Pro-Fit v Hog Harness

[divesergeant]

I thought I saw a thread on this a while ago, but can't find it. And, it's always good to get fresh opinions anyway, so....

Can folks give some feedback on the two options for harnesses? My diving is 99% tropical where I wear no neoprene most of the time, and occasionally do 1/2 or 1 mil.

On rare occasions I'll do a quarry dive or two at Gilboa in Ohio with my 7 mil full suit.

Of interest spefically are items such as ease of assembling, comfort of the harness(especially wearing tank tops to dive in) and ease of attaching lights and SMBs.

If it matters, I'm really liking the Kydex backplate and standard 17lbs wing.

Thanks.
DS

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I dive the hog harness and have no issues with it in my drysuit or in a tshirt, I also use it in the pool with no shirt. If it;s dry then yeah it rubs a bit but once wet then no problem. As for the kydex and 17 lb wing that may or may not work for diving wet in a 7 mil. How much weight do you use? Assembling a hog harness is easy with the directions provided. And clipping accessories is covered as well. If you need to carry more than 2 lights then think about a thigh pocket like diverite makes. Now steel vs kydex. I was going to get a kydex plate just for travel but then realized that if I do that I'm kind of defeating the purpose of the whole thing. With a steel plate and an al 80 I use 4-6 lbs on a belt with a 3 mil in saltwater. Going to kydex would mean putting that weight elsewhere. Either the belt, pockets on the camband, etc. If diving in tshirt with an al80 I need no extra weight. All of it is where it needs to be. Over my lungs. And travle wise the kydex plate weighs maybe 2lbs. the steel 6 and it fits in my backpack for carryon anyway. The savings is just not that big a deal for me. If you decide later to do more local stuff then you'll want the steel and I suggest a 28lb torus or 30lb LCD. The 17 just seems like pushing it for coldwater diving in a heavy suit with all the weight you'd need and if you use steel vs al tanks. And either of those is still very streamlined and easy to pack for travel. Get em with the 22 mil bladder as well.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I thought I saw a thread on this a while ago, but can't find it. And, it's always good to get fresh opinions anyway, so....

Can folks give some feedback on the two options for harnesses? My diving is 99% tropical where I wear no neoprene most of the time, and occasionally do 1/2 or 1 mil.

On rare occasions I'll do a quarry dive or two at Gilboa in Ohio with my 7 mil full suit.

Of interest spefically are items such as ease of assembling, comfort of the harness(especially wearing tank tops to dive in) and ease of attaching lights and SMBs.

If it matters, I'm really liking the Kydex backplate and standard 17lbs wing.

Thanks.
DS

DS,

Do you currently have a DSS rig, or are you considering one?

If you are considering one let again say that wing size is a function of the buoyancy of the diver's exposure suit. A full 7mm suit will require a larger wing than a t-shirt.

To make a recommendation I need more information. What's the most buoyant suit your plan to use, and what do you use for cylinders?

I should also point out that in many cases even for warm water the SS plates are a better choice.

For example:

3mm suit + al 80 requires about 8 lbs of total ballast, 4 for the suit and 4 for the empty al 80. A medium SS Plate and haress is about -6 and a regulator is about -2, together these provide the ~8 lbs of ballast required.

OTOH if you use a kydex plate you will need about 4 lbs in a weight belt. The combination of a buoyant tank on your back and a weightbelt around your waist will not help get you horizontal.


Which harness? Stick with the Hogarthian Harness unless you have a real need(injury etc.) for an adjustable. Single rigs are pretty light anyway.

Tobin

 

[divesergeant]

Thanks Jim and Tobin.

I currently don't have any DSS equipment. A shameful situation that requires rapid correction!

I'd probably still use my SeaQuest Balance for quarry diving with my one piece 7mil suit. We just did a few fresh water dives a couple of weeks ago and I used ten pounds. I think the cylinders were al80s.

For tropical diving in beach shorts and tank tops or a lycra rashguard I put 4 to 5 pounds in my SeaQuest's pockets and pretty much never put any air in my BC. This is using the normal rental cylinders, al80s if I remember right.

Ocean Frontiers let me dive one of their Halcyon SS BP/W setups and I was several pounds heavy with no extra weight, thus my idea about a Kydex plate. I'd rather put a few pounds on a weight belt, or cam strap, or wherever, than deal with being over weighted.

As for the harness, I liked the way the Pro-Fit is designed to contour to the body, but folks seem to be recommending the Hog setup. Add to that the fact that it is way cheaper and it looks like the way to go!

If anyone else feels like wading in with experiences, please feel free to do so!

DS

 

[Shark Bait!]

I have a kydex plate LCD20#wing.. When i use my steel 100 and 3mm full suit i use 0-2lbs depending on depth(shallow shore dives 15-25 ft i like a little weight on my waist) I started out using 6#s and have weined myself down to 0-2#s
When in the Caymans or anywhere i need a AL80 with 3mm full suit and kydex plate 20#wing i havent found the need to use no more then 6# in my xs weight pockets

Hope this helps alittle

 

[divesergeant]

galfebeg,

Yes, thanks for the input. The more people who relate their experiences the better.

I'm still leaning to the Kydex. Must be 'cuz I like thermoplastics. Heck, even my Glock is plastic...

DS