Pads on shoulder straps? DIR or not?

[medcop]

Are removable shoulder pads on a HOG harness DIR?

 

[Captain CaveMan]

Good Q. I would think there not DIR, but I have them for worm water skin diving. they keep the webbing form digging in. I like my OMS pads.

 

[nadwidny]

Are removable shoulder pads on a HOG harness DIR?

Why would you need them?

 

[Walter]

I'm not DIR and will likely never be DIR, but I thought I had a basic understanding of the concept. I was under the impression that things which can't possibly impact the team (gear color, padding on shoulder straps, etc.) are irrelevant to DIR and that things that might impact the team (hose length, placement, etc.) are important. Is that a misunderstanding?

 

[TSandM]

I don't think there's an official pronouncement about shoulder pads . . .

But for every piece of equipment, we ask the question, "What problem does it solve, and what potential issues does it raise?" If there is some reason that the shoulder straps on the harness are particularly uncomfortable for you (diving with no exposure protection and no body fat or muscle mass to cushion the shoulders) then there is a problem to be solved which really isn't amenable to any skill-based solution. (I have an irregular plate in my right collarbone, which would be uncomfortable were I to dive with no exposure protection. Luckily, except in my hot tub, there isn't any water I'd spend an hour in without exposure protection )

I can't see any issues being caused by padded straps, except perhaps if the removable pads came loose and that had to be dealt with underwater. If they are the sort that slide onto the harness webbing and therefore can't come off during a dive, it doesn't seem as though they could cause any trouble, and they wouldn't render the rig unusable by someone else.

Walter, there is one school of thought that is exactly what you said (and makes sense to me). Others are stricter about following guidelines.

 

[Naram]

Actually I originally had pads, but they made more difficult donning & doffing the harness (with the suit on) because of more "friction".
And, in any case, they were not solving any problem, so I removed them

That with the suit: having no exposure protection, I reckon it could be better to have the pads.

But do you frequently dive without any exposure?
Even in tropical waters and on moderate dives (time-wise & deep-wise) I'd always have some form of protection.

My 2 Cent opinion

 

[Walter]

Lynn, thanks for the response.

Walter, there is one school of thought that is exactly what you said (and makes sense to me). Others are stricter about following guidelines.

Are there guidelines about those type of things?

 

[TSandM]

I don't think there's an official word about harness padding.

But, for example, trilaminate suits are recommended, because of their light weight, easy drying, and the fact that you can layer insulation under them for whatever water temperatures you encounter. However, for those of us who LIVE in very cold water, don't intend to take the suits traveling, and are maxing out the insulation we can stuff inside our drysuit and still move, compressed neoprene makes a great deal of sense. From the GUE perspective, such a suit is "not DIR"; from the alternative perspective, the choice of suit has no impact on the team at all (except that if I'm more comfortable, I'm a better teammate) so it is a non-issue. There are other things, like how you route your light cord, that are viewed differently as well.

 

[limeyx]

I agree mostly with Lynne, but you really need to make sure you can still cut someone out of their harness (i.e. the pads should not have a possibility to shift to a position where a rescuer is likely to attempt to cut the webbing)

Cutting someone out can be the quickest way in a rescue and it would seem (to me) a poor choice to compromise that.

 

[Jay Roy]

Why would you need them?

I second that....