Why buckle on right side?

[atedeschi]

also to keep with the right hand release for emergency situatuions, if a diver needs to get you out of your gear.

 

[segraves1]

Possibly because most people are right handed?

if that were the case, it's easier (for me at least) to have the buckle on the left side and do a "reach across"...

 

[nadwidny]

also to keep with the right hand release for emergency situatuions, if a diver needs to get you out of your gear.

No...

 

[SDAnderson]

What's the mentality behind having the buckle come across to the right side (on the longer strap) and clamp onto the shorter piece?

Isn't this called the swash buckle?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

also to keep with the right hand release for emergency situatuions, if a diver needs to get you out of your gear.

The right hand release issue traditionally applied to weight belts to allow the weight belt to be quickly released at the surface if immediate positive buoyancy was required.

To avoid confusion in such an emergency, BCs, tank packs etc, all had left hand releases.

None of that applies in this situation as it has to do with the ability to easily thread a can light on the right side which requires the buckle of the BP/Wing harness to be on the left strap and consequently makes it a right hand release. And dropping the weight belt is a non starter anyway as most divers run it under the crotch strap to further guard against unintentional loss of a weight belt at depth - potentially a really bad thing in a soft overhead.

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I also agree that using a second buckle as a keeper for the light makes a lot more sense. It will prevent the light falling when gearing up and allows more lattitude in where the cannister rides and also in harness adjustment.

 

[SparticleBrane]

I also agree that using a second buckle as a keeper for the light makes a lot more sense. It will prevent the light falling when gearing up and allows more lattitude in where the cannister rides and also in harness adjustment.

I have found it difficult to put on the canister light and not have it fall off (or stay where I want it) while gearing up without using a dedicated buckle. I believe I have dropped two canisters this way. I haven't charged up my battery pack from that last drop...hopefully I didn't damage it. :shocked2: My own stupid fault for leaving my extra buckle on my other harness...

 

[TSandM]

Although probably not DIR at all, Sparty, a ziptie around the harness after you get the canister on will keep it from sliding off. I keep zipties in my save-a-dive kit; they come in handy for many purposes.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

I also agree that using a second buckle as a keeper for the light makes a lot more sense. It will prevent the light falling when gearing up and allows more lattitude in where the cannister rides and also in harness adjustment.

When I first starting diving a DIR config in the mid-1990s, the "one buckle" approach was the accepted practice. The heretical suggestion of using a second buckle as a keeper started gaining traction shortly thereafter. For a time, I fervently held to the One True DIR, but two incidents caused me to change my thinking on this issue.

The first was on a dive I did to Courtyard at Madison Blue, where the buckle got sprung going through Rocky Horror, and the canister slid off the belt. I managed to reattach it securely enough to get me through to Courtyard, where I was able to cinch it back down and continue the dive.

The second (which finally convinced me to add the second buckle) was when I dropped my primary light on the concrete sidewalk at Jackson Blue, in the process of de-gearing after a dive. I was sitting on a picnic table at the time and successfully got the waist strap unfastened and the light placed on the table, but when I slipped out of the harness, I knocked the canister over and it fell onto the pavement, splitting the acrylic halfway up the side. After that I decided to start using a second buckle as a keeper.

FYI, one additional (unmentioned) reason for threading the buckle from the left is that it retains the knife on the strap, while still allowing it to move and slide up adjacent to the crotch strap.

 

[b1gcountry]

Do people prefer metal or plastic buckles to hold the canister in place?

I have all metal buckles on my harnesses, but I've noticed they do scuff up the canister a little. I've been meaning to pick up a plastic one to try out, I just haven't remembered to look through my random crap bin and find an old one.

Tom

 

[TSandM]

I use metal. The amount of scuffing from the buckle doesn't even show in the scuffs from crawling around in the bottom of Florida caves

Peter uses plastic, which seems perfectly reasonable for the purpose, but they sure look tacky . . .