From BCD to BPW: The Evolution
- Thread starter uncfnp
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I received the polypropylene webbing today. The colour is an excellent, high-visibility yellow. However, it is much too soft for a cold-water harness. I'm thinking it would twist around a lot, hang limp, and be seriously hard to don. It's much like the straps on a typical, good quality gym bag.
That said, I would consider using it for the warm water travel bpw I'm assembling, as it would be more comfortable than stiff webbing if it were placed next to skin or over a thin rash guard.
Also, I told the folks at strapworks that I would be using the poly webbing for scuba, and they enclosed a note with my order saying that they did not recommend it for that application, and they included a 6" sample of their basic black nylon scuba webbing. It seems to be pretty standard stuff, maybe a bit softer than the harness that came with my Deep Sea Supply bpw setup, but not by much.
Looks like I'll have to try some of the stuff from northeastscubasupply.com for my cold water setup. Comes in lots of colours and is advertised as "stiff webbing", so hopefully it's what I'm looking for.
OP
uncfnp
Solo Diver
Thanks for the info Locus. I can tell you that of the 4 different local and on line shops...
The color webbings from Piranha are by far the stiffest. The yellow is so stiff I have trouble just trying to bend it into a buckle.
The black webbings are all pretty much equal. The black from DGE may be slightly less stiff..
Interestingly, the black webbing in the Dive Rite harness kits and on their Transpacs are the softest and exactly what I want, noticeably softer than their webbing by the foot. Very odd.
Does anyone know if boiling the webbing will permanently soften the webbing. I know hot water will soften it temporarily?
The color webbings from Piranha are by far the stiffest. The yellow is so stiff I have trouble just trying to bend it into a buckle.
The black webbings are all pretty much equal. The black from DGE may be slightly less stiff..
Interestingly, the black webbing in the Dive Rite harness kits and on their Transpacs are the softest and exactly what I want, noticeably softer than their webbing by the foot. Very odd.
Does anyone know if boiling the webbing will permanently soften the webbing. I know hot water will soften it temporarily?
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Just got off the phone with John from Northeastscubasupply.com. He tells me that they used to have the resin-impregnated webbing, but that they can no longer get it (EXCEPT that he has a large stash of it in PINK only. I can only assume this is because pink has been a slow seller).
While on the phone with me, he did a comparison of NESS' 2" Stiff Webbing and the webbing on a DSS harness. He described NESS' webbing as softer than DSS, "but not seat belt soft".
He says that in a couple of weeks he is supposed to receive a bunch of new samples for webbing, and that they might be more what I'm looking for, so he's going to get back to me.
While on the phone with me, he did a comparison of NESS' 2" Stiff Webbing and the webbing on a DSS harness. He described NESS' webbing as softer than DSS, "but not seat belt soft".
He says that in a couple of weeks he is supposed to receive a bunch of new samples for webbing, and that they might be more what I'm looking for, so he's going to get back to me.
Interesting, I have absolutely no problem with the softer webbing on my harness except my d-rings slide a bit. I just sewed a double layer where my d-rings sit and have no problems at all with the "floppy" feeling of the harness. I'm pretty flexible, though, so that may be a contributing factor. It is clearly more "work" than a stiffer webbing is but far from unmanageable and I liked the price/comfort of it. Mine is white, rather than yellow and I believe I bought it at G-street fabrics.
I think the webbing from Halcyon is just about perfect. Stiff enough to hold things in place, but not uncomfortable, even a light T-shirt.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
It's the exact same stuff that Trident sells.
I did a side by side comparison once between a friends H plate/harness and some stuff I was getting from Trident to set up my plates.
It was identical in feel, flexibility and thickness.
That was about 8 years ago though, things might have changed since then. It could be that Trident buys from whoever has the best deals at the time, I don't know, I doubt anybody knows but them.
I'm happy with the webbing that comes in the hog harness kits that Oxycheq sells, their buckles kinda suck but the webbing is nice, and all the D-rings and keepers are fine too.
**How did keepers get to be called "tri glides" anyway? I never heard that term before I came to scubaboard.
They always were refered to as "keepers" because they were originally for weightbelts to "keep" the weight in one spot.
Then they were adapted to use with a D-ring on webbing.
Who decided they were "tri glides" now? was it the tech crowd? Just like air has to be called "gas".
OP
uncfnp
Solo Diver
I originally saw them called belt slides, then tri-glides, and then keepers in this thread. No wonder us newcomers get confused!halocline
Contributor
Now that I"m thinking about it, the stuff on my freedom plate is webbing I got from scubatoys, it's definitely softer than the typical harness stuff but stiffer than a seatbelt. I remember getting something from strapworks, maybe a sample, but it's not on any of my gear.
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