Harness Question

[Teller]

Im thinking about getting a back plate and wing and I want to get a real basic harness. I have been looking at the dive rite basic harness and a few others that are pretty much the same. The only thing I am worried about is that the shoulder straps can not be synched down after you get your gear on like a jacket style BCD. I don’t care about that but I am concerned about it being difficult to get my gear on and off. Is it difficult? I have a Ranger BCD right now and I usually loosen up the straps when I put my gear on and then tighten them up. Thanks for any input.

 

[knowone]

Gear on and off, one minute on land.

Alleviate your concerns by touching things.

Gear on, diving, one hour in water.

 

[diver 85]

Mine goes on the same---usually use it for solo shore diving & 'gear up' off the tailgate of my truck---with NO problems donning or ditchig it.......

lol---I forgot the word NO in my oroginal response......what a difference 2 little letters make----------------

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I've had no issues at all donning and doffing my Halcyon BP/W rig. I like the straps a little loose, so that's the way they're adjusted.

There are differences in the stiffness of harness webbing, and this will affect how easy it is to don the rig. I installed the Dive Rite basic harness on my warm water BP. The Dive Rite harness material is soft but very floppy. Not a big deal with a thin exposure suit, but it would be annoying for local diving with a bulky drysuit. Once broken-in, the Halcyon webbing has a nice balance of softness and stiffness. It must be the magic contributed by the little H's incorporated into the webbing. It's more expensive than unbranded webbing material, though.

 

[cheeko8080]

I have no problem with my Dive Rite Basic harness. When the webbing is adjusted properly it shouldn't be super snug, but because of its design it will fit just right and be very stable in the water. They make a harness with the cinch clips that you are talking about, but I would recommend just getting the basic harness and getting it adjusted right.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Im thinking about getting a back plate and wing and I want to get a real basic harness. I have been looking at the dive rite basic harness and a few others that are pretty much the same. The only thing I am worried about is that the shoulder straps can not be synched down after you get your gear on like a jacket style BCD. I don’t care about that but I am concerned about it being difficult to get my gear on and off. Is it difficult? I have a Ranger BCD right now and I usually loosen up the straps when I put my gear on and then tighten them up. Thanks for any input.

Classic question.

If you are attempting to keep a tank from flopping around while using a fabric BC it's normal to ratchet down the harness 'till it's snug.

With a backplate you don't need to have your harness tight.

The cylinder is rigidly attached to the plate, and the wide plate prevents the tank from flopping around.

With a pair of shoulder straps, a waist strap and a crotch strap a "HOG" harness just needs to "position" the plate on your back.

I routinely see newer BP&W divers adjust their harness much tighter than required.

Tobin

 

[parzdiver]

I started "too tight" with the harness on my BP/W. I eventually loosened the shoulder straps, but have the crotch strap a bit on the short side. By tightening the waist strap, it pulls the back plate "down" and essentially tightens the shoulder straps. I also do it to help with my trim, since I need the tanks a little lower on my back.

 

[dkktsunami]

Proper adjustment is the key. It will take a little fiddling around at first to get it just right but once it's adjusted correctly you should be good to go. Plate and wing is definitely worth the effort.

 

[PfcAJ]

Looser shoulder straps are the move with a simple harness. The crotch strap is the key to the equation, as it stops the plate from riding up.

 

[TSandM]

Yup, another vote for loose straps and tight crotch strap.

I can get in and out of my gear in a wetsuit faster than I could with releases. (In a dry suit, everything is slower, because of various valves and glove rings that have to be coaxed through.)