Horse Collar BCs

[neophytediver]

Was looking over some things and watching the tellie when a question occured to me. Does anone actively dive with horse collar style BCs anymore? It seems that there are some advantages and disadvantages to the design, but to me it seems that it has gone the way of the dodo in this BP/Wing and vest style world. Anyone on the board dive one, and if you do, what do you feel are the advantages to it? The disadvantages?

Thanks.

 

[sealkie]

I don`t but I know a very well know photographer that does

They are not unheard of among drysuit divers who are actually correctly weighted and thus do not need to use a BC for buoyancy control because the air in the suit needed to reduce squeeze is enough to maintain the diver neutral - the horsecollar then becomes simple low profile emergency floatation in the event of a dry suit problem

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I use one when vintage diving just for the general flavor.

With the whole vintage thing in general, it is a pretty minimalist approach with a doubel hose reg, no SPG a small horse collar BC and little else. Everything will fit in a small duffle bag. Not something that usually occurs with modern equipment.

The whole set up is also overall very low drag and the horse collar contributes to this.

The downside of a horse collar is that they tend to be uncomfortable on the surface as you go over backwards, and when fully inflated, the BC itself is quite bulky.

Personally, even though I kinda hate to say it, I think the horse collar rightfully belongs on the extict species list for rec recreational diving. Both vests and wings do it so much better.

 

[mempilot]

They are not unheard of among drysuit divers who are actually correctly weighted and thus do not need to use a BC for buoyancy control because the air in the suit needed to reduce squeeze is enough to maintain the diver neutral - the horsecollar then becomes simple low profile emergency floatation in the event of a dry suit problem

Being correctly weighted has nothing to do with this. Dive doubles with stage bottles, lights, and other gear, and you may not wear any weight. I wouldn't dive my drysuit without a bladder. You'd find me somewhere on the bottom pinned to the deck of a ship. There's no way I'd put the amount of air in the suit needed be neutral at 200' with that gear.

The horse collar tends to get in the way, especially when needed. A back inflation bc or bp/wing gives you the mobility with the safety.

 

[Nemrod]

I occasionally do. My horsecollar is a Dacor Seachute from the mid 70s. It is a slim and compact desgn with an unusual desgn feature. The bag has two chambers. There is an upper chamber that is the horsecollar part that can be orally inflated or CO2 inflated. The lower portion of the bag is the boyancy compensating portion. It has a power inflator. This portion of the BC rests under the stomach thus alleviating the tendency to rotate to a vertical position when underwater and motionless. It actually works very well. It fits so compact and close to the body that it has no tendency to tangle or hang so it is good for diving in close quarters.
The dive industry rediscovers itself every few years. It can get away with that because the average diver leaves the sport on average after 3 years or less. I suspect that in time the benefits of some types of compact horsecollars will be rediscovered just as the current BP/wing is a rediscovery of the original back inflate BC designs. Just a few years ago everyone had clear silicone masks, now everyone wants black masks. I am waiting for a nice yellow or blue! N

 

[Chad Carney]

Getting rid of my HC BC back in 1977 was a move I'll never reverse, yet every once in a while, but very rarely, I'll dive with no BC at all. Just with a back pack.

I keep one on my boat for hull cleaning purposes, in 4' to 5' of water, and I have had on occassion to make a real dive with it.

Sure it's extremely retro...weighting myself properly, as I do for freediving... requiring kicking down to a neutral depth. I find I can control my buoyancy just fine with breathing control alone.

It's amazing how simple and streamlined scuba gear can be, with no hoses over your shoulder, no bags and virtually no drag at all!

I certainly don't recommend this for anything other than a controlled experiment, but it does quickly point out how much divers often use their BCs as compensating crutches for bad weighting and buoyancy control.

Chad

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

Some professional rescue divers and fire departments still use horse collars. They have needs to do things like ditch tanks while still maintaining positive surface bouyancy.

Not sure if this is so, but the Navy, as of a few years ago, also still used them. I don't think they used them exclusively but they did continue to use them at least in certain circumstances.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

I met a guy in Monterey who dives a horse collar...it was a brand new one. I didn't catch the brand.

He also dove with two tanks, each on its own regulator, and he dove almost exclusively solo. This guy said he wouldn't have it any other way and loved the HC.

So, not a textbook 21st century diver, I guess

Gregg

 

[scubapro50]

sold my horsecollar BC with CO2 inflator about 20 years ago and started diving with a jacket. Found that I missed the old BC for a lot of short dives that I wanted to get in and out quick. It's great to use when doing the "vintage" diving thing using a doublehose or early Voit singlehose that don't have the LP ports. That's what finally did in the horsecollars ..... advancement in equipment. It's like driving that old 1956 Ford you dad had ... it may get you where you want to go but it not as comforable and stylish as that new Lexis.

 

[Bob3]

I know several folks that use the critters, usually in conditions where the "rules" require a flotation device, where they'd otherwise be as naked as possible.

Being correctly weighted has nothing to do with this.

Most recreational diving is done with a single tank; if a person is just diving a single tank, all they have to worry about compensating for is the 6 lb bouyancy swing of the (average) tank, and bouyancy lost from suit compression.
Most folks can easily compensate for the 6 lb swing through tidal volume adjustment, so if the suit compression is removed from the equation, the BC goes practically unused. If they're weighted properly.
Your mileage may vary with the gear configuration & style of diving.