BP/W for a very large man

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Honest question, if the diver needs 26lbs to sink just himself with no exposure protection, then isn't that just getting the rig to net neutral? Does fat lose buoyancy at depth like a wetsuit?
You are correct. The lead required to keep the person neutral at the safety stop does not need to be compensated for by the wing. The wing only needs to counter the weight of gas used plus the difference in buoyancy in the wetsuit between the surface and at depth (or the normal amount of internal air for a trilam or crushed neoprene drysuit).
 
A couple of things to consider.

I think he is going to need a release clip on the harness on at least one of the upper arms. Getting out of continuous webbing is going to be difficult if not impossible.

The crotch strap is going to be vital to keeping the rig in place. It's going to have to be extra long unless the waist strap takes the big detour under the belly.

The larger question is whether this person is fit enough to dive. Can he climb a ladder, do a surface swim, handle a current? Has he honestly filled out the standard medical questionnaire and have any necessary medical clearances.

I guess I'm assuming that most of this weight is fat. If your colleague is a World's Strongest Man finalist, some of this will change.
 
The larger question is whether this person is fit enough to dive. Can he climb a ladder, do a surface swim, handle a current? Has he honestly filled out the standard medical questionnaire and have any necessary medical clearances.

I guess I'm assuming that most of this weight is fat. If your colleague is a World's Strongest Man finalist, some of this will change.

I was wondering that myself, but didn’t want to bring it up. The massively overweight people I’ve personally known were far from healthy people.
 
Why on earth would someone this large consider a small wing. Obviously streamlining is not an issue.

The last comment was not meant as a joke. A 450 lb person is going to need a huge amount of neoprene in their suit.

Suit compression alone could be over 30 lbs!
 
Why on earth would someone this large consider a small wing. Obviously streamlining is not an issue.
Hey, some 450 pounders are quite streamlined.
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I was thinking about that myself. The DUI weight harness would probably be a good choice. But I don’t know if it would fit as it comes from DUI. It holds up to 40lbs. Extra webbing might have to be added.
If wearing anything besides rash guard and shorts, I wear my DUI harness. I’m only 325 (only?) but it has lots of room for me to grow.
 
fat is not compressible so it does not change at depth. You want the diver to be as neutral as possible without the rig so if they have to remove the rig, the risk of the diver popping up like a cork and the rig sinking like a brick is minimized.
A couple of things to consider.

I think he is going to need a release clip on the harness on at least one of the upper arms. Getting out of continuous webbing is going to be difficult if not impossible.

The crotch strap is going to be vital to keeping the rig in place. It's going to have to be extra long unless the waist strap takes the big detour under the belly.

The larger question is whether this person is fit enough to dive. Can he climb a ladder, do a surface swim, handle a current? Has he honestly filled out the standard medical questionnaire and have any necessary medical clearances.

I guess I'm assuming that most of this weight is fat. If your colleague is a World's Strongest Man finalist, some of this will change.

All Excellent points. I was thinking a single piece harness. You make complete sense here.
 
A couple of things to consider.

I think he is going to need a release clip on the harness on at least one of the upper arms. Getting out of continuous webbing is going to be difficult if not impossible.

The crotch strap is going to be vital to keeping the rig in place. It's going to have to be extra long unless the waist strap takes the big detour under the belly.

The larger question is whether this person is fit enough to dive. Can he climb a ladder, do a surface swim, handle a current? Has he honestly filled out the standard medical questionnaire and have any necessary medical clearances.

I guess I'm assuming that most of this weight is fat. If your colleague is a World's Strongest Man finalist, some of this will change.

After a long break my large Gentleman has returned. So.... Yes he is massively out of shape. Short version, hurt in Afgan, Military Dr. told him no activity for 3 years, now has 2 months left. He was a lifeguard for years, and Judo practitioner. So he does plan to get back into shape. He is already a certified diver, and just signed the kids up for OW. He says his shoulders are good, and we are going to try a single strap to double check on Friday, I will have to measure for that long Crotch strap you mentioned.

Would you put a Steel or AL on this guy?
 
I would set him up with the heaviest long plate I could find and put a few weights on each cam band to max out the amount of weight that could be placed on the rig and could still be suspended by a 40 lb wing.
Then I’d find the biggest heaviest most negatively bouyant steel tank I could find and use that. This would be part of the equation above.
Then I would put the rest on a rubber freediving belt because those don’t slip and weight him so that he can hold a 15’ stop with 500 psi in his tank with no air in the wing. Whatever wetsuit gets used will determine how much weight is on the belt since this would be the adjustment tool.
If it’s thin like a 3 mil then I’d skip the added weight on the cam bands.
 
I was 399 when I first got certified (275 now). Nothing special was required, aside from ensuring I had proper length webbing. I used a 55lb Diverite REC EXP but hardly put more than a tiny squirt of air into it. I'd say try 18 or maybe up to 30lb wing. With an aluminum plate and steel lp108 tank I need no lead. Losing 125 lbs didn't change that equation much.

The beauty of BP/W (for me) was that as I lost weight, I could adjust it and had no concerns about needing to replace it for a smaller bcd.

For me, scuba was a great incentive to lose weight. Hopefully this guy will find it equally rewarding.
 

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