You could melt your name into the shoulder strap with a soldering iron.
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My solution to banging my head was to move the tank right down so that the top strap was not doing anything. This is a temp solution but worked well. I did not have a crotch strap so I will try that in the future.
You roll issue is as you describe, too much weight on your back.
Try a weight belt with 2Kgs positioned around the front. I wore this high on my waist and my trim was great, both horizontal and roll.
I have no problems with weight belts and in an emergency I prefer having ditchable weights that everyone knows how to release.
p.s. Wish I was back in Malaysia, Snow and -7 C in the Uk.
Im contemplating getting the Express tech deluxe. mostly for the added snaps and D-ring attachment points.
Ive got a few questions before I order. I will mostly be diving in cold northern California with a 9mm farmer john. Will the standard 24 pound bladder be enough, considering the buoyancy of my suit? I usually wear around 22-24 pounds with a AL80.
Also I am curious about the weight placement. Having that much weight in the back pockets, what will the effect be on my trim and balance? All I have used is a Jacket style weight integrated. So I would like to know the eight placement situation on the express with that much weight.
One more thing: I do a lot of beach dives that involve walking up and down cliffs and rocks. It appears that the express tech would be a lot harder to carry considering it doesn't have much reinforcement on the straps and no cummerbund?
I purchased the Xpress Tech this year and got the Deluxe version. Added the Zip Touch weight system and a few attach-points to it.
I'm an uber-novice but dove with it in Belize and Greece. About 10 dives.
I noticed the propensity to float "belly up" with my configuration. Wasn't hard to deal with once I recognized it but I can't do much about changing the postion of my weights as I'm using the fixed pouch system.
In retrospect I wish I had gotten the basic system. I got this BC for travel and while it is still light/compact, the "deluxe" features make it bulkier and harder to pack. I also wish I had weights that were more forward. Of course, I can remove/change some of these options.
Just my 2 cents!