nicodaemos
Guest
So my new MC system from ExtremeExposure came in last Friday. The package included the stainless steel backplate, webbing and 27lb wing. EE had already strung the webbing through the plate, all I had to do was keeping loosening it until it would fit on me.
Overall it took about a couple of hours for me to finally get a fit that I liked. It's a lot more tedious than trying to adjust a bc, you have to put on the harness, take it off and work at adjusting the triglides, rinse and repeat. Of course, along the way I learned some shortcuts so I could now probably adjust a bp/harness in about 30 minutes. Just call me Mr. Speedy.
Anyway, the bp/harness felt great. My biggest reason for going with this was that I hated how bc's never fit me. No matter how I adjusted them they were tight in some places and loose in others. The bp/harness was adjusted until it fit me like a glove.
I got a chance to get it wet this weekend. Aquamaniac and I headed out to a quarry in Pelham, Al. and here are my impressions:
The ss tank band buckles are solid. They lock into place and I really feel like the tank is secure. The bp/harness fits great. The five point harness makes the rig really secure on the body ... nothing feels loose. Oh my regs didn't arrive yet, I had to go the rental route. Let me tell you it really sucks trying to do a bp/harness with rental regs .... I had no way to attach the console to my left hip D-ring. Oh well, let it flop for this dive.
The diving was great. I had dropped some weight since my last dive and given the SS bp, I was able to drop some more off my weight belt. Buoyancy was much better for me on these dives and as an added bonus, Dave mentioned that my trim was horizontal! I had been so busy working on my buoyancy the last few dives that I hadn't even bothered thinking about trim yet, but the bp/wing automatically helped me with the trim. Cool, nice bonus!
The whole rig just disappears underwater. I forgot that I even had it on. On the surface I just flipped on my back for the surface swims. I like it better than surface swims in a bc, on your back it's easier to keep the fins in the water.
The one bad thing I found was that my inflator hose is longer than I expected. It's attached to the bungee on the left D-ring, but because it's so long it basically goes down from the wing, through the bungee and then up as I hold it .... this is while I'm horizontal in the water. I found myself doing a barrel roll on my right shoulder to vent air through the inflator ... do others do this or is there a better technique?
I did two dives with the rig and I'm glad I never bought a bc.
My Apeks regs just came in today
so once I swap out the hoses, I'll be all set for diving a decent setup this weekend.
Woo hoo, no more rental gear!
Overall it took about a couple of hours for me to finally get a fit that I liked. It's a lot more tedious than trying to adjust a bc, you have to put on the harness, take it off and work at adjusting the triglides, rinse and repeat. Of course, along the way I learned some shortcuts so I could now probably adjust a bp/harness in about 30 minutes. Just call me Mr. Speedy.
Anyway, the bp/harness felt great. My biggest reason for going with this was that I hated how bc's never fit me. No matter how I adjusted them they were tight in some places and loose in others. The bp/harness was adjusted until it fit me like a glove.
I got a chance to get it wet this weekend. Aquamaniac and I headed out to a quarry in Pelham, Al. and here are my impressions:
The ss tank band buckles are solid. They lock into place and I really feel like the tank is secure. The bp/harness fits great. The five point harness makes the rig really secure on the body ... nothing feels loose. Oh my regs didn't arrive yet, I had to go the rental route. Let me tell you it really sucks trying to do a bp/harness with rental regs .... I had no way to attach the console to my left hip D-ring. Oh well, let it flop for this dive.
The diving was great. I had dropped some weight since my last dive and given the SS bp, I was able to drop some more off my weight belt. Buoyancy was much better for me on these dives and as an added bonus, Dave mentioned that my trim was horizontal! I had been so busy working on my buoyancy the last few dives that I hadn't even bothered thinking about trim yet, but the bp/wing automatically helped me with the trim. Cool, nice bonus!
The whole rig just disappears underwater. I forgot that I even had it on. On the surface I just flipped on my back for the surface swims. I like it better than surface swims in a bc, on your back it's easier to keep the fins in the water.
The one bad thing I found was that my inflator hose is longer than I expected. It's attached to the bungee on the left D-ring, but because it's so long it basically goes down from the wing, through the bungee and then up as I hold it .... this is while I'm horizontal in the water. I found myself doing a barrel roll on my right shoulder to vent air through the inflator ... do others do this or is there a better technique?
I did two dives with the rig and I'm glad I never bought a bc.
My Apeks regs just came in today
so once I swap out the hoses, I'll be all set for diving a decent setup this weekend.Woo hoo, no more rental gear!
