Question about the YouTube videos

[beanojones]

Reading this forum led me to your YouTube videos on fitting the Transpac.

YouTube - TransPac Scuba Diving Harness How to Get a Proper Fit: Dive Rite

In this video the harness is put on with a right hand release. Is this just something you don't worry about, or was the video flipped? (the writing was not flipped so I guess not, but)

 

[Dive Rite]

Hi Beano,

Thanks for the post. I had to think about this one as its been awhile since I remember my PADI training about weight belt right hand release and BCD left hand release. Now a days, most folks dive integrated weights or advanced divers typically don't require weights, so that adage no longer applies universally. It's a nice way to help remember how to ditch a belt in an emergency, but not always taught anymore.

Our harnesses are right hand release because that is the dominant hand for most folks and easier for most folks to don/doff the harness. I think you'll find that on most harness style BCDs this is the same. No security or safety issues with that. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Best,
Kathleen

 

[beanojones]

Thanks for being here at ScubaBoard where you can at least listen to comments, whether or not your company agrees with them.

My take on it:
Most divers dive rental gear, and most divers who need rescuing for not having positive buoyancy are in rental gear. Even those divers who own their own BCD/regs will use rental weight when traveling. Rental gear (especially weight) is nearly exclusively weight belts. Having two right hand releases means that when it matters, the wrong thing might be released unless the rescuer happens to notice that it is a newer Dive Rite Transpac, and looks for the double right hand release setup. The Transpacs from twelve years ago were certainly not right hand release, or I would have noted sent a note of complaint when I bought mine then. Nor were any of ScubaPro's several attempts to copy the Transpac. I teach in a Transpac, and one of the things I brag on the Transpac about is that from bare skin tropical diving to tech diving a single BC can do it. Modeling good behavior is a basic part of teaching, and having the buckle for a BCD setup for a right hand release is simply not good modeling.

Especially for a company that markets a BCD that goes from Open Water to sidemount cave diving, it seems strange to think that there is one set of standards for 'PADI training' and another for 'real diving'. By that logic, your BCD either does not belong on PADI divers, or it does not belong on cave divers, since there are different standards for each.

Moreover, the right hand release is simply not a 'PADI' thing, it is a basic diving safety standard, and it's taught in pretty much every course from open water to rescue to instructor, regardless of agency. (NAUI, PADI, IANTD, SDI, TDI are the ones I know.)

I know you are a tech gear focused company, but thinking of the right hand release as a 'PADI thing' to be dismissed for convenience's sake is somewhat irresponsible, in my humble, personal, (and likely wrong) opinion. Regardless of the dominance of weight integration, training still place in borrowed/rental gear, and that means weight belts. If people want to buy their gear and move the buckle to the other side, that's their business. But as a manufacturer, especially a manufacturer who is posting informative videos to new divers, it seems like you have to be aware of modeling behavior.

 

[Dive Rite]

Hi Beano,

Thanks for sharing your post and allowing us the dialogue. We like to hear opinions and learn from other divers. I apologize for the delayed response, however I wanted to clarify a point with Lamar before I answered you. He's just back from out of town today.

Lamar confirmed for me that the TransPac has never been a left hand release since its inception in 1995. As you point out, it was designed as a technical harness, and thus is created for technical divers primarily. Our gear has gravitated over to the recreational arena as a result of recreational divers wanting to buy gear that will eventually take them into tech diving or simply have the reassurance that the gear they wear is streamlined and able to tackle more demanding types of diving.

The reason technical harnesses have a right hand release waist buckle is because the canister light is primarily worn on the right side of the waist where the long hose of the primary regulator can be tucked under the canister for streamlining. If the buckle resided on the right side of the waist, the technical diver would need to unweave the buckle every time the primary light is mounted, which means every dive. If you take a look at other technical harnesses on the market, you will find they all have a right hand release.

The origins of right hand release/left hand release go back to the days of plastic backpack style rigs where the waist belt and weight belt felt the same and were easily confused. With the invention of cummerbunds and integrated weights, this rule is typically relaxed and not as current as it once was.

As you mention, any diver who wishes to wear their waist belt buckle as a left hand release can easily change it on TransPac or any advanced/technical harness on the market.

I hope this reply is more informative than my original response and thanks again for asking your question.

Kathleen