Insights from Rescue for BP/W users

[TSandM]

My husband and I are currently in the middle of our PADI Rescue class. Last night's pool session was largely devoted to scenarios where one would want to get the diver out of his or her gear. What became very clear was that neither any of my fellow class members (except my husband) nor the instructors was familiar with a BP/W Hog harness setup. Nobody knew the best way to get somebody out of a harness. When I played "unresponsive diver", the fellow who came to help my husband "rescue" me had a hard time discerning which buckle was my weight belt and which was my harness.

The instructors asked me what I thought the best way to get someone out of a harness in a hurry was, and I said, "Cut it." They said, "With what?" I said, "I carry shears in my drysuit pocket." And they said, "But somebody rescuing you is not going to know that . . . " And there's a point there. My husband knows, but if I get separated from him and somebody has to save me who doesn't know me, they won't know. I've been told that any serrated dive knife will go through harness pretty easily, but not everybody carries them, either.

Anyway, I guess what I took away from this was that the vast majority of the divers out there will not be familiar with a hog rig, and if you are diving on a boat or something where you have a new buddy, it might be worth a minute or two to talk about weight systems, crotch straps, and cutting implements before you get in the water.

 

[dherbman]

I think a prepared diver would, at the least, have a knife or shears. It's required for professionals, at least SSI requires it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My husband and I are currently in the middle of our PADI Rescue class. Last night's pool session was largely devoted to scenarios where one would want to get the diver out of his or her gear. What became very clear was that neither any of my fellow class members (except my husband) nor the instructors was familiar with a BP/W Hog harness setup. Nobody knew the best way to get somebody out of a harness. When I played "unresponsive diver", the fellow who came to help my husband "rescue" me had a hard time discerning which buckle was my weight belt and which was my harness.

The instructors asked me what I thought the best way to get someone out of a harness in a hurry was, and I said, "Cut it." They said, "With what?" I said, "I carry shears in my drysuit pocket." And they said, "But somebody rescuing you is not going to know that . . . " And there's a point there. My husband knows, but if I get separated from him and somebody has to save me who doesn't know me, they won't know. I've been told that any serrated dive knife will go through harness pretty easily, but not everybody carries them, either.

Anyway, I guess what I took away from this was that the vast majority of the divers out there will not be familiar with a hog rig, and if you are diving on a boat or something where you have a new buddy, it might be worth a minute or two to talk about weight systems, crotch straps, and cutting implements before you get in the water.

As someone who dives with lots of newer divers ... often ones who've never seen a hog rig ... that's pretty much a routine. I'll also go through a dryland OOA drill, just so they are clear how it works with a long hose.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MSilvia]

If you're diving with a buddy who's never seen bp/wing before, mention it during pre-dive.

 

[vbcoachchris]

your knife is on waist strap right in front of you. They can get to that very quick when you are face up.

 

[CarbonZTT]

I'm almost done with my rescue class right now, and went through the same thing you described with an unresponsive diver with BP/w. The divemaster on the boat (tired diver) had that setup, and while we were doing a tired diver assist, trying to get his harness off was a pita since I wasn't used to the crotch strap or where the buckles were or anything.

Also in the pool during one of the scenarios I played the unresponsive diver and my buddy had to bring me up. She got me up, but when she tried to inflate my BC she couldn't since she didn't know how to work my air2. So let me go after she got tired and I sank back down.

I guess the answer is to make sure everyone on the boat or wherever you are, is familiar with everyone else's equipment. Its def. worth the time in case a true emergency does arise.

 

[bradshsi]

The instructors asked me what I thought the best way to get someone out of a harness in a hurry was, and I said, "Cut it." They said, "With what?" I said, "I carry shears in my drysuit pocket." And they said, "But somebody rescuing you is not going to know that . . . " And there's a point there. My husband knows, but if I get separated from him and somebody has to save me who doesn't know me, they won't know. I've been told that any serrated dive knife will go through harness pretty easily, but not everybody carries them, either.

My concern with cutting a harness with a knife (and to a lesser extent shears) is that it needs precision and care to avoid cutting into something else vital (such as the dryuit), thereby making a difficult situation worse.

Precision and care tend to be scarce commodities in emergency situations.

I don't want to ignite the debate over the merits of 1 piece vs quick release harnesses. However in my (limited) opinion this is one situation where the "unreliability" of the quick release harness may be an advantage.

 

[Don Burke]

Anyway, I guess what I took away from this was that the vast majority of the divers out there will not be familiar with a hog rig, and if you are diving on a boat or something where you have a new buddy, it might be worth a minute or two to talk about weight systems, crotch straps, and cutting implements before you get in the water.

The vast majority of divers are not familiar with the vast majority of BC setups (especially weight integrated), so BP/W is not unique in that regard.

I take the time to look over everyone's gear on the boat. It has started some interesting conversations.

 

[vbcoachchris]

You are either uninformed or misinformed about the BP/ W set up. You are the very type of diver she is speaking of. The goal of this post is to educate you. The rig she is diving is very effective for recreational diving. It is actually easier to get a victim out of than a jacket BC . Not to mention if you cut it for her it costs about $8 and 5 minutes of time to replace. She is not pretending to be a “tech diver. She is just striving to be the most efficient “rec” diver she can be.

 

[rjack321]

You'll be cutting the harness once you reach shore or the boat. Very shortly after, your unresponsive diver is probably going to be cut out of their drysuit too. So if you nick it, that's the least of their problems.