Any pointers on getting into and out of a BP\Harness?

[BadFish]

and other then just showing off there is no real reason to ever toss your rig over your head to don it, thats just silly

 

[animian2002]

I'm not sure abt other region, but diving in my region, sometime require us to remove our gears in the water , pass it to the boatman and then figure how to "toss" ourselve onto the boat

I'm not trying to be a show off here , but for me and my friends (BP users) we actually tossed it over our head in the water cos that's the fastest and easiest way to remove them.

How do we do it, we grab the BP over our head ,submerge and flip it over but make sure when doing this our buddy is looking at us, just in case

 

[Doof]

I've been flipping my jacket BC with AL80 over my head since I started diving. Both underwater and on the surface.

The BP\Wing w\AL80 isn't much harder to do, but with an lp104... forget it. I probably COULD do it, but I'm not about to test my back that way... ut:

 

[cnidae]

I put a quick release on my right shoulder, makes it so much easier to get off. With the quick release you know have another option to remove your gear under water and to me it seems like the best way if you need to get out of your gear in a pinch. Don't really see how this would be a negative.

 

[Doof]

Quick release buckles can be a potential failure point that's not there otherwise.

 

[The Chairman]

Have you ever seen one fail??? These failure theories are rarely backed up by reality. While I do applaud any additional attention to safety, it amazes me that so much of it is given to gear and not near as much to attitude and training. I have heard of divers dying due to ignorance and a cavalier attitude... but I have never heard of anyone dying, or even being injured by a broken buckle. That being said... I don't think gear even accounts for %1 of diver deaths. That is mere conjecture on my part as I have no facts to corroborate this.

 

[Tractor Tom]

...I just started diving an AL backplate with an X-wing and also have problems getting in an out. I've learned to stick my left arm in first, past the dump valve on my drysuit, then the right arm, usually while the rig is sitting on the tailgate of my truck. But, the rig has shoulderstraps that cross at the top and makes it hard to get out of. The webbing is getting old and worn in places, so I'm planning on buying some webbing and doing it over again in a week or so without the cross in the top. As I'm using the rig for recreational diving, I don't see any problem with putting a release on the left shoulder strap to use when doffing the rig and intend to put a buckle there to allow me to take off the rig in the water when climbing onto the dive boat....

 

[NJdiver85]

For those wishing to put a quick release buckle on the shoulder straps, I seem to recall a post a while back where someone added one while still maintaining a continuous harness. They just added some slack to the shoulder strap then used the quick release to tighten things up. Someone else may remember the post. I searched but couldn't find it.

 

[Doof]

NetDoc once bubbled...
Have you ever seen one fail??? These failure theories are rarely backed up by reality. While I do applaud any additional attention to safety, it amazes me that so much of it is given to gear and not near as much to attitude and training. I have heard of divers dying due to ignorance and a cavalier attitude... but I have never heard of anyone dying, or even being injured by a broken buckle. That being said... I don't think gear even accounts for %1 of diver deaths. That is mere conjecture on my part as I have no facts to corroborate this.

No, I haven't seen one fail. And truth be told, I would have no problem diving a rig that was equipped with them, depending on what kind of tank configuration I was using. Single Al80, no problem. Double 104's... I'm not so sure anymore. But I have heard numerous accounts of them failing.

The big problem I see with them isn't so much during the dive, but before or after. During the dive, I wouldn't think there would be much if any strain on a quick release buckle, as you should be horizontal anyway, and the bouyancy of the rig would also greatly reduce the strain on that buckle.

But walking to or from the dive site to my truck? That's a different story. Sure, I may not be injured by a breaking buckle, but my diving for the day is over and that sucks as well. And those are the kinds of problems you're not going to read about in an injury report.

And since I'm going to be diving this same rig with single 80's and double 104's, I'm going to steer away from the quick release buckles. Because yes... they ARE a failure point.

Of course I'm also wondering about the failure potential for those two little bolts that hold those double 104's on to the backplate... what's the failure rate on those? That would be even more catastrophic, I would imagine.

 

[cnidae]

I put mine on primairly to get out of my rig quickly in tight spaces and in tight jams. I did'nt put it on to get out of my gear on the surface. Is it a potential faliure, sure but so is every little part in your reg down to every stich in your suit.