New to Cave Diving

[ucfdiver]

In the event that a buckle does fail, which is on a rare occasion... Its not a fatal problem. I personally enjoy having the extra release buckles. Makes getting in and out easier.

I have a feeling that if one of those buckles let go when getting in on the ladder at peacock, going down the stairs at orange grove/little river, etc, you would possibly see things differently, those could be some nasty falls, and fatal isn't out of the question.

Not saying it will happen, but if it does, OUCH!

 

[cavew0man]

I recently did my cavern, intro and cave courses, having purchased gear in the US prior to starting the course (here in Mexico). Never again! The dive shop knows I'm a bit of a gear junkie, and sold me "the best" of everything.

The Apeks deluxe harness looks really impressive, everything adjustable, padded, fancy. In the real world, I am only person using my harness, so it really doesn't need to constantly adjust, does it? The sliding adjuster on the shoulder straps are nothing but a pain.. I have to tuck the ends under my waistband where they just interfere with stowing my light cable, or they're floating free and tangling with whatever else I'm using. The velcro attached back pad seems theoretically like a good idea, but really, does nothing for me. And to top it all off, on about the 30th dive, the rear d-ring crotch strap attachment snapped as I jumped into a cenote the other day.
Anyhow, in my opinion, "deluxe" is largely a good marketing strategy. I am going back to a plain old webbing harness and backplate next week, adjusting it once to fit me, and leaving it at that. For a fraction of the price.

Wings.... the wing I purchased isn't "bungee'd" - it's just open. This causes me problems on occasion getting the air out. You don't always have room to move and adjust your position to get that last little bit that's trapped where you don't want it.

One other thing... my Apeks regulators are a thing of beauty. I absolutely love them. I did, however, end up shortening my SPG hose and tossing the rubber necklace in favor of a ziptied length of skinny bungee. The necklace wasn't secure enough.

So all in all, I would wait until I had some actual experience next time before selecting equipment and dropping a bundle.

 

[tflaris]

If possible rent gear- some places like Dive Outpost in Luraville have doubles for rent. You would still have to have 2 regs and a wing. But you would have to have these to do a cavern class. I did the cavern class in doubles. LP 85's.

 

[contender]

Just getting into cave diving and would like to know preferred equipment. Looking at the Dive Rite TransPak or TransPlate. Thanks for feed back.

OpticDive,
Buy what is comfortable to you. I personally hate a single piece harness. I use a transplate for doubles and rebreather diving, a transpac to teach and dive open water, and a nomad for sidemount. I find the benefits of the quick release buckle worth the risk, I have an old shoulder injury. The chance of the buckle giving way is minor at best. I have said this before and will say it again, some of the people posting on your thread are newly certified intro to cave divers and as such only have limited experience and other people's opinions to draw conclusions from.

 

[philliplehman]

I recently switched to sidemount with the Nomad setup and I will never dive in backmount again unless I have absolutely no choice. It is more comfortable, safer etc.. my point is if you go with the Transpac you could then later switch to sidemount and upgrade to a Nomad for little cost, it's a great system (Transpac).

 

[PerroneFord]

Man, this stuff is complicated.

My advice. Do a HOG rig.

Dirt simple. Metal plate, single piece of webbing, 5 steel d-rings, 2" crotch strap with 2 steel d-rings. One donut shaped 55-60# wing from the manufacturer of your choice (DSS, Halcyon, Oxycheq, Golem, Agiir, etc.) for steels or 40-47# for AL80 doubles.

That config should take you through full cave with 2-3 bottles and a scooter. By the time you outgrow it (if ever) you'll know EXACTLY what you need.

Nothing to break, no guesswork, no complications, cheap. Don't complicate things that should be dirt simple.

 

[The_Great_Manta]

my opinion (for what its worth) id go with the back plate and wing get the padded shoulder straps. and yes you can use them for open water

 

[vyvial]

I have new Transplate and a Transpac that is from 1984 or '85 that I got from George Peel here in Texas, they are both comfortable. He would use the transpac for sidemount as well. You can use a plate with the transpac if you prefer the rigidity.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Man, this stuff is complicated.

My advice. Do a HOG rig.

Dirt simple. Metal plate, single piece of webbing, 5 steel d-rings, 2" crotch strap with 2 steel d-rings. One donut shaped 55-60# wing from the manufacturer of your choice (DSS, Halcyon, Oxycheq, Golem, Agiir, etc.) for steels or 40-47# for AL80 doubles.

That config should take you through full cave with 2-3 bottles and a scooter. By the time you outgrow it (if ever) you'll know EXACTLY what you need.

Nothing to break, no guesswork, no complications, cheap. Don't complicate things that should be dirt simple.

Perrone is pretty much right on the money.

Instructors vary a lot in their preferences but I have yet to meet ne who woudl give you a thumbs down on a hog rig (backplate, wing and 1 piece harness with left hip, shoulder butt and scooter rings.). If you go with anything else you run the risk of an instructor insiting you change it.

And as perrone says by the time you get far enough into cave diving to even want something different you will know the pros and cons of alternate configurations and will be able to articulate exactly what you want differently and why you want it that way.

---

As for a quick release buckle, a fall on entry due to a shifting set of doubles, etc is the biggest risk. I've heard of it happening, but I have never seen it. On the other hand, a quick release is great for ice divng where getting in or out with cold stiff hands, bulky dry glove rings and heavy DS underwear can be an advantage - as can easily taking it off in the hole.

Pivot ring harness are nice if you switch back and forth between a thin wet suit or even no wet suit and a heavy underweared drysuit as the chest strap can take up the extra slack with the thinner suits. Unfortunately most of the commercial ones come with a quick release.

In both cases, unless you specifically need it, avoid it and stay with a one piece harness.

My major modifications to a Hog rig have been a right hip D-ring (requiring a mod to the attachment for your can light), to prevent the general wear, tear and damage that occurs on a dive boat offshore with a butt ring mounted reel, etc. and a pair of neoprene shoulder pads that make hauling the doubles around a lit more comfortable and protect the dry suit a bit more.

 

[vshearer]

I would second going with a plate and standard harness. Later, if you want to use the transplate harness it is only an extra $90. By then you will have two plates anyhow.