DIR- Generic Removing kit (BP/W) underwater - risk/reward & weighting

[VikingDives]

I've done it with integrated weights in a bp/w... it's doable, it's prettier if you go vertical.

I've done it in open water... I used to do it at 60+ feet. You get some looks.

I did it in my ie when I was playing a student (to adjust something) and the woman who was being evaluated turned 3 shades of unhappy trying to figure out if I was the "problem student" or if I was just fixing something.

 

[Cthippo]

But isn't your pony attached to your rig somehow? If you take off your BC, how is your pony still attached to you?

PS.
This is the DIR forum, so I guess the pony talk is a little OT.

It is, and I would have to remove the pony to get the BPW off. My hope is that I would have the presence of mind to clip the pony to the underlying weight harness before fully taking off the wing. In any case, this is a high risk / low frequency situation.

 

[crofrog]

This is the DIR forum, so I guess the pony talk is a little OT.

So is solo diving

 

[rjack321]

What kind of backplate? How was the weight distributed? Were you neutral in the water without your rig? What did you do with your slung tank when removing your back mounted rig?

If you wanted non-DIR discussions like this why did you post the question here? (hint there's no ditching your rig in GUE-F, T1, T2, C1, or C2, or CCR1 or CCR2... so yeah why?)

 

[johndiver999]

If you wanted non-DIR discussions like this why did you post the question here?

Yes, this sort of thing is much more relevant to solo diving, so if someone wants a "free ranging" discussion, it is probably best to move it from DIR section to another section where the discussion can be less constrained.

 

[flymolo]

This is wrong. I had to doff and done my single back mount with slung redundant gas both on the bottom and in mid-water to pass my SDI solo diving course. I do a lot of solo drift diving in SE Florida. Twice, in minimal current, I have caught up my drift flag line on my regulator post. Once was while following a great hammerhead swim up on my right side, cross in front of me. and then swim away. Both times I simpley doffed my BC, freed the line, and dived on.

I guess if you have a buddy, like the DIR divers, this would never happen. However, this is the real world.

Ah yes the “real world” of South Florida drift diving. Please tell me more.

 

[inquis]

Since we seem to be free-ranging...

I've done it to replace the inflator elbow at depth in Cozumel. Drift dive and felt it well within my skills to not have to get back in the boat. 3mm wetsuit (10 lb lead on the rig) and some air in the wing, so not really difficult at all.

When in my drysuit with 24 lb lead, I use 16 on a weight belt and 8 on the rig -- mainly because the rig pockets are intentionally small. With the DS at +25 lb on its own with negative fins, the differential (+9 lb) is similar to the 3mm (i.e., doable).

Bringing it back to the DIR realm (at least my understanding thereof), there's no way I could do it with doubles in my normal layers, as the rig has all the ballast in that configuration. Nor would I need to with a proper buddy. Thicker layers have the same differential (i.e., a lot) because I add a weight belt for the difference.

Splitting the weight has benefits, IMO, but I agree it's a bit of a party trick, unless entangled & solo.

 

[Oldmanmatt]

Certainly done it to enter narrow hatches. More with twins than a single tank, but wished I’d done it two weeks ago when I snagged a hose, although it’s a toss up whether the time spent doffing/donning was greater than the time trying to reach and clear the hose. If it’s something you train and practice, it shouldn’t present a problem and is a useful skill to have in your arsenal for confined environments.
OW? Recreational diving?
Practicing, in a relatively controlled, OW, environment; against some unlikely future need? Why not? Dive long enough and you start to realise the 1 in a million unlikely situation, happens about 9 times in 10…
(That’s a joke, at least partly).

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Hint: just because it involves a backplate and wing and long-hose doesn't mean it belongs in the DIR forum.

So..... we can't talk about split fins either here?

 

[steinbil]

If you wanted non-DIR discussions like this why did you post the question here? (hint there's no ditching your rig in GUE-F, T1, T2, C1, or C2, or CCR1 or CCR2... so yeah why?)

Good point. I seem to have muddied the waters here. I originally wanted to hear from DIR divers to see if there was anything I was missing or anything I hadn't thought of. But I guess I already sidetracked my own thread by mentioning solo diving, even if it was only to make a point. And I shouldn't have encouraged the obvious non-DIR responses, I just got carried away.

Anyways, my bad. I got my answer, and if the mods want to delete or move this thread they can do it with my blessing.