crlavoie
Contributor
Many people have their hog harnesses too tight. I can get in and out of mine in a drysuit with wrist computer, slate and bottom timer already on my forearms - and I am 45, large shouldered and not what you'd call lean or overly flexible.
A pivot ring harness is an advantage only if you plan to switch back and forth between a drysuit with heavy under garments and a 3mm wet suit or even t-shirt. In that case, the cross chest strap helps take up the slack with a thin wetsuit without having to re-adjust anything else.
The new Halcyon harness makes a one piece webbing approach easily adjustable - but it solves a non problem, is overly complex and I am not a real fan of their solution for the hip d-ring. In my opinion it is targeted more at the sport diving/crossover crowd than serious technical divers.
The transplate harness, transpac etc, utilizes steel plates to handle the intersection of waist and shoulder straps, but in my opinion it takes up too much space on the waist band and brings the shoulder straps too far forward. Thinner divers will note the loss of waist band real estate as an even more serious issue.
I have a Nomad (based on the transpac harness) and it will shortly be modified to utlize standard webbing running to sewn loops at the lower ends to thread the waist band through.
I just don't see many people ever gravitating away from a hog harness, so it is my first choice in recommending a harness to any new technical diver. Plus I have yet to see an instructor object to one and that is not the case with pivot ring and in particular quick release harnesses.
Agreed and the only thing I would add is simply, don't over think it. It's as simple as it looks. As DA noted, there have been many attempts to solve a non-problem. One of my buddies has terrible mobility problems in his shoulders from over 20 years of masonry work and can get in and out with no trouble (and manipulate valves etc). My GUE-F instructor had reconstructive surgery on both of his shoulders and also has no issues.
It's that one piece of gear that for some reason, looks SO simple that we feel a need to mess with it. Just set it and forget it. Switching suits? No big deal, it takes all of 5 minutes to adjust including the time to put your suit on.