Recreational divers, post your rig here, let's share good and bad ideas

[Soloist]

Curious, I like your rig. What are the two D-rings for that are up by the plate on the waist straps? I have a D-ring located there on the left side for hanging a pony bottle?

The D-ring on the right rear is for my reel/DSMB, so it's behind me and out of the way. Years ago my Deco/Advanced Nitrox instructor was showing me his BP/W harness and I was amazed by all the cool technical gadgets neatly spaced out on his waist (helps when you're the owner of the LDS). Then I looked at my little harness dumbfounded...wait, WUT? It dawned on me that his 40" PLUS waist has its advantages as opposed to my 32" waist. The D-ring on the left is for slinging bottles, secondary spool/DSMB or miscellaneous hunting gear depending on the dive.

You have an excellent lightweight and tiny setup. Perfect for warm water diving. I just sold several wings recently including my VDH 18# (regrettably). Incredible travel wing. The new DGX 30# weighs the same as the VDH, but provides the versatility I need since I am down to only one wing.

I had a DiveRite TransPac (soft plate) for a while that was great for travel, but after getting my first Freedom Contour plate I sold it. The lightweight stainless Contour at 2.2 pounds is obviously heavier than a textile or aluminum plate, but I have no desire to dive anything else. Cheers!

 

[34109411]

i came across this not related directly to this tread but still very interesting.

 

[Umuntu]

I was in Padang Bai in Bali last year when a diver got separated and swept out to see. He was picked up by a passing ferry but was lucky the crew spotted him. He could have just as easily been run over by a passing ship or ferry in a sea lane. The incident was recorded as the Marine Police were out checking all the dive operators boats crews and divers the next day. Would it make it to international records? I doubt it.

I agree with your doubts.

But for the same reasons I expect cuts and lacerations, particularly on wreck dives which have lots of corroded and broken sharp edges and on coral dives, are significantly underreported. Shark interactions are over reported.

In some places, eg USA; UK, a commercial dive boat would be required to have a more extensive first aid kit than other places. But, as the incident reports on SB suggest, if you have an irresponsible owner/operator, it doesn’t matter what the local law requires.

It fascinates me what individual divers obsess over as to what the (likely???) expected risks are and what emergency gear they carry as a result. With some experience of solo small yacht sailing and “man overboard” expectations I look at all of it from a different perspective too.

 

[Umuntu]

Curious, I like your rig. What are the two D-rings for that are up by the plate on the waist straps? I have a D-ring located there on the left side for hanging a pony bottle?

When I see D-rings in that location on a Freedom Plate I am reminded of @Akimbo ’s initial post (linked below where he suggested using a piece of PVC pipe and a D-ring to create a semi-adjustable harness for a Freedom plate.

Thread 'Freedom Plate Divers Roll Call: show us your rig!'
Freedom Plate Divers Roll Call: show us your rig!

Instead of the PVC pipe that @Akimbo suggested, I have been known to use either repurposed old LP hoses and also the inner roller tube from dog poop bag refills

 

[Umuntu]

The plate is an Oxy UL textile plate which is about 6 ounces and the wing is a VDH 18 (near identical rigs with Oxy 18 and VDH 23), yes, , I need some new cam bands:

Why new cam bands ??? The cam bands look used, but are in perfectly serviceable condition … faded … but with a patina, softness and comfort from use and wear that new webbing would take years to develop. I would suggest you keep the cam bands.

Some “Cinderella sensitivity” comments …

I noticed that the neoprene webbing covers on your shoulder straps have the seams facing your skin, I always wear my neoprene covers with the seams on the outside, so I don’t feel the seams against my skin.

I also noticed that your cam bands appear to tighten in opposite directions … is there a reason for this ? It makes my head spin . My cam bands are always set to tighten in the same direction. This opposite directions thing I would just find difficult for me. My muscle memory and routine is always in the same direction, pushing closed (or pulling open) with my dominant (right) hand facing the BC with the tank behind the BC. i.e. leaning over the BC and tank as you would on a dive boat.
Maybe you’re ambidextrous ?

Do the counter rotational forces from the cam bands tightening in opposite directions make the tank lean to one side because of the distance between the cam bands?

 

[johndiver999]

I can't find the post you're referring to but what I did say, or meant to say is that after switching from my main tank which has maybe 700 psi, I will breathe the stony bottle down to 500 psi switch back to the primary tank and start the ascent. Also note that at the point in the dive where i'm switching tanks around I'm at or in the vicinity of the exit point, not deep inside in a wreck.



I dive solo, unless I'm with my wife or a few trusted buddies. I don't tell them anything other than "do you need me to do a gear check with you, let's try to keep in sight of one another, if we get separated enjoy your dive, see you back at the boat. Although with my wife I keep a close eye and check her gear carefully as she's not nearly as experienced as I am. I do not use the stony bottle to extend a dive when I've got a buddy, there's no point, they'd be OOA long before me.

You feel comfortable with a reserve of 500 psi in a 19 cuft pony? That is 1/6 of the full pressure, so that is 19/6 which I could round to 18/6 which is 3. You carefully consider all your options and then come to the (stoned) conclusion that 3 cu-ft is enough to get up from what? I don't know, over 100 feet?

That is your plan (intended to optimize your personal safety) and you are requesting that we critique your gear and practices?

I am beginning to fully grasp why you call it a stony bottle. I guess you like 3's.. 3 computers and 3 cuft?

From a more serious perspective. I personally have taken and used a 6 cu-ft pony (solo) from 130 ft depth (after I ran down to nothing on accident in my primary) and I was over exerting when the incident occured and it was a stressful ascent for me. I got up but it was kinda close.

In general, I am cool with a 6 cu-ft pony down to 100 ft or so, when I promise myself I will not go into ANY any deco, but deliberately reserving just 3 cu-ft in my back up bottle, is way too "aggressive" planning for me. In general, I take a 13 cu-ft bottle.

 

[BoltSnap]

You feel comfortable with a reserve of 500 psi in a 19 cuft pony? That is 1/6 of the full pressure, so that is 19/6 which I could round to 18/6 which is 3. You carefully consider all your options and then come to the (stoned) conclusion that 3 cu-ft is enough to get up from what? I don't know, over 100 feet?

That is your plan (intended to optimize your personal safety) and you are requesting that we critique your gear and practices?

I am beginning to fully grasp why you call it a stony bottle. I guess you like 3's.. 3 computers and 3 cuft?

I don't get it. Why doesn't he just dive doubles or SM instead of this weird setup?

When I use a pony, I use an Al40. The primary reason I overstayed my limits and ran out of air would be that I am caught on something UW, so I'll have to spend time unstucking myself and need as much air as possible.

I have never, ever, not in my 52 years of diving, considered my "contingency" air supply as part of my main tank and using it to extend my dive time UW. There is no way I would do that. It would be extremely stupid and dangerous to mix the two.

 

[scubadada]

Your reserve pressure depends on the diving you are doing, I frequently do solo drift diving in SE Florida. I always have access to the surface at any time during my dive. My current operators have a dive time of an hour, reserve pressure is not a factor. Back in the day of Underwater Explorers in Boynton Beach, dive time was not limited, I often surfaced with a couple to a few hundred psi. A normal ascent and 3 min SS from 60 ft takes me about 3 cu ft of gas, 116 psi from an AL 80.