Removing Hog Harness

[SparticleBrane]

I have found that pulling the shoulder D-rings out off your body with your thumbs helps things tremendously.

 

[Packhorse]

I used a hog harness for a couple of dives and hated it.
I will usally put my BC on in the water and remove it in the water post dive and just found the hog too much hassle, so I added a chest strap and a shoulder clip and never looked back.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I did four dives in my first hog harness yesterday, while also doing my first four dry suit dives. The harness was rock solid in the water, but when it came time to take it off, both in the water (at the surface) for a drill, and out of the water (at a table), I found it rather difficult to get off. I'm hoping to get some tips about getting out of the harness, particularly while in the water (both underneath and at the surface). My biggest problem was getting the left strap over the dry suit exhaust valve. The best I came up with was to lower the stap off my left shoulder to the exhaust valve, then working the stap off of my right shoulder (just a bit), then reaching back and grabbing the tank from the bottom, and attempting to push it up to provide enough slack to get the strap over the exhaust valve. It eventually worked, but it wasn't pretty or fun. Thanks for any suggestions!

Rainer,

You have recieved a number of good tips already. Here's mine.........practice. After a few more dives you won't even be thinking about it any more. Hogarthian Hanresses aren't really difficult to don or doff, just different. You will adapt.


Tobin

 

[radinator]

I use my backup light, still clipped to the left D-ring, as a 'handle' to pull the left strap away from the suit to get it over the dump valve. Just grab the light with your left hand and pull it over.

 

[TSandM]

I'm not sure about a singles rig, because I'm not sure I've ever run into the problem, but with my doubles setup it is CRITICAL that the wing not be fully inflated, or I can't get out of the harness at all.

 

[Rainer]

Rainer,

You have recieved a number of good tips already. Here's mine.........practice. After a few more dives you won't even be thinking about it any more. Hogarthian Hanresses aren't really difficult to don or doff, just different. You will adapt.


Tobin

That's pretty much what I expected (practice has pretty much helped in every other aspect of diving... ). Thank you all for the numerous suggestions. I'll be trying a few this weekend and will post back.

 

[KMD]

For the doffing out of the water, my procedure has been:

1) while exiting the water, dump air out of the wing.
2) disconnect drysuit and remove long hose and bungie from around your neck
3) grab your inflator hose in your left hand and your long hose (which should be still clipped to your right d-ring in your right.
4) Using your grip on the inflator hose, move the left strap so that it wont get caught on the drysuit
5) use your grip on the long hose to simply pull the right strap off. If you rotate your right wrist at the same time, it will tend to keep your gauges and cuff rings from catching on the strap.

 

[limeyx]

For Doubles I have done the "over the head" technique but like Jason said it's more me ducking underneath the rig than flipping it over my head.

Important though is to keep the long hose reg in just in case you get hung up in the middle of the manouver

Yeah, I found myself being dragged down by a set of 98's when I forgot to get the waist strap out of the crotch strap trying to get back onto Rjacks boat, and had both arms stuck in the shoulder straps in 160 feet of water.

You can only imagine the comedy that ensued with my Donald-duck style helium-induced cries of "inflate inflate" as my buddy tried ineffectually to "save me"

 

[limeyx]

I use my backup light, still clipped to the left D-ring, as a 'handle' to pull the left strap away from the suit to get it over the dump valve. Just grab the light with your left hand and pull it over.

This works for me too - -grab the backup lights on each side (or primary reg if it is clipped to the right D-ring). Really seems to help.

And yes, in doubles I definitely need the wing mostly deflated as I found out to my embarrassment on Dive 4 in doubles when I couldn't get out of the darned harness in front of a whole boatful of people )

 

[daniel f aleman]

Go with the quick release buckles - unless you're cave diving - why bang your stubborn head on 1972 technology?