Crotch straps are awesome!

[Neilwood]

Thanks. This is all very helpful. I'm pretty sure that my jacket BCD does not have an attachment point already. I'll just have to look to see if it's possible.

If you can add one, it will make any jacket type BCD instantly better as there is less of a requirement to tighten it as much (to prevent it moving upwards on the surface) as the strap does the job of keeping it located where it should be.

 

[divezonescuba]

A V shaped crotch strap works even better than a straight crotch strap. The two loose ends go on the back, so you still only have a single front attachment point.

 

[Lkhendrickson]

Oh my gosh I NEED this. So excited, can’t wait for it to arrive!

I couldn’t but a women’s bcd to help with the waist/hips issue cause they don’t make women’s bcd big enough and would love to help it from riding up

Thanks!

 

[rhwestfall]

I put a "split saddle" strap on the wife and daughter's plates (and I too got one). Wife really likes it, daughter doesn't have an opinion because she doesn't have any other reference point. I like it a bunch for my warm water rig.

The Split Saddle is a Zeagle product that I used with a couple other parts to make it work on non-Zeagle stuff.

Single attachment point in the rear, two attachment points with QR buckles on the front.

 

[Kharon]

Maybe this doesn't need its own thread, but I just want ya'll to know that adding a crotch strap has been a game changer for my buoyancy and comfort. Last year I was on the Juliet (Bahamas liveaboard that I highly recommend) and the captain recommended it after I complained about my BC coming up around my ears when I tilt head-down. She even found one and installed it on my BC (I LOVE that crew!). Now I hook it up at the beginning of a dive, cinch it to the right spot when I get in the water and my BC stays exactly where I want it whether I go upside down or tilted (to look under shelves or take pictures). If Liza hadn't recommended this I never would have thought of it on my own - so I thought I'd mention it here. Especially as some of these BC's aren't easy for curvy figures, it's a nice way to keep it all in place.

On bonaire this last time I found my soft backpack/harness creaping up. I got Dive Friends to order me a crotch strap (got it in a few hours) and now I can't imaging diving without it. Not sure how I would put one on my BC though. Going to look at that today. Never thought of it.

 

[broncobowsher]

Yes, it is a game changer. Surprisingly not as intrusive as you would think it would be. I remember trying to dial in my new harness and wings and saw the crotch strap option. Initially I rejected it. Nobody else has it, why do I need it. After a little diving I was noticing that in the water everything was shifting up a little. OK, order one, try it in the pool. WOW!!! Now things stay in place. I can actually trim out. Every once in a while I will forget it. I can still dive, but it isn't right. Everything I have has a crotch strap now. I have not tried the split version yet, I hear I will really want one if I ever get a scooter.

 

[Hoag]

I have mixed feelings about a crotch strap and I am not as "sold on it" as others. I recently (late October / early November) did a trip on the Aquacat LOB in the Bahamas. This was my first trip using a BP/W set-up. The water temps were warm enough that I dove in a swim suit, rash guard & 3mm vest. After a week of diving in a swimsuit with a crotch strap, it was chafing pretty significantly. The webbing on the crotch strap was much more flexible than that on my harness, but it still was not comfortable by about mid-week.

I realize that this would likely not have been an issue at all if I was in a wetsuit, and it is very definitely what some might call a "First World Problem", but it was enough that it made me consider diving without it.

 

[CathyE]

My husband and I both put crotch straps on our Zeagle Ranger BCs, they sound like the Split Saddles mentioned by rhwestfall as the connection points existed.
I still use mine and think it does a great job keeping my kit in place, but hubby removed his after a couple of dives. He didn't think they were worth the time it took to do them up.
We have very different shapes.

 

[Neilwood]

I have mixed feelings about a crotch strap and I am not as "sold on it" as others. I recently (late October / early November) did a trip on the Aquacat LOB in the Bahamas. This was my first trip using a BP/W set-up. The water temps were warm enough that I dove in a swim suit, rash guard & 3mm vest. After a week of diving in a swimsuit with a crotch strap, it was chafing pretty significantly. The webbing on the crotch strap was much more flexible than that on my harness, but it still was not comfortable by about mid-week.

I realize that this would likely not have been an issue at all if I was in a wetsuit, and it is very definitely what some might call a "First World Problem", but it was enough that it made me consider diving without it.

Might be worth looking at sleeving it in neoprene or something soft if you are using it without a wetsuit/drysuit.

 

[Sam Miller III]

What is old is also new..

The crouch strap was a standard component illustrated the first US recreational diving instructional manual in 1948 and was standard until the introduction of the form fitting wrap around back packs in the early 1960s at which time they apparently disappeared from the divers armentarium.

Now they have returned as not an accessory but as a requirement for comfortable diving.

In the past when I was using a crouch strap I did DIY with a length of 1/2 inch poly propylene woven line and a snap hook attachment. Once adjusted it never needed readjustment .

For several years I used a Marseilles webbing with a two point attachment -- easy on and easy off

SDM