Help With The First Bp/w Rig

[KevinNM]

Most new BP&W divers end up trimming the harness more than once. Remember the shoulder straps become the waist straps. I'd start by leaving 5-6 inches each side. (12-15 cm) You can always cut off more.....

Don't trim it before your instructor looks at it. Having to buy another $25 harness and spending an hour redoing your rig sucks. And it's easy for you to adjust the harness too tight.

 

[Roman K]

So have tried the rig today.
What can I say - I had this wired feeling I had only the tank and reg on me (which is not far from truth) - so light, streamlined, comfortable.
Few aspects I've been worried about were perfectly fine: the Hog harness is just amazing, no discomfort at all. 17lb wing is more than enough - actually I hardly inflated it during the dive and was easily able to surface with no air in the wing at all. Weighting is still a bit of an issue: was diving a 3mm shortie + rash guard today. The first site had quite a current so decided not to add 2kg on the trim pockets to be on the safe sight. Managed the dive fine, safety stop was easy to handle. While I wasn't too overweighted I felt I could do with less weight or without it.
The second dive was shallow (12m) with some current but I've decided to ditch the weight at all. First half of the dive was OK but at about 120 bar I became too positive. Had to fin quite a lot to stay at the bottom... Safety stop was without a line with 40bar in the tank - the most difficult stop in my life =) Swimming upside down finning almost constantly to stay at 5-6m. Yeah, didn't have an SMB this time so my fault. Reckon would keep 1kg when diving shorty...
Other than that - it's interesting to see people's face seeing that THIS is your BC and actually is more than enough to dive. And not putting 6-8kg in the pockets etc rocks =)

 

[Neilwood]

So have tried the rig today.
What can I say - I had this wired feeling I had only the tank and reg on me (which is not far from truth) - so light, streamlined, comfortable.
Few aspects I've been worried about were perfectly fine: the Hog harness is just amazing, no discomfort at all. 17lb wing is more than enough - actually I hardly inflated it during the dive and was easily able to surface with no air in the wing at all. Weighting is still a bit of an issue: was diving a 3mm shortie + rash guard today. The first site had quite a current so decided not to add 2kg on the trim pockets to be on the safe sight. Managed the dive fine, safety stop was easy to handle. While I wasn't too overweighted I felt I could do with less weight or without it.
The second dive was shallow (12m) with some current but I've decided to ditch the weight at all. First half of the dive was OK but at about 120 bar I became too positive. Had to fin quite a lot to stay at the bottom... Safety stop was without a line with 40bar in the tank - the most difficult stop in my life =) Swimming upside down finning almost constantly to stay at 5-6m. Yeah, didn't have an SMB this time so my fault. Reckon would keep 1kg when diving shorty...
Other than that - it's interesting to see people's face seeing that THIS is your BC and actually is more than enough to dive. And not putting 6-8kg in the pockets etc rocks =)

Once you get used to it, BP&W is the way to go. Even with a thick wetsuit, hood, boots and gloves (meaning way more lead), the comfort is amazing compared to a jacket.

 

[cool_hardware52]

So have tried the rig today.
What can I say - I had this wired feeling I had only the tank and reg on me (which is not far from truth) - so light, streamlined, comfortable.
Few aspects I've been worried about were perfectly fine: the Hog harness is just amazing, no discomfort at all. 17lb wing is more than enough - actually I hardly inflated it during the dive and was easily able to surface with no air in the wing at all. Weighting is still a bit of an issue: was diving a 3mm shortie + rash guard today. The first site had quite a current so decided not to add 2kg on the trim pockets to be on the safe sight. Managed the dive fine, safety stop was easy to handle. While I wasn't too overweighted I felt I could do with less weight or without it.
The second dive was shallow (12m) with some current but I've decided to ditch the weight at all. First half of the dive was OK but at about 120 bar I became too positive. Had to fin quite a lot to stay at the bottom... Safety stop was without a line with 40bar in the tank - the most difficult stop in my life =) Swimming upside down finning almost constantly to stay at 5-6m. Yeah, didn't have an SMB this time so my fault. Reckon would keep 1kg when diving shorty...
Other than that - it's interesting to see people's face seeing that THIS is your BC and actually is more than enough to dive. And not putting 6-8kg in the pockets etc rocks =)

Sounds like you are making progress. Being underweighted can be unpleasant, and no doubt you will soon find the ideal # of ballast. A couple tips if you do arrive at a shallow stop and feel a bit light.

1) Breathe shallow, don't fill your lungs fully

2) Descend a little. Spend a little more time at 20 ft instead of 15. Descending will compress your suit a little more.

3) Add a little ballast for the next dive.

Tobin

 

[Neilwood]

Sounds like you are making progress. Being underweighted can be unpleasant, and no doubt you will soon find the ideal # of ballast. A couple tips if you do arrive at a shallow stop and feel a bit light.

1) Breathe shallow, don't fill your lungs fully

2) Descend a little. Spend a little more time at 20 ft instead of 15. Descending will compress your suit a little more.

3) Add a little ballast for the next dive.

Tobin

Personally I would prefer to start work down dive by dive from overweighted to just enough rather than end up underweighted at any point but agree with the sentiment. Underweighting to me has more issues than being overweighted.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Personally I would prefer to start work down dive by dive from overweighted to just enough rather than end up underweighted at any point but agree with the sentiment. Underweighting to me has more issues than being overweighted.

What risks do you see to a slightly under weighted diver doing shallow (~40 ft) no stop dives with a single cylinder?

Tobin

 

[Roman K]

I must admit I'm still surpised how just big of a difference was there without the 2kg lead - I literally had to make quite a big effort to control the accent speed (obviously with an empty wing). I would be going up even on exhales... The risk is minimal on rec dives at 12m but still not the best experience =) Anyhow just a lesson not to forget the sausage and use 1kg with the shorty =)
I do feel great about the rig and the new BPW experience anyway - thank's a lot to the board for the recommendations and Tobin for such a great product.
A small question - what is the best (or right) way to fix the inflator?

 

[Neilwood]

What risks do you see to a slightly under weighted diver doing shallow (~40 ft) no stop dives with a single cylinder?

Tobin

The possibility that should they stop finning to maintain their depth as Roman was describing (for whatever reason such as cramp etc), they will start ascending. Not risky per se but not really good practise. I would prefer to be in the position of slightly over weighted and be able to inhale & exhale fully (with a slight puff of air in the wing if needed.

 

[cool_hardware52]

The possibility that should they stop finning to maintain their depth as Roman was describing (for whatever reason such as cramp etc), they will start ascending. Not risky per se but not really good practise. I would prefer to be in the position of slightly over weighted and be able to inhale & exhale fully (with a slight puff of air in the wing if needed.

I asked about risks.....


Tobin

 

[cool_hardware52]

I must admit I'm still surpised how just big of a difference was there without the 2kg lead - I literally had to make quite a big effort to control the accent speed (obviously with an empty wing). I would be going up even on exhales... The risk is minimal on rec dives at 12m but still not the best experience =) Anyhow just a lesson not to forget the sausage and use 1kg with the shorty =)
I do feel great about the rig and the new BPW experience anyway - thank's a lot to the board for the recommendations and Tobin for such a great product.
A small question - what is the best (or right) way to fix the inflator?

By "fix" I assume you mean secure the inflator. I recommend passing the greay LP hose, *not* the black corrugated hose, under the inner tube loop that should be above the left chest dring.

This allows you to raise the inflator if you need to dump gas using the inflator.

Others will no doubt suggest a bungee loop secured by the same keeper that locates the left chest dring. That also works. Make the bungee loop large.

I prefer the inner tube loop method as I like my left chest dring to more exposed to allow for clipping off slung bottles.

Tobin