Dive Rite Basic harness - wrong kind of webbing for harness vs crotch????

I just switched from Transplate to basic harness for GUE fundies. I obserived a very interesting thing.

The one piece harness webbing is very soft to a point that when it is wet, it doesn't stay flat in the slot of the backplate. It kind of bunch up a little toward a side. I can only imagine over time, this strap can wear out very fast. The shoulder webbing on the transplate is nice and stiff.

Now the crotch strap. The webbing there is so stiff. Even those there is a neoprene wrap around, I can still feel it. This webbing is stiffer than the shoulder transplate shoulder strap.

My question: Is this intentional? If so, why a under weight should strap & an extra stiff crotch strap? If not, did I get a fake/bad batch? Can I have it exchange?

In comparison to my team mate who has a DSS setup. DSS has stiffer shoulder webbing (but still not as stiff as the DiveRite crotch) and a very soft crotch strap. This is what I think the way should be.

I don't have the basic harness but my dive-rite deluxe harness is the stiff webbing and my dive-rite crotch strap (1.5") is soft. I'd be surprised to learn that they use a different webbing in the basic harness.

My Dive Rite basic harness is a medium stiffness and my crotch strap is very stiff. I'm not sure of their reasoning. It also matters whether you get their 2" one piece crotch strap or their 1" strap. Their 1" strap is much softer (but doesn't have that pad on it.

Hi All,

Sorry for the confusion. We used to carry a variety of webbings. The 2-inch crotch strap is originally designed for load-bearing to be pulled by a technical DPV and to tow a technical DPV and therefore was made from stiff webbing. The harness was softer for comfort. Now we use exclusively a medium stiffness webbing that works well for load bearing webbing as well as comfort for shoulders, etc.

I think what you have is a mix of older and newer product. If you would like something different, give Mike a shout in service at service@diverite.com and he can help you out.

Cheers,
Kathleen