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.
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.