Marking a BPW Harness for different setups?

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Personally, I do not recommend the adjustable harnesses. I bought my OMS plate with the Smart Stream harness linked above. It worked OK, but I ended up throwing it away and switching to a single-piece harness. I found that the adjustability was not very helpful, and in order to get the waistband tight enough, I had to also over-tighten the shoulder straps a lot. Not ideal.

The thing is, as shown in the video from @happy-diver a few posts back, shoulder straps simply don't need to be tight. There should be an extra four inches of slack in there, so a little +/- from different exposure gear doesn't mean much to me. So, you do not need to adjust the shoulder straps for warm water and cold water diving, just leave them loose. And the waistbelt, of course, is already adjustable.

The only thing you need to adjust is the crotch strap length. I have shown up a few times at a warm water dive site and realized that my crotch strap is still adjusted long for cold water. I just twisted it once or twice to take up some length, and splashed that way. Then, adjusted it an inch or so during the surface interval. If I ever show up at a cold water dive site and it's too short, I would take the time to loosen it -- time spent faffing around in the local parking lot isn't very expensive, so my buddies wouldn't mind waiting a couple minutes.
 
It worked OK, but I ended up throwing it away and switching to a single-piece harness. I found that the adjustability was not very helpful, and in order to get the waistband tight enough, I had to also over-tighten the shoulder straps a lot. Not ideal.
I went the other way, gave up the one piece harness on the wing with the SS plate, even with the shoulder straps loose I struggle to get out of the harness, I just want thing easy in my old age, no more 'chicken wing'.


Edit: I have been thinking about this problem I have with shoulder straps on a one piece harness, I have been using a harness of one sort or another for 56 years this year [July 1968], the rig I used the most through the 1980s was a twin set 63s, or a steel 72 with no BC [ a 'horse collar' Fenzy for dives deeper than 18M], it was when I started to put things on my wrist, computer [some dives 2] I have trouble getting my wrist out with a computer on it..
I am going a little off topic here, which is as expected on this site.
The early harness most of us used was like this.
20211216_090354.jpg
2 buckles on the shoulder straps. We were required to do 2 free ascents from 18m twice a year, weight belt only one dive, full ditch, weight belt and full set the next, 4 buckles, weigh belt first, waist buckle next, and 2 shoulder buckles together and up you went aaaah, and not one Pulmonary barotrauma.
 
I use the same harness setting for drysuit and 3mm. The stability comes from a tight waist belt / crotch strap, which is trivial to achieve with either exposure suit. No messing about with the shoulder straps required.

shoulder straps simply don't need to be tight

But what if your gear falls off and ends up at the bottom of the sea, hey with you in it

That dude in the video, also has another system

little finger through the crotch strap with the fore finger cleaning out the belly button

Some come to listen and learn and others to talk

Who'd be an instructor who'd be a staff member

WHEN DRESSING
HAS ANYBODY NOTICED THAT IF YOU PUT YOUR ARMS THROUGH YOUR HARNESS ELBOWS FIRST


WHEN UNDRESSING
HAS ANYBODY NOTICED THAT IF YOU PUT YOUR ARMS THROUGH YOUR HARNESS HANDS FIRST


THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO DO
 
I've marked the webbing on my sidemount harness for different setups, and when reconfiguring my harness.

There must be a better way to do this?
On my (blue) colored webbing, a permanent market works just fine. You can also use acrylic paint markers, although I believe they would rub off if something is under frequent bending/friction/use, and the water might help speed up that process. You could of course re-mark the webbing as needed to make the lines clearer again.
 
I only just purchased this wing, I can't justify the cost of an entirely new setup just for this.

Even if it is just the plate and a harness its still expensive. Id rather just the hassle of re setting it each time.
If you get a plate and harness you could get one from Custom Divers in the U.K. and a webbing with the necessary to make it a backup plate for about 200 GBP, you could find an used one from the Facebook group U.K. Scuba stuff for sale for 1/2 the price.

If not use some kind of paint or markers to make marks on your plate at the correct places. You should measure also the correct lengths using a tape measured. (I used paint and it will come off eventually, got a second backplate)

If you have halcyon webbing, you can count the number of Hs.

It shouldn’t take you long to adjust the backplate if you have the measurements.
 

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