Crotch Strap in PSDs

[bridgediver]

yep, looks good Gary.
Like I said, it isn't impossible to stay upright but it does require work to do so - the more air you put into the bladder the greater the work but why not get a bladder where it requires no work at all? - ie a jacket BCD. Be honest now - Can you actually stay in a vertical position on the surface, even with a half filled back inflate bladder, without movement?
This is simple physics: air filled things float (back of diver goes up); not air filled things don't float (face and head of diver goes down)
I think you're missing my point


Looking at the picture (I don't know who's who) and please correct me if I'm wrong - I can only evaluate what looks apparent to me in the photo as I obviously wasn't there. The blue guy has very little air in his bladder and he might be holding onto the body with 1 hand at arms length so it doesn't look like much effort would be getting expended there. The red guy has a bit more air but again very little and it doesn't look like he's holding on to the body at all
Also something to note is look how low in the water the diver's heads are.
There is nothing "wrong" with anything in this picture but I'm the type of person always looking for the better mouse trap. Just because we've been using XYZ in past has never been good enough for me.
Why would you use something that you know you can't (or shouldn't)fill up completely? There will come a day when somebody does

 

[Stoy D Dabbs]

OK Thank You All For Responses.

Bridgediver: You have good Information.
Gary D: Yes need to keep it simple.
Dittrimd: You have A good Ideal.
Also thanks to: Anti Hero, Rec 2 Tek, TC

I was diving with BCD jacket, It was an old Scubapro that I got in 2001, It was A used rentail.
And sense than I had to put A coating of aquaseal on it to keep the air inside it.
It had seen its day.
Befor I gotten that BCD jacket, I was diving with Sub-Aquatic System back BCD for over 20
years, It had tendency put my face foward in the water.

I have to be sensitive with open mind with the use of BP/W on my PSD team.

Conclusion:
There is no clear answer on this yet.
BP/W should be dive with the Dry Suit.
I feel that A Dry Suit should not be use for BC, but redundant BC
Be cautious of weighting on BP/W.

 

[Mphill9929]

Since the stock market crash erase my retirement account, I can only offer once cents worth ...

I do not pretend to know all there is about diving and am always open to new ideas. I am a bit reluctant to buy advanced "techie" stuff but that is more resistance to change than anything.

I do not like rear inflation BCDs for Public Safety Diving. I do not like integrated weights either. I do like crotch straps on MY teams BCDs. Since it is late, I will make this short and we can discuss at length more later. MANY years ago we dove single hose regulators, rarely wore a weight belt, used steel 72s and if we had it - uses a WWII Mae West as a flotation device. To make it stay in place you HAD to use the crotch straps. 30 Years later I helped design a BCD specifically for Public Safety Diving. It was and still is one of the finest BCDs for the job I have ever see or used. It was made in the USA by Amersea. Amersea closed shop two years ago and we were unable to find a company willing to buy the BCD and put it in their catalog.

The Search 25 was purposefully designed for PSD work. One of the issues we satisfied by adding crotch straps was size differences between team members who might be sharing equipment. Because the crotch strap prevents the BCD from rising, they not only keep it a snug fit but also allow a smaller person to wear it without fear of it coming off. This allowed teams on limited budgets to (for example) buy 2 Mediums for three team members who wore medium and the one who wore a small.

As rough as we usually are on team gear, the added weights of an integrated weight BCD seem to cause the BCD to wear out faster. Plus we always seem to lose a weight pocket at the worst times and inmost cases revert to belted weights.

We purposefully avoid rear inflation. The short reason is if our diver goes unconscious and makes it to the surface, we want them floating face up - not pushed forward face down by a rear inflation BCD.

I like and appreciate that teams are finding multi task equipment and if you are training for worst case scenarios and are satisfied that your gear - not just your training - your gear is adding safety to your team then keep on doing what you are doing. But if you play "Worst Case Scenario" and multi task equipment is not helping to prevent accident, injury or death - then some thought needs to be done to figure out what can be added, deleted, altered or replaced.

Mark Phillips
Editor / Publisher
PSDiver Monthly
www.PSDiver.com

 

[buckidma]

some great post on this so let me weight in as a psd inst for years i have fought this battle in departments and mostly in my own sole. the bp is comfort and good looking and in certain conditions they should work as for the jackets the rite comfiguration and issues such as entanglement night mares go away. at this point i will not give you my choice but rather the way i made my choice and here are the questions i ask.

1. is it safe?
2. does it make sense?
3. will it work in a worse case senerio?
   where will a diver float if unconsious
   where will a divers eyes be in a backup position on surface will he be able to look down the line at all times.
   The back up diver must be ready at all times to respond with every ounce of energy he can muster so if he spends that energy staying uprite is he giving his best if he is fatigued at the start.
   where do I place tools lights ect...you must carry some tools with you and a well deigned pocket and proper hose routing and diver harness should lessen entanglement hazards.
   if any psd wishes to discuss this topic off line i would welcome the comunication as i am always looking to learn . psd inst. b.buchanan

 

[Stoy D Dabbs]

Thank You for your Responses, I need to do some Research in the water this summer.