Just got back from a weekend with bp/wings

[tech3324]

O-ring once bubbled...

Do you wet the cam bands before mounting the tank? I have never had a problem with the built in rods and tank movement..

Yes, I did wet the cam bands, but the tank still moved. Tightening it even more might have improved things, but I just don't consider the integrated STA an improvement over a separate STA which is always secure.

The other thing I like about a separate STA is the ease of swapping wings. Because the cam bands stay with the STA and don't have to thread through the BP and wing, the STA/bands can be removed as an assembly.

Don

 

[Scubaroo]

tech3324 once bubbled...
The other thing I like about a separate STA is the ease of swapping wings. Because the cam bands stay with the STA and don't have to thread through the BP and wing, the STA/bands can be removed as an assembly.

I would call it more of an ease of swapping tanks. For shore diving, I use a single tank and refill it during the surface interval - I simply unbolt the STA from the plate/wing, and carry the tank with the STA still strapped to it to the fill station. Means tank refills are now a matter of undoing/tightening two wingnuts (butterfly nuts) instead of fiddling with tank cam straps - and the tank is always in the same position - you can't accidentally put the tank higher or lower and throw out your trim.

Only time my STA comes off my tank is for multidive day trips where tanks are supplied. Like tech3324, I've removed the delrin rods from my wing.

 

[O-ring]

Scubaroo once bubbled...
I would call it more of an ease of swapping tanks. For shore diving, I use a single tank and refill it during the surface interval - I simply unbolt the STA from the plate/wing, and carry the tank with the STA still strapped to it to the fill station. Means tank refills are now a matter of undoing/tightening two wingnuts (butterfly nuts) instead of fiddling with tank cam straps - and the tank is always in the same position - you can't accidentally put the tank higher or lower and throw out your trim.

Only time my STA comes off my tank is for multidive day trips where tanks are supplied. Like tech3324, I've removed the delrin rods from my wing.

That makes perfect sense. The only time I use my pioneer wing with cam straps is on vacation (or in a pool) and I don't use it with my own tanks (therefore I couldn't leave the STA on). I usually dive doubles, so by leaving your STA on you are making your switchovers as easy as my doubles switchovers (just insert two bolts, tighten wing nuts, jump in water). I agree that that system is much easier to switchover than the cam bands..

 

[leadweight]

O-Ring,

All I can say is if you just did 12 days in Bonaire is:

You lucky dog you.

And I don't care if you dove a BP, jacket, empty clorox jug or whatever. Bonaire is the best of the Caribbean for fish diversity, big soft coral and variety of shore/boat diving.

you dog, you dog, you dog

OK, I just got back from Coco View, the vis could have been better, but it was still very nice and you get to dive a lot with their 24 hour tank access. Did 23 dives and my Transpac 2 was great bla bla bla...but I lost the clorox jug. (They use them as markers).

The killer is I am going to Ambergris Caye at the end of this month.

I'm a dog dog dog.

 

[salty]

I expect this debate to be worked out 6 months after a comprehensive settlement in the mideast is achieved

LMAO....:rofL:

 

[SeaJay]

Glad y'all liked the report.

You can bet that I'll write one about the DIR-F class. I can't wait.

Met, thanks for the pointers. Do you keep a clip on your primary for clipping off to your D-ring? Do you keep a clip permenantly attache to your D-ring? I can't imagine doubles and a T-shirt!

Cherry, that Black Diamond is one of my favorite BC's, too. Very nicely done. I also quite enjoy the bp/wing setup that I dove this weekend, the Scubapro Classic Plus stab jacket, and the SeaQuest Pro QD. I've yet to try the Scubapro Knighthawk, but I hear they're really nice. I'd also like to try Scubapro's new Classic Air. Looks pretty interesting. The bp/wings were great for a variety of reasons, and tops in performance trim and buoyancy. But I did miss some of the nicer features of today's best BC's. What I did NOT miss was the flimsy, wishy-washy feeling associated with most "over the counter" BC's with no "hard" internal structure. Yuck. All of the ones I've mentioned, especially your Black Diamond, have rigid, built-in backplates, usually made of an ABS plastic material.

Kell: My salesperson's name started with a "D," and he was polite, professional and helpful, although I wasn't pleased with his fitment. The other girl in the scuba club who was with myself and my girl thought he was "way hot," and I had to hear about it for the rest of the weekend. Sheesh.

 

[metridium]

SeaJay wrote...
Met, thanks for the pointers. Do you keep a clip on your primary for clipping off to your D-ring? Do you keep a clip permenantly attache to your D-ring? I can't imagine doubles and a T-shirt!

You're welcome. Yes, I keep a small boltsnap attached to the long hose, a few inches from the reg. It keeps things tidy both on shore and during OOA drills.

When entering/exiting the water, take the hose from behind your neck and clip to the right D-ring with the bolt facing out.

For OOA drills, leave it behind your neck and clip off the same way.

As for the doubles and T-shirt....what can I say? I'd just doubled up my 104s and couldn't wait to see what it was like, even though I couldn't go diving for a couple of days.

 

[GearHead]

Hey SeaJay,

Here's a link to a website that has a comprehensive set of pics on properly fitting a DIR rig . If you look at the first three pics, you'll see the boltsnap on the primary for clipping to the right shoulder D-ring when not in use. Also, I'm curious if, after adjusting, your BP fit the way it does the gent in the pictures?

I'll keep an eye out for your DIR-F report. I'm looking to do one this year also, but I don't know when, yet.

Good Luck,

Rick

SeaJay once bubbled...
Met, thanks for the pointers. Do you keep a clip on your primary for clipping off to your D-ring? Do you keep a clip permenantly attache to your D-ring?

 

[SeaJay]

metridium once bubbled...
You're welcome. Yes, I keep a small boltsnap attached to the long hose, a few inches from the reg. It keeps things tidy both on shore and during OOA drills.

When entering/exiting the water, take the hose from behind your neck and clip to the right D-ring with the bolt facing out.

For OOA drills, leave it behind your neck and clip off the same way.

As for the doubles and T-shirt....what can I say? I'd just doubled up my 104s and couldn't wait to see what it was like, even though I couldn't go diving for a couple of days.

Double 104's? They weren't even AL80's, hunh? Yikes!

I remember diving in a 3/2 mil with my very first bp/wing setup. I used a dive-rite classic wing (huge) and a pair of Scubapro "blimp" short and fat tanks... I think they were 104's. Steel. Trim was uhhh... Well...

Scary.

 

[SeaJay]

GearHead once bubbled...
Hey SeaJay,

Here's a link to a website that has a comprehensive set of pics on properly fitting a DIR rig . If you look at the first three pics, you'll see the boltsnap on the primary for clipping to the right shoulder D-ring when not in use. Also, I'm curious if, after adjusting, your BP fit the way it does the gent in the pictures?

Well, let's see...

I was diving a 3/2 O'Neill wetsuit instead of the drysuit this guy's got on, so right off we looked considerably different.

My primary hose was a bit shorter, and I was not wearing a canister light. My primary fit nicely under my right arm, across my chest, around the back of my neck, and into my mouth. It did not require securing under a light because it was a foot shorter. The five foot hose was a bit tight under my right armpit... A bit short. The six footer came above my beltline and crossed over about mid-ribcage. Frankly, I'd prefer a seven footer. I'm a big guy, and I think I could even get away with it even without a canister to secure the hose. Either way, I'd be fine.

My secondary was not as neatly placed as that. While the hose routing and necklace was the same, it was much closer to my neck, as the bungee that held it was a little more stretched to get around my 18" neck. The hose of the secondary was a bit short as well, and made the secondary reg fall at about my right shoulder D-ring, rather than in the center of my chest like this guy has. I hated the way it fit me, but I don't think I'd be a real fan of it even if it was properly fitted, as it would tend to hang down in front of my body when I was diving horizontally over a reef or silty bottom. But hey, that's just a theory... I can't speak that from experience, since I was not properly fitted with that secondary.

My crotchstrap was much more snug-fitting. That guy's crotchstrap appears to be relatively loose, as is evident in picture number two. Also, this guy appears to have a crotchstrap made of the same webbing as the rest of his harness, and the rig that I rented from EE had a crotchstrap made of a much softer material than the rest of the rig. Like the rest of the rig, it was made of black, two-inch webbing, but it was as if the crotchstrap was made of cotton rather than nylon like the rest of the rig. It was very soft, and did not cause any "inner thigh stab" like I've experienced before with wide, stiff crotchstraps. Check out picture one there... See how stiff the material looks? None of that in my rig.

My gear was a bit simpler, too... I was not using a belt-attached cutting tool (BFK pig sticker on my leg), and since there was no canister light, there were a variety of hoses and light heads and such not there. I had a simple bottom timer on my left wrist, and was not using the wrist-mounted compass or professional bottom timer that this guy is wearing. My wing was less than half this guy's size, and I was diving singles, not doubles. I did not have the luxury of thigh pockets.

But the essence of the gear was the same... Same hose configuration, same harness, same concepts... So despite all of the differences, yes, I can say that my rig looked very similar to his... Just without some of the stuff that I wasn't using.