I don't fit the "big and fat" category. I'm the opposite and cumberbunds don't work for me. I have to cinch them incredibly tight to keep a vest from riding up on me. They still ride up and I end up with sore ribs. The crotch strap, on the other hand, is a 2" wide piece of webbing that is loose enough to not bother me when horizontal and tight enough to keep the kit where it belongs when I'm vertical. No issue. I do use softer webbing than most people for my harness, though. I don't see any need for extremely stiff webbing for a harness, personally.
Where would one wear the BC's cummerbund/waist harness
- Thread starter DazedAndConfuzed
- Start date
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BC's with a cummerbund also have a belt and buckle. Think of the cummerbund as optional. Last month I had a very stout student who was having trouble breathing. I suggested he not fasten the cummerbund and just use the buckle, and he fared much better. As for a bc "riding up," that is not an issue I have encountered, unless the fit was very poor. I have four different bc's I have in varying conditions or for various purposes. Two have cummerbunds, two do not. Never had one "ride up." i would avoid a crotch strap for anything at all costs. Talk about "riding up!"
DivemasterDennis
DivemasterDennis
As a large and fat person (well at least my wife says so!) I used to have to the problem of my BC riding up, particularly when I am compressed at depth (why can't I retain that physical profile when I surface?).
My solution was to go to a harness and wing with crotch strap, but I have actually ditched the crotch strap for most dives. Harness stays in place by itself.
That said I still dive my BC and have found the best way to make it stay in place as much as possible is to do the final adjustments to it when it is wet. I have found if I tighten velcro waist band and shoulder straps when I am on land to what seems to be the right place, then as soon as I get in the water it never feels quite right. So I have started to keep all the straps reasonably loose and only cinch them up when I am in the water and ready to go down. For shore dives this works great, for boat dives or stride entries you have to make it tight enough for it to stay there or thereabouts in place for entry, then I adjust as soon as I am settled in water.
Just a suggestion - but I have found weight of tank makes whole rig sit very differently in water to on land, so adjustments on land are never right for me - P
My solution was to go to a harness and wing with crotch strap, but I have actually ditched the crotch strap for most dives. Harness stays in place by itself.
That said I still dive my BC and have found the best way to make it stay in place as much as possible is to do the final adjustments to it when it is wet. I have found if I tighten velcro waist band and shoulder straps when I am on land to what seems to be the right place, then as soon as I get in the water it never feels quite right. So I have started to keep all the straps reasonably loose and only cinch them up when I am in the water and ready to go down. For shore dives this works great, for boat dives or stride entries you have to make it tight enough for it to stay there or thereabouts in place for entry, then I adjust as soon as I am settled in water.
Just a suggestion - but I have found weight of tank makes whole rig sit very differently in water to on land, so adjustments on land are never right for me - P
OP
DazedAndConfuzed
Contributor
With the harness, you still have to determine where to wear the webbing, if it goes right through the middle of one's extraordinary built 1 pack, it will still ride up, no? especially when floating on the surface with the BC inflated. Maybe if the 6pack is filled with fat, the person might have a tendency to float, but if one is all muscles and/or is wearing a weight belt, then the person is being pulled downward, hence it wanting to ride upward. Tightening it tight enough to prevent it riding up will result in the straps digging in and causing discomfort.
OP
DazedAndConfuzed
Contributor
So I guess the webbings on a harness is different from wearing a backpack where the waist strap is kept tight in order support most of the weight in the backpack.
Still, the crotch strap sounds dangerous, especially on those 20 ft jumps that many caverns requires you to do.
Still, the crotch strap sounds dangerous, especially on those 20 ft jumps that many caverns requires you to do.
Only if you're sporting a 1in w/ board shorts
The waist strap is snug, but not tight. It's really tighten the waist strap till you're comfortable, maybe a bit more snug. Crotch strap goes so the top meets the top of your waist strap. Shoulder straps are loose enough to be able to fit 2 fingers under plus looser so the backplate sits to where you can rest your wrist on the same shoulder and still touch the top of it with your finger tips. Shoulder straps are where it gets really tricky, because some people are able to meet this criteria with two fingers but others like me are a fist's worth.
Hi Lwang - with the Dive Rite Transpac harness I use the wing is like a normal wing, but the harness actually is worn and fits like a BC does, in other words it has shoulder straps and waist belt, rather than one continuous loop of webbing through a backplate. The waist belt is like a webbing weight belt style and does not ride up or move once tightened. P
Paladin
Contributor
I added a crotch strap to my jacket BC and it made a remarkable difference in the way the BC functions.
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