Looking for creative valve drill tips

[Graeme Fraser]

I've currently got a tech student who is really struggling to reach his left post valve and I'm hoping someone has a clever tip that we haven't tried.

A bit of background: he is already an experienced rec instructor and a personal friend, although a recent convert to twinsets. I have offered to take him through PADI tec40-45-50, but at this stage we're just doing 'fun' dives with practice skills in limited water to get him used to his rig. He's performing very well and definitely has the right attitude to progress in tech world.

However, he cannot seem to reach his left valve no matter what we try and I'm worried he may become despondent. As a UK diver he is in a drysuit and, currently, winter thermals but they do not appear overly restrictive. He is in good physical shape with no left arm mobility issues and is practising his drills in horizontal trim.

He have tried:
Stretching out beforehand and prior to drill
Arching back more
Loosening harness
Slightly more air in DS to allow movement
Head push method
Pushing bottom of cylinders up to raise valves
Tilting cylinders
Loosening waist strap
Elbow in and elbow out

At a push he can reach if he first pulls the manifold in with his right arm, but obviously wants to do it normally. As a side note, he does have Kubi drygloves but the cuff does not appear to be interfering. He is also quite short at 5'7'', but in proportion.

I've had a good look and can't see any issues with his rig and his cylinder bands are set correctly.

Sorry for the rambling post but I would certainly welcome any suggestions.

Thanks. G

 

[kensuf]

Start with checking the drysuit fit with the heavy undergarments:

Loosen the suspenders in the drysuit -- I've seen people with them tight that lost mobility/flexibility in the drysuit.
If you have a telescoping torso, making sure there's enough mobility there.
Have them crouch down in a squat and see if they can touch their right shoulder blade with their left hand (obviously, do not wear gear except the drysuit / underwear).

Then check the BP/Harness fit.
Wearing only the backplate, have them repeat the squat / touch right shoulder blade bit.
Potentially look at loosening the shoulder straps and maybe the crotch strap -- while it should be snug, it shouldn't be super snug.

Best of luck.

 

[RyanT]

I can understand the desire to "do it normally," but from a functional perspective, what's wrong with holding the manifold with his right hand? I can reach my left post without doing this. However, I find that hoisting the rig up by the manifold with my right hand puts the left valve in a position where the close/open goes much faster. As long as he can do this reliably while maintaining buoyancy, I don't see it as a big deal.

Alternatively, he could invert the twin set and put the valves at the bottom. I think someone makes a valve protector so that the rig can be set down while inverted. I know this has worked for some people, but it does seem like it would make hose routing a nightmare. This wouldn't be my option.

 

[Billy Northrup]

How does the pool work for him? Trying to remember where I saw valve handle extensions.

Akimbo has allot of information on inverted setups, I built one but I didn't have time to figure the trim out and went sidemount. If money is no problem then rebreather.

 

[divad]

This was really helpful to me:



Chapter 16 Reaching Your Valves: Five Stretches for ... - diving fitness


www.divefitness.com/html/articles/article_pdfs/should_stretch.pdf

 

[divad]

 

[Graeme Fraser]

Thank you kensuf, ryant, Billy Northrup and divad, there are some really useful suggestions here which we'll work on and I've also forwarded him the stretch links.

As he's a mate and we're not on a deadline, we can take our time but it's good to know there are still options. I'm sure he'll get there. Thanks again guys and I'll keep you posted.

 

[taimen]

Wouldn't emphasize stretching too much.
Only few shoulder mobility problems can really be solved by stretching, more often not.
Unless there is a specific limitation in shoulder rom (usually due to injury, and those are rarely cured by stretching) it is probably a gear or technique issue. In the case of objective shoulder mobility problems it would be a good idea to visit a physical therapist or a qualified doctor to get guidance.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

My tec instructor suggested this when I had a similar issue in the beginning:

Make sure you are reasonably horizontal.
Release your waist buckle
Shift the rig upwards an inch or two.
Shut off the left post.

I can image this method will get a decent amount of flack...and this is not exactly the "normal" method the OP is asking for...but it did help a buddy who had hit a wall in his tec diving shut off drills. He later adjusted his bands and backplate to get the manifold higher on his back.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

My tec instructor suggested this when I had a similar issue in the beginning:

Make sure you are reasonably horizontal.
Release your waist buckle
Shift the rig upwards an inch or two.
Shut off the left post.

I can image this method will get a decent amount of flack...and this is not exactly the "normal" method the OP is asking for...but it did help a buddy who had hit a wall in his tec diving shut off drills. He later adjusted his bands and backplate to get the manifold higher on his back.

Thanks Andrew. Have tried this and, although closer, it's still a real struggle. His trim is currently about 20° off horizontal so not bad, but we're working on trimming to about 10° which may help a bit.