new dive rite voyager bc. whoo hoo

[rick00001967]

i managed to get my hands on a new dive rite voyager bc. these apparently have been discontinued. i am pretty happy with the first impressions out of the box. this will be my first rear inflate bc. finally getting out of my jacket style. i was going to go right to a back plate with a wing but was not sure it was right for me. i am a new ow instr and most of my diving will be with students so i felt staying with a bc instead was a better option. this one however, i think is a good compromise. perhaps a good one to get used to before i get into a bp/w sometime down the road.
i did make some changes i think will make it more my own. i first removed the back pad and will try without it. looks good, feels good, but is it really necessary. we'll see.
i also took off the waist pads to give it more of a harness feel and to make it easier to install two weight pockets where i want them.
the one thing i did not quite like was the crotch strap. being a smaller width webbing is fine but i cannot understand why they put a plastic clip on it instead of just sewing a loop or using a slide to make a loop to go around the waist strap. so i removed it. i used an old weight belt and a couple of slides to make a 2" crotch strap with a rear dring. much better.
over all it looks great. can't wait to try it out in the pool on tuesday

 

[tbone1004]

the narrow crotch strap is actually rather convenient once you get used to it, you can leave the slide on the left side of the buckle so it doesn't go anywhere, and the 1" is really all you need if you aren't using a DPV. Word of warning with the 2" webbing, it may be worth acquiring the neoprene shoulder strap pads and putting it on the crotch strap as the edge cord is highly abrasive and can wear through drysuits pretty quickly....

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

Agreed, a 2" crotch strap without a neoprene sleeve is the reason my dry suit had to go in for a leak repair mid season one year. Since then it's a 1.5" for me...it seems to be a good middle ground width.

 

[rick00001967]

the narrow crotch strap is actually rather convenient once you get used to it

it is not the width that i thought was a problem. i agree a narrow strap would be fine. it was the plastic buckle and the fact there was no rear dring. easy fix
thx for the tip on using protection on the 2". i also have a SM harness with a 2" strap. i should look inot getting something for both of them

 

[tbone1004]

you can just grab the shoulder pad set from Dive Rite. Part #BC1086B

Plastic buckle just takes some getting used to and I don't use the rear d-ring unless I'm using a scooter or towing multiple stage bottles, so it's a nonissue for me, though you can quite easily put a rear slide lock and d-ring or O-ring on the back.