can have them a fair bit looser than "fit a fist underneath". Most likely, you should have. I think that is the most common mistake people make when configuring a BP/W - having the shoulder straps too tight. As you say, once you put the waist belt and crotch strap together and tighten it up, that is what pulls the whole rig together and makes it stable. The BP/W should be high enough on your back that the waist belt is not running around your waist like a normal belt. It should be angling down some as it goes from the back around to the front.

You can see here to get an idea. With the waist belt angling down towards the front, the crotch strap will be looped over it at the lowest point and when the waist belt is tightened, it has the effect of pull the whole rig down - which puts the tension on the shoulder straps to make the whole rig stable.

You can also see I was still dialing mine in and, in this picture, the plate is too low on my back. It needed to be higher up to nestle against my back like it should.

I did my Rescue training in a BP/W. When it came to an exercise where I was going to have to doff my rig in the water, the instructor offered to let me switch to one of the shop's integrated BCDs, to make that easier. I told her it would be no problem. I was faster to get out of my rig than students in an integrated BCD. Pop the buckle and pull out the tail end of the waist belt, shrug, shrug, and I was out. When it is setup right, getting out should be easy.



In case you're wondering, my swim trunks have a shark swimming amongst the stars, vomiting a rainbow, being ridden by a cat in a cowboy outfit. You know you want some....

If you happen to remember where did you get your webbing? I used the stuff stuff from Piranha. It’s good webbing, but maybe too stiff for this application.

I use the webbing from Dive Gear Express. It is stiff but, to me, it is definitely not too stiff. I have not encountered webbing that is too stiff. The DGX webbing is stiff enough to be somewhat of a pain to adjust things on it. But, that means that once everything is dialed in, it is that much less likely for things to move around by accident. I don't know why anybody would want less stiff webbing. I have never "noticed" it - i.e. it does not create points of discomfort. Not even in a 3mm wetsuit, carrying double steel 120s.


Also, just to point it out: People have been diving BP rigs for years without rollers or tri-slides or anything to keep their harness from moving around. You don't NEED any of that stuff. Especially if you use appropriately stiff (resin-impregnated) webbing. It might move around some when it's new. But, once you dive it a bit, the webbing will take a set and it's probably not going to move. My BPs that I use for carrying doubles don't move at all and they have no tri-slides or anything else to make them adjustable or to hold their adjustment.

I'm not saying "don't use them". I'm just saying don't get too wrapped up in it and let yourself be led into thinking you NEED something like that. Once a BP/W with a Hogarthian harness is setup right, it is very easy to get in and out of - even in a drysuit - and the harness does not move around on its own. That and the simplicity and robustness (not a single plastic part) are part of what makes it so appealing (to me, anyway). More than that is, potentially, just over-complicating something that should be very simple. Solve problems you HAVE, not problems you think you might have.