I've got a ScubaPro metal buckle cinch and it stays tight. You don't even need to wet the strap first.
Tank fell off and lost dive buddy
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Drewpy
Contributor
I would buy another SP just for the tank strap...my wife has the over and under and back cam thing which sucks!!
I've "lost" my tank once... a decade ort so ago when I was diving with a ScubaPro Classic with a single two-piece cam band with metal cam buckle. It was on a night dive and I had snapped the buckle shut before the dive, but didn't realize I had caught a part of the cam strap in it. Because of that it popped open at about 80 ft. Since I carry a large camera in my right hand, it would have been difficult to fix myself (no clip off for the camera back then). My buddy had gone off well ahead of me, but eventually came came back and helped re-fasten it.
Your situation suggests that your buddy was not a good buddy in the sense that they took off without you. Not a good situation in low vis, but more common under those conditions. As others have stated, a pre-dive agreement on buddy procedures if separated would be a good idea.
Because I dive solo, I use a harness with dual cam bands. To avoid worrying about whether it is secure, once I have secured it, I almost never take the harness off the tank! Our local fill station fills my tank with the harness, wing and reg on. I rinse the whole kit with a hose when I get home and leave it on (DIN reg included). Not a recommended procedure, but I dive very frequently and my gear rarely gets a chance to dry out! Your mileage will vary.
Your situation suggests that your buddy was not a good buddy in the sense that they took off without you. Not a good situation in low vis, but more common under those conditions. As others have stated, a pre-dive agreement on buddy procedures if separated would be a good idea.
Because I dive solo, I use a harness with dual cam bands. To avoid worrying about whether it is secure, once I have secured it, I almost never take the harness off the tank! Our local fill station fills my tank with the harness, wing and reg on. I rinse the whole kit with a hose when I get home and leave it on (DIN reg included). Not a recommended procedure, but I dive very frequently and my gear rarely gets a chance to dry out! Your mileage will vary.
I agree with Dumpsterdiver on tank replacement. As to the buddy separation, it should never happen. I just put up a second blog about being a good dive buddy, and the article has appeared in a couple of publications. Here it is:
While there are some divers who have trained and are certified to dive alone, we have all been taught that safe diving means diving with a buddy. Not only is it safer than diving alone, but sharing a dive with a partner multiplies the pleasure of the dive by having someone to share the experiences and verify the exciting encounters and sightings. I am lucky to have my wife Debbie as my dive buddy. She and I know each others dive habits, we work well together as a team, and we have become very adept at not only staying close together, but also being aware of each others position, activity, and, should they arise, issues throughout the dive.
Some people seem to think that getting in the water about the same time as your buddy, and staying in the same ocean as they are, constitutes buddy diving. They are wrong. To be a good dive buddy, someone with who other people enjoy diving and look for to diving with in the future, you should take being a buddy a bit more seriously.
A good dive buddy stays close to his or her dive partner all the time. Just how close varies with conditions like visibility, current, how well you know your buddy, whether you have dove together in the past, and other relevant factors. But on every dive, your should be close enough you can respond to your dive buddy in the event of any emergency or need for assistance arising. Emergencies are not limited to air depletion. They can include entanglement, equipment malfunction, injury, or even coming under attack from an aggressive sea creature. Stay close enough to help a buddy out.
A good dive buddy not only stays in close proximity to their dive partner, they are aware of their buddys location and activity, direction of travel if moving, and can perceive any problems, confusion, unease, or distress a buddy may exhibit as it occurs or just moments after. It doesn't take long for buddies to become separated if they are not focused on and have an awareness of where each other is and what the other is doing and how they are moving. Buddy diving is kind of like going on a date. If you take a date to a dance, it is bad manners to lose them on the dance floor. Good manners require that you pay attention to them. If you dont, you might look up to find they are no where around. Its the same in buddy diving. Pay attention to your buddy. Look around and mark your buddys' location and activity regularly, in fact, often, and better still, constantly.
Part of being a good dive buddy is being sensitive to your dive buddys feelings, including how he or she feels physically and whether they are feeling stressed or anxious about doing a dive. Dont pressure your buddy to do a dive that they dont want to do. Sometimes a diver is not comfortable doing a dive. Let it go. Similarly, if a problem arises during a dive that leads to one buddy wanting to terminate, or thumb the dive, a good dive buddy will go with them. Never leave a distressed, injured, confused, stressed out, or tired buddy to fend for themselves, even if they are surfacing and returning the boast or shore.
A good dive buddy will get acquainted with his diving partner before the dive. Sometimes we get paired up with a stranger, what some call an insta-buddy. When that happens, you need to get to know each other as divers. Talk to each other. Learn about each others experience level and last dive. Clarify the communications you will use and agree as to proximity and other buddy coordination. Discuss your objectives for the dive. Are you going to swim around like crazy people or focus on looking at the animals and their behaviors? If one or both are going to take pictures or video, discuss expectations you each have for staying close. When diving with a new buddy (or any buddy for that matter) a good dive buddy will be sure to sure to do a pre-dive safety check, familiarizing the team with each others equipment. Just like you learned to do in your basic scuba certification class. There is no need to dive with a stranger if you take a few minutes to plan together, learn bout each other and communicate about the dive.
Too often, divers who are paired up by the divemaster or boat captain, or even those who may have selected each other as buddies, will introduce themselves to each other, and then be oblivious to each other throughout the dive. That is not a good idea. A dive buddy who appreciates the importance of that role will stay close, be aware of what is going on, never have a problem with buddy separation, and be there to share air, help his buddy get untangled from the kelp, notice symptoms of narcosis, and otherwise assist as needed. If you want to have a good dive buddy, be a good dive buddy. You can do it. I know you can.
DivemasterDennis
While there are some divers who have trained and are certified to dive alone, we have all been taught that safe diving means diving with a buddy. Not only is it safer than diving alone, but sharing a dive with a partner multiplies the pleasure of the dive by having someone to share the experiences and verify the exciting encounters and sightings. I am lucky to have my wife Debbie as my dive buddy. She and I know each others dive habits, we work well together as a team, and we have become very adept at not only staying close together, but also being aware of each others position, activity, and, should they arise, issues throughout the dive.
Some people seem to think that getting in the water about the same time as your buddy, and staying in the same ocean as they are, constitutes buddy diving. They are wrong. To be a good dive buddy, someone with who other people enjoy diving and look for to diving with in the future, you should take being a buddy a bit more seriously.
A good dive buddy stays close to his or her dive partner all the time. Just how close varies with conditions like visibility, current, how well you know your buddy, whether you have dove together in the past, and other relevant factors. But on every dive, your should be close enough you can respond to your dive buddy in the event of any emergency or need for assistance arising. Emergencies are not limited to air depletion. They can include entanglement, equipment malfunction, injury, or even coming under attack from an aggressive sea creature. Stay close enough to help a buddy out.
A good dive buddy not only stays in close proximity to their dive partner, they are aware of their buddys location and activity, direction of travel if moving, and can perceive any problems, confusion, unease, or distress a buddy may exhibit as it occurs or just moments after. It doesn't take long for buddies to become separated if they are not focused on and have an awareness of where each other is and what the other is doing and how they are moving. Buddy diving is kind of like going on a date. If you take a date to a dance, it is bad manners to lose them on the dance floor. Good manners require that you pay attention to them. If you dont, you might look up to find they are no where around. Its the same in buddy diving. Pay attention to your buddy. Look around and mark your buddys' location and activity regularly, in fact, often, and better still, constantly.
Part of being a good dive buddy is being sensitive to your dive buddys feelings, including how he or she feels physically and whether they are feeling stressed or anxious about doing a dive. Dont pressure your buddy to do a dive that they dont want to do. Sometimes a diver is not comfortable doing a dive. Let it go. Similarly, if a problem arises during a dive that leads to one buddy wanting to terminate, or thumb the dive, a good dive buddy will go with them. Never leave a distressed, injured, confused, stressed out, or tired buddy to fend for themselves, even if they are surfacing and returning the boast or shore.
A good dive buddy will get acquainted with his diving partner before the dive. Sometimes we get paired up with a stranger, what some call an insta-buddy. When that happens, you need to get to know each other as divers. Talk to each other. Learn about each others experience level and last dive. Clarify the communications you will use and agree as to proximity and other buddy coordination. Discuss your objectives for the dive. Are you going to swim around like crazy people or focus on looking at the animals and their behaviors? If one or both are going to take pictures or video, discuss expectations you each have for staying close. When diving with a new buddy (or any buddy for that matter) a good dive buddy will be sure to sure to do a pre-dive safety check, familiarizing the team with each others equipment. Just like you learned to do in your basic scuba certification class. There is no need to dive with a stranger if you take a few minutes to plan together, learn bout each other and communicate about the dive.
Too often, divers who are paired up by the divemaster or boat captain, or even those who may have selected each other as buddies, will introduce themselves to each other, and then be oblivious to each other throughout the dive. That is not a good idea. A dive buddy who appreciates the importance of that role will stay close, be aware of what is going on, never have a problem with buddy separation, and be there to share air, help his buddy get untangled from the kelp, notice symptoms of narcosis, and otherwise assist as needed. If you want to have a good dive buddy, be a good dive buddy. You can do it. I know you can.
DivemasterDennis
Its good experience to find a shallow safe place and practice taking off and putting your gear back one while on scuba.
Hatul
Contributor
Since I switched to a double tank band system of my Zeagle BC never had a loose tank and don't need to wet the tank bands.
I refuse to use cam bands, so when I switched to my plate from my Knighthawk, I installed 2 Scubapro style bands. I have reinstalled others tanks, but never had 1 come loose myself.
My very first dive after certifying was in Belize and I trusted the DM to set my gear up, I blame myself, not him. I rolled into fairly heavy seas (or so it seemed to me
and found my tank floating beside me. Fortunately my dive buddy was also a newbie and very concerned with being a good buddy so she was right there and I just held on while she adjusted it. Only Paul Harvey knows the rest of the story. Suffice it to say that was the least of my adventures on that dive.
and found my tank floating beside me. Fortunately my dive buddy was also a newbie and very concerned with being a good buddy so she was right there and I just held on while she adjusted it. Only Paul Harvey knows the rest of the story. Suffice it to say that was the least of my adventures on that dive.
OP
buminbeer2
Registered
While I 100% agree, I was to blame, as I stated. I'm the one who rigged all my gear. I will take advice on double strapping my tank in. I think my whole point, is no matter what, even with a dive partner, you are solo diving. No, we did not have a dive plan in place, other then I'll follow you.
I agree with DIVEMASTERDAVE above, but sometimes it is not ideal. I want to take my time and take pictures, but my dive buddy wants to hurry from site to site, not ideal at all. All you can do, if that's your only choice, is ask look back once in a while. I was with a guy that I only met twice and he had those big open fins that could outpace me 2-1. So, choice was not dive at all, or rely that I could save myself if needed, and it happened. I'll admit I was born in the water and not prone to panic, a new diver might have met a fate. I practiced several times of taking all my gear off under water in a shallow pool, to learn there is always a way out. But, a new strapping system is coming Thanks all.
Edit, the only reason I did not remove my gear to fix the tank at depth, was I worried about having my wetsuit on, I would have floated above my gear as the weights are in the BC. Maybe I could have removed the weight pockets, held onto them somehow and adjusted the situation. I thought about it, and felt the risk was far greater then doing my one hand thing. Maybe I am missing something?
I agree with DIVEMASTERDAVE above, but sometimes it is not ideal. I want to take my time and take pictures, but my dive buddy wants to hurry from site to site, not ideal at all. All you can do, if that's your only choice, is ask look back once in a while. I was with a guy that I only met twice and he had those big open fins that could outpace me 2-1. So, choice was not dive at all, or rely that I could save myself if needed, and it happened. I'll admit I was born in the water and not prone to panic, a new diver might have met a fate. I practiced several times of taking all my gear off under water in a shallow pool, to learn there is always a way out. But, a new strapping system is coming
Thanks all.Edit, the only reason I did not remove my gear to fix the tank at depth, was I worried about having my wetsuit on, I would have floated above my gear as the weights are in the BC. Maybe I could have removed the weight pockets, held onto them somehow and adjusted the situation. I thought about it, and felt the risk was far greater then doing my one hand thing. Maybe I am missing something?
I bought a second tank band just in case, but my question is: why 30~40º angle and not simply horizontal? During the entire dive the tank should be resting on your back.
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