Slinging a 40cf pony on a BCD without many D rings

[Fogest]

I have this BCD here (see image below):

I am looking to get a 20cf or 40cf tank to sling as a bailout tank but I'm not sure the best way to mount them with my BCD. I'd like to sling it like I see Dale doing on this post here: Pony bottle mounting options?


Given that I really don't have any rings lower on the BCD I am just not sure how I could accomplish such a mount. Any ideas?

 

[CuzzA]

The best answer is to sell that BCD and get one that does what you need it to do. Preferably a back inflate BC with a webbing harness or just go with a back plate and wing. That or tank mount the pony.

Alternatively, I suppose you could sew in some webbing with a D-ring using thick nylon thread. I'm not sure how that would effect the resale value and how well it would hold up, plus you'd have to be sure you got the placement right.

 

[Fogest]

The best answer is to sell that BCD and get one that does what you need it to do. Preferably a back inflate BC with a webbing harness or just go with a back plate and wing. That or tank mount the pony.

Alternatively, I suppose you could sew in some webbing with a D-ring using thick nylon thread. I'm not sure how that would effect the resale value and how well it would hold up, plus you'd have to be sure you got the placement right.

Yeah I want to eventually switch to a bp/w so I think my best bet is to sell my current bcd and upgrade to a bp/w setup.

 

[Makhno]

For the hip, a buddy of mine just put a D-ring on a spare weight belt with one of those thingies that keeps the D-ring in place (what are they called?), and for the chest he jerry-rigged another D-ring to the BCD with a cable tie, sort of under where the inflator hose goes. It seemed to work, but was certainly less than optimal, and I questioned its durability.

I told him to stop being such a cheapskate and go get a backplate and wing rig. He finally did.

 

[guruboy]

For the hip, a buddy of mine just put a D-ring on a spare weight belt with one of those thingies that keeps the D-ring in place (what are they called?), and for the chest he jerry-rigged another D-ring to the BCD with a cable tie, sort of under where the inflator hose goes. It seemed to work, but was certainly less than optimal, and I questioned its durability.

I told him to stop being such a cheapskate and go get a backplate and wing rig. He finally did.

Triglide?

 

[Makhno]

Triglide. Thanks guruboy.

 

[Fogest]

For the hip, a buddy of mine just put a D-ring on a spare weight belt with one of those thingies that keeps the D-ring in place (what are they called?), and for the chest he jerry-rigged another D-ring to the BCD with a cable tie, sort of under where the inflator hose goes. It seemed to work, but was certainly less than optimal, and I questioned its durability.

I told him to stop being such a cheapskate and go get a backplate and wing rig. He finally did.

Haha a cheapskate is definitely what I am doing. Trying to advance my scuba diving safety while on a student budget, not an easy task unfortunately

 

[sunshower]

Haha a cheapskate is definitely what I am doing. Trying to advance my scuba diving safety while on a student budget, not an easy task unfortunately

Understandable. You can get secondhand gear that still plenty good. Get the right equipment without breaking the bank.

 

[Caveeagle]

Of course a BP/W or more tec oriented BC would make things easier, but I bet you could make that work. Remember people were "tech" diving long before all this gear was commercially available.

What does the inner waist belt look like? I bet you could get a piece of 1" webbing to loop around your inner waist/cumber belt and hold a D ring down just below the right side of the BC. Then find a way to rig another mounting point near the right breast area with the best method you can find. Perhaps even reinforcing that plastic buckle so it does not give out on you.

Be sure to verify that BC has enough lift once you back on all the new hear. You don't want to become a dirt dart.

 

[northernone]

I'll add my voice.

I sewed on a lower d ring to my bcd years ago to sling an al80 pony, easy and works great. In hindsight it would have been marginally better to sell it on kijiji and buy another similarly priced replacement. Cleanly sewn it doesn't look bad for resale even though. Also in hindsight I realized the extra dives I was able to do putting the money into air fills instead of expensive upgrades made me a better diver.

Do what works,
Cameron