How to pick a BP/W?

[DevonDiver]

So, is it possible that a diver would just prefer a harness with adjustable straps and quick releases?

Initially.....


As other posters have stated, people gravitate towards the single-piece harness, not the other way around.

Having begun diving as a poodle-jacketed newbie, many people cannot initially break from their familiarity with being entombed within a mass of flapping nylon and buckles. As experience and appreciation develop, the natural evolution is towards the simplest, most effective configuration.

When I bought my first wing (for doubles) it was complete with a deluxe harness. The harness lasted 1 week. My first tech course, with Mark Powell, rapidly taught me the error of my ways... and the next weekend I was diving single piece...and never looked back.

It is absolutely fair for people to state that they prefer fancy comfort harnesses... but with the benefit of experience, they will most likely change their minds. That is the benefit of experience. If people are happy to spend the money on kit they will probably not like, or use, in a few years - then fair enough.

For me... I think diving is expensive enough, without having to replace your kit all the time...

 

[DevonDiver]

For me it's pretty simple. Help them understand the basics. Guide them towards the simplest, least expensive, most widely used configuration, i.e. "KISS"

I suspect that most people using "comfort" harnesses are doing so because they either assumed they needed one, or were told they needed on by a salesman.

I suspect very few people started with a single piece harness and "evolved" into a complex QR equipped harness.

I can say that virtually none of my customers start in a Hog, and come back to buy an adjustable "Pro-Fit"

It's not uncommon however for people who insist on a Pro-Fit (often after reading some of the "advice" available on scuba forums) end up buying a Hogarthian harness.

Great points Tobin...and they identify the trend very well.

 

[mikemill]

Couple questions:
How easy is the single piece harness for someone else to get you out of (assume an injury in which you need help)?

How easy is the single piece harness to get out of by yourself with an injury that severally limits the use of one arm?

And lastly: Lets say you have to crawl out of the surf hands and knees style and you need to drop your rig, is the single piece harness easy to get out of?

Now I ask these questions as a seeker of knowledge and not to try and advance any position.

I made my selection based off of scenarios like these, where you need to get out of the rig quickly and under adverse conditions, by myself.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Couple questions:
How easy is the single piece harness for someone else to get you out of (assume an injury in which you need help)?

How easy is the single piece harness to get out of by yourself with an injury that severally limits the use of one arm?

And lastly: Lets say you have to crawl out of the surf hands and knees style and you need to drop your rig, is the single piece harness easy to get out of?

Now I ask these questions as a seeker of knowledge and not to try and advance any position.

I made my selection based off of scenarios like these, where you need to get out of the rig quickly and under adverse conditions, by myself.

How about if you have two broken arms and one leg?

In reality it's just not that big a deal.

Open the waist belt and wiggle out. In the water it's a snap, sort of over the head style.

I also carry a knife that cuts webbing in a single pass if need be.

Seriously I carry a knife that cuts webbing in a single easy pass.

We are talking about ~50-60 lbs singles rigs right?

Not 100+ lbs doubles rigs?

Tobin

 

[mikemill]

In a non life/death situation I'm not a big fan of destroying my gear. Granted the webbing itself isn't that expensive but given the time it apparently takes to set it up that can be expensive.

And I was thinking singles yes but the same questions would equally apply to doubles I suppose.

 

[DevonDiver]

I teach all my courses in BP/W, with single-piece harness. I demonstrate kit remove and replace underwater and on the surface to my OW students. They perform those skills also, whilst wearing the same gear. I also teach kit remove and replace for tech students.

Never had a problem with it. Neither do my students.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Initially.....


Having begun diving as a poodle-jacketed newbie, many people cannot initially break from their familiarity with being entombed within a mass of flapping nylon and buckles. As experience and appreciation develop, the natural evolution is towards the simplest, most effective configuration.

Yes, and then the comfort harness gives way to the hog harness, the split fins give way to the sturdy old jets, then the ankle weights go, then the big dry snorkel with the big ball on the end with all the flapper valves gives way to the straight J tube (or no snorkel) then the air 2 gets lost, and next thing you know the diver becomes a (gasp) minimalist.

 

[RAWalker]

Couple questions:
How easy is the single piece harness for someone else to get you out of (assume an injury in which you need help)?

How easy is the single piece harness to get out of by yourself with an injury that severally limits the use of one arm?

And lastly: Lets say you have to crawl out of the surf hands and knees style and you need to drop your rig, is the single piece harness easy to get out of?

Now I ask these questions as a seeker of knowledge and not to try and advance any position.

I made my selection based off of scenarios like these, where you need to get out of the rig quickly and under adverse conditions, by myself.

The reality is that in rescue class we are taught to cut the one piece harness if we need to get an unresponsive diver out of it.
If it is a matter of saving your life why worry about the harness anyway. A 1 piece isn't expensive to replace.
This shouldn't be one of the factors in considering which harness to use since with a sharp knife it's as fast as using releases. Maybe you just don't like people waving knives around you but if they are rescueing you I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Gombessa]

In a non life/death situation I'm not a big fan of destroying my gear. Granted the webbing itself isn't that expensive but given the time it apparently takes to set it up that can be expensive.

You're not going to cut yourself out of your harness just trying to get out of rough surf (if it's that rough, you'd probably end up impaling yourself with the next wave). If you need to get out in most cases, you can wiggle out. If you REALLY need to get out (or get someone else out), you cut the harness. It's like asking when you drop your weight belt--life and death situation only? At least with the harness cut, you're not losing any gear. You drop the belt and you probably won't find it again, and those weights can cost a bit to replace

 

[mikemill]

I wouldn't try to get out of my rig while in a surf to begin with. But once you've crawled out of the surf, made it up the beach far enough to avoid the wash, you've got to get your exhausted self out of the rig.

Now, lets say someone needs to get you out of your rig. They could cut you out, provided there was a cutting instrument they could find easily that can cut it. Of course I'm not a big fan of people coming at me with sharp instruments

In both cases it seems that a clip that can be undone, one handed, with minimal effort is preferable.