Routing an SPG along the shoulder webbing

[Trace Malinowski]

Still doesn't quite hook me into it. I like being able to turn my head and see my SPG. I still cant figure out why I would want to have it that far out the way. I use different types of SPG for my slings so I dont think there's a confusion problem.

I think your right its a personal preference. Thanks for the reply.

I should also add "team preference" for unity of configurations.

 

[TSandM]

In answer to the question of how "buried" the SPG is when you are carrying deco bottles, it is. You can't see it without bringing it out and around. It does take some time to acquire facility with doing that -- I was very, very clumsy at first.

Frankly, I feel as though my left chest d-ring is a bit like the traffic circle at the Arc de Triomphe at rush hour sometimes, and I have no desire to add anything to that area!

 

[djcheburashka]

Jim Wyatt's new configuration, from a streamline standpoint, is incredibly slick with well thought-out hose routing for his philosophy and needs.

Also, if you get a chance, check out Bill "Hogarth" Main's current rig.

Trace - can you post a link to information on Main's current rig?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Jim Wyatt's new configuration, from a streamline standpoint, is incredibly slick with well thought-out hose routing for his philosophy and needs.

I expect so.

Jim spent a lot of time going over our equipment with us. He wanted to know "why" for every decision we had made with respect to equipment choices and hose routing. "Because my instructor/agency teaches it that way" was not an acceptable answer.

Jim didn't push a standardized approach to equipment configuration ... but he wanted to know that whatever choices we made, we had good reasons for making them.

I like that approach ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Trace - can you post a link to information on Main's current rig?

No, I'm sorry. I ran into Bill at Ginnie and got the best freely-given equipment course one could ask for - especially since it came from the "man" himself. I learned about what he considered to be the pros & cons of the DIR rig, trade-off's, modifications, drag considerations, improvements from a streamlining point of view, wing-shape problems, dry vs. wet, pockets, etc. It was a very interesting and enlightening discussion.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I expect so.

Jim spent a lot of time going over our equipment with us. He wanted to know "why" for every decision we had made with respect to equipment choices and hose routing. "Because my instructor/agency teaches it that way" was not an acceptable answer.

Jim didn't push a standardized approach to equipment configuration ... but he wanted to know that whatever choices we made, we had good reasons for making them.

I like that approach ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

The more information we have from different instructors from different agencies, the more we can absorb into useful diving practices and strategies. It's how we become thinking technical divers with additional tools in our toolboxes. You don't always have to agree 100% with what an instructor teaches or does, but simply, add what you find useful to your arsenal. In turn, instructors like Jim also learn from students. I had Jim teach my girlfriend NSS-CDS Cavern & Basic Cave. In the process, we taught one another new tricks.

 

[shoredivr]

No, I'm sorry. I ran into Bill at Ginnie and got the best freely-given equipment course one could ask for - especially since it came from the "man" himself. I learned about what he considered to be the pros & cons of the DIR rig, trade-off's, modifications, drag considerations, improvements from a streamlining point of view, wing-shape problems, dry vs. wet, pockets, etc. It was a very interesting and enlightening discussion.

If you have time and inclination to type, I'd like to hear more about what he said

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Correct me if I read this wrong, but you'd rather have the spg clipped off to your chest in a tight tunnel instead of having it above the lower plane of your body (clipped to the hip), and you'd also rather have the spg clipped off to the chest when you have multiple bottles clipped there too (right next to a fleet of spg's that look just like it), and you mitigate that by just turning it around so you can't see it...

Almost. How tight a tunnel or restriction is a matter of degree. If it is really tight, I don't thave stage bottles still attached. In that case the SPG would drag on the chest D-ring so in that case, it will be on the hip D-ring.

If it is tight enough to transit with stage(s) attached, it may be too tight to easily dig out the SPG, so in that case it makes snese ot have it on the chest D-ring.

My SPG's do not look exactly alike, and even if they did it is easy to tell which ones are on stages. But for arguments sake, yes if the non in use SPGs are facing away you won't mistake one for the other.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Almost. How tight a tunnel or restriction is a matter of degree. If it is really tight, I don't thave stage bottles still attached. In that case the SPG would drag on the chest D-ring so in that case, it will be on the hip D-ring.

If it is tight enough to transit with stage(s) attached, it may be too tight to easily dig out the SPG, so in that case it makes snese ot have it on the chest D-ring.

My SPG's do not look exactly alike, and even if they did it is easy to tell which ones are on stages. But for arguments sake, yes if the non in use SPGs are facing away you won't mistake one for the other.

For those who find their SPG's slightly below the body's profile, when going through a tight space, you can slip the SPG up under your plate. While having your gear totally cave-tuned is your best choice, sometimes a spare SPG hose or the only available replacements are slightly too long to be perfectly sized. This trick temporarily sorts out the issue.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

If you have time and inclination to type, I'd like to hear more about what he said

Pretty basic common sense stuff:

Pockets - cause drag. Reduce size or eliminate.
Hoses - even an LP hose "out in the breeze" will cause drag.
Only carry what you 100% really need. For example, you won't always need a compass or back-up mask.
Wetsuits - less drag than drysuits. This, I've experienced. I decided to use AL80's in North Florida caves when teaching or diving at the Intro to Cave level. Strangely, when guiding Intro divers in wetsuits & in twin AL80's on 3rds dives, we were getting farther than when wearing HP100's in drysuits.
Dive the cave. Equip for the season, duration, and mission.
Delta-shaped wings seemed to be performing better, but the jury was still out.

Other stuff would spark a lot of heated debate. I'll leave it out.

Seeing Bill's rig, was just impressive because you could clearly see what he reduced to the smallest items, how he repositioned items, and what needed to stay large, could be reduced, or eliminated. He told me it's always a work in progress.