How do you attach your reels, lift bag, and oher equipment to the BP?

[jeepster0000]

I currently have a Fred T BP and Halcyon wing. How do you attach the reels and lift bag to the back of the BP. I know there are holes there, but should I run a bungee cord though the holes or use the bolt snaps. I found that if I put a bolt snap on the wrong way, then put on my tanks, that I could not get the snaps off. I would like to see how the cavers set theirs up. I know they carry a couple thousand feet of line, so they must have it set up just right.

I would like to see a picture of how all the equiptment is attached. I read the DIRF book, but they only say to attach it to the back, they do not show the best way.
Please help,
ADAM

 

[metridium]

Not a caver or tech diver, but I keep most items in my drysuit pockets and my SMB in the MC storage pack on my Halcyon backplate. A reel occasionally rides along on the rear crotchstrap D-ring; otherwise in a drysuit pocket.

 

[WreckWriter]

Mine is basically same as Metridium's. As for attaching "in back" one can attach a reel to the rear crotch strap D-ring, liftbags can be attached with bungee loops off the bottom of the BP (do a search, its been discussed). You don't want lots of crap hanging off your plate, use pockets for most of it.

Tom

 

[Green_Manelishi]

The holes in the BP are generally for use with equipment,
like the OMS lights and argon rigs, that use "quick links".

 

[Spectre]

I [currently] have my bag in a thigh pocket. Since I don't have a canister light, I have a D ring on my right side. Since I've not gotten around to putting another snap bolt on my primary hose to clip it off to that d-ring, I need _something_ clipped there. When I have my reel with me, I clip it to the right D-ring so my hose runs under it. I'll clip my light and my game bag there as well.

I've been toying with the lift bag under the BP, but I've not gotten around to fiddling with it there. My concerns are that I won't be able to restow it easily after use, whereas in my thigh pocket it's easy to roll up and stuff back in.

 

[WreckWriter]

Spectre once bubbled...
My concerns are that I won't be able to restow it easily after use, whereas in my thigh pocket it's easy to roll up and stuff back in.

how often do you really need to restow a bag? I guess that depends how one uses it. For myself I generally use my bag for deco so I just toss it up on the boat when done with it. Even if I were lifting an artifact or whatever I would not usually be restowing.

My pocket is full with spools and shears, no room for bag.


Tom

 

[metridium]

Spectre wrote...
I've been toying with the lift bag under the BP, but I've not gotten around to fiddling with it there. My concerns are that I won't be able to restow it easily after use, whereas in my thigh pocket it's easy to roll up and stuff back in.

Replacing the SMB in the MC pack is not practical while in the water, IMHO.

Instead, I fold it and clip it off to a chest D-ring or place it in a drysuit pocket.

 

[Spectre]

WreckWriter once bubbled...
how often do you really need to restow a bag? I guess that depends how one uses it.

Precisely where my issue comes in. There are the dives where it is there as a redundant bouyancy source/ascent line/goodie marker/me marker. Then there are the dives where we're moving lobster traps back and forth [in which case it's in and out the whole time].

My pocket is full with spools and shears, no room for bag.

I generally don't have enough stuff in my bag to fill it [yet], but I do have two thigh bags (generally only use one though). I like the idea of it behind me out of the way, but the re-stowing is an issue there. I thought about stowing it in my thigh pocket on active use dives, and back there when it's serving as a safety item... But then I realized I'd rather have it somewhere I'm used to getting at it from so it's less thought in an emergency.

And then I end up overthinking too much, so I shut down and leave it be until I have more time to overthink some more!