Stretching BC Strap

[Damselfish]

Really?? Yeah, pretty lame... who advertises them like that?

I suppose the strap could be used to help set the tank's height; I never thought of that. But I always understood its real purpose was to prevent tank drop-outs.

Good point about the cam buckle's "snap," making sure it's tight enough.

--Marek

I've always seen/understood those straps to be for setting the height, not for catching an errant tank. I've always used them to set the height. Whatever it works for ...

 

[divemastergreg]

Try getting the strap wet 1st then tighten tank. That should help.

 

[Marek K]

I've always seen/understood those straps to be for setting the height, not for catching an errant tank. I've always used them to set the height. Whatever it works for ...

Interesting. OK, so how does the strap work for judging tank height? Again, I think they could be used for that, but still don't think that's what they were designed for... It's obviously designed to go around the valve, under the first stage. If not, then why a loop? Do you maybe judge tank height by how tight the loop is? And why do some BC manufacturers put a buckle in the strap so it can be cinched tight, and then un-cinched to take it off? And some don't use a buckle?

For tank height, I always just compare the shoulder or neck of the tank against the top of the backpack...

You're right, though... whatever works... but new tips are always good...

 

[SubMariner]

Interesting. OK, so how does the strap work for judging tank height? Again, I think they could be used for that, but still don't think that's what they were designed for... It's obviously designed to go around the valve, under the first stage. If not, then why a loop? Do you maybe judge tank height by how tight the loop is? And why do some BC manufacturers put a buckle in the strap so it can be cinched tight, and then un-cinched to take it off? And some don't use a buckle?

For tank height, I always just compare the shoulder or neck of the tank against the top of the backpack...

You're right, though... whatever works... but new tips are always good...

IMHO they do double duty:

1) something to grab the BC by when transporting, putting it into your dive bag, etc.

2) something to use to set the tank height. Most of them are adjustable. After wetting your BC, you put it over the tank, making sure the the loop is over the tank valve. Adjust the BC placement to the desired height on the tank and tighten the straps. Test the hold by picking it up by that loop. No slip? Good! Now tighten the loop so that it is snug. The next time you put your BC on a similarly sized tank, you should be able to gauge the proper height simply by the fact that the loop is taut.

Does that help?

 

[MookieMoose]

Interesting. OK, so how does the strap work for judging tank height? Again, I think they could be used for that, but still don't think that's what they were designed for... It's obviously designed to go around the valve, under the first stage. If not, then why a loop? Do you maybe judge tank height by how tight the loop is? And why do some BC manufacturers put a buckle in the strap so it can be cinched tight, and then un-cinched to take it off? And some don't use a buckle?

For tank height, I always just compare the shoulder or neck of the tank against the top of the backpack...

You're right, though... whatever works... but new tips are always good...

I've always used them for setting tank height. The way I've used that strap was first, to set up the BC on the tank, and get the height adjusted to where you would like it. At this point you place that strap around the tank neck and adjust it so it is relatively tight, then leave it at that setting. In the future when placing the BC on a tank (just about any tank of similar diameter) you start the process by hanging the BC from the tank neck by this strap, this way the tank height will be the same as the last time, or pretty close anyways.

Cam

 

[Damselfish]

Interesting. OK, so how does the strap work for judging tank height? Again, I think they could be used for that, but still don't think that's what they were designed for... It's obviously designed to go around the valve, under the first stage. If not, then why a loop? Do you maybe judge tank height by how tight the loop is? And why do some BC manufacturers put a buckle in the strap so it can be cinched tight, and then un-cinched to take it off? And some don't use a buckle?

For tank height, I always just compare the shoulder or neck of the tank against the top of the backpack...

You're right, though... whatever works... but new tips are always good...

Sure, around the valve. The ones I've done this with the strap was adjustable. You adjust it once to the proper length so if you just hang the BC on the tank that way it's in the right place, the strap would be taut at that point. It holds up the BC and in the right position, while you close the tank band(s). So you can be using both hands to take care of that instead of trying to hold it in position at the same time. If the loop winds up being too small so it's hard to get over the valve this doesn't work as well - a buckle would take care of that, though I haven't had that on mine.

 

[Marek K]

Sure, around the valve. The ones I've done this with the strap was adjustable. You adjust it once to the proper length so if you just hang the BC on the tank that way it's in the right place, the strap would be taut at that point. It holds up the BC and in the right position, while you close the tank band(s). So you can be using both hands to take care of that instead of trying to hold it in position at the same time. If the loop winds up being too small so it's hard to get over the valve this doesn't work as well - a buckle would take care of that, though I haven't had that on mine.

My bad... When I said "buckle," I actually meant what strapworks.com calls a "strap adjuster"... where you can pull on the end of the strap to shorten it, but not disconnect it.

OK, that makes sense. And it would work... assuming you had an adjustable strap.

But there are probably as many strap loops without adjusters (like on my BC -- just a continuous loop), as with them.

--Marek

 

[Damselfish]

If there's no adjustment maybe it's really meant to be a handle?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I used to have a tank fall out 1 or 2 times per dive trip, so when I got my new bp/w from Tobin (DSS), I decided to do a little experiment. Without the cam straps ever even seeing the water, I put it on a mesh-wrapped 80 (definitley NOT my tank, with that mesh...) which are known for adding slipperiness, and loosley tightened it. By loosely, I mean not so tight that veins are bulging out of your forehead as you pull it tight, just 'snug'. Then over the course of trying this out, I wore the kit about 200' then stood in the shallow end of a pool for about 20 minutes sorting out my long hose, made a 25 minute dive in the pool, then let it dry over night. Next day I wear it from the car about 50' to a creek, swim about 300 yards, and wear it back to the car. Not a slip. I'm thinking this is from the little rubber bits that go on the diver side of the backplate. You can feel them compress when tightening the cam straps, so I guess they add pressure to the tank. If that is the reason, they work good.

 

[Kriterian]

Dive Rite also strongly recommends wetting the straps.

How would you wet the straps if you're diving from a boat? Take some water from the tub of water meant for cameras? That sounds like poor etiquette.

Hook an empty weight belt through the arm holes, or hold onto the crotch strap of BP/W, and dunk it over the side.

I suppose if they're having a really nice buffet for lunch you could build up enough saliva to self-moisturize the strap...