Dry Suit w/ BP/W

[skdvr]

I am taking the Dry Suit course in a few weeks and I was wondering if I am going to have to readjust my BP/W to fit the drysuit? My normal diving is with a 7mm and a hooded vest. I guess If I have to do the waist strap that is not to big of a deal, but I do not really want to have to mess with the shoulder straps.

Phil

[Charles R]

The question is weather you will ever dive wet again cause if not then once you adjust for the drysuit it will stay that way like when you set it up for your 7mm. weather you will have to adjust or not depends on too many variables like what undergarmet, what type of drysuit, ect ect ect.

[Kingpatzer]

Isn't this just a perfect reason to get a second plate and harness

[ScaredSilly]

Huh? This should be a minor adjustment so it should take all of few minutes to readjust. It more than that you may not have the harness set up right in the first place.

[BSea]

This is why I use the Dive Rite deluxe harness. Any small adjustments can be done with the chest strap. I use it with my drysuit, my wetsuit with core warmer, and without, and just a shorty.

[skdvr]

Originally Posted by Charles R

The question is weather you will ever dive wet again cause if not then once you adjust for the drysuit it will stay that way like when you set it up for your 7mm. weather you will have to adjust or not depends on too many variables like what undergarmet, what type of drysuit, ect ect ect.

yes I will be diving wet again. I do not have the funds right now to purchase a drysuit.

Originally Posted by Kingpatzer

Isn't this just a perfect reason to get a second plate and harness

That sounds good to me, but I would have a hard time getting that past my wife...

Originally Posted by ScaredSilly

Huh? This should be a minor adjustment so it should take all of few minutes to readjust. It more than that you may not have the harness set up right in the first place.

Well it would not be a big deal except my harness is not setup just to be moved. It is held in place with a rubber sleeve over the 2" webbing. If I move it then I will have to re-adjust the harness to get it to fit me with the 7m mon which requires me to get into the 7mm in my house which is not pleasent being in a 7mm wetsuit and messing with the harness then trying it on and then adjusting it some more. I would just rather not mess with it if I do not have to.

I guess I will just see how it fits. If I have to move it then I have to move it...

Phil

[Floridiot]

While backplate and wing sounds neat. Its just another BCD (Bouyancy Compensation Device). All BCD's should be adjusted for comfort and balance. Build em so they are adjustable w/o failure points.

The Dive-rite / oms comfort harness style does save you adjustment time over a traditional hogarthian setup. 5 minutes to adjust. Some call the chest strap just another failure point, but the versatility is wonderful. Also the failure of the part does not constitute a dive termination unless you are uncomfortable. After all. W/O the strap. you just have the floppy ol' Hogarthian.

[MSilvia]

The harness should be pretty close, but might require slight adjustment. I use the same set up for my 7mm and drysuit.

Originally Posted by Floridiot

The Dive-rite / oms comfort harness style does save you adjustment time over a traditional hogarthian setup. 5 minutes to adjust.

5 minutes is an improvement? It only takes me half that long to adjust my hog harness.

Originally Posted by Floridiot

Some call the chest strap just another failure point, but the versatility is wonderful. Also the failure of the part does not constitute a dive termination unless you are uncomfortable.

The chest strap as a failure point is a weak argument against having one, as a failure doesn't compromise your ability to use the harness effectively. The reason I personally loathe chest straps is that they have a nasty habit of interfering with the drysuit inflation valve. The chest strap is a significant contributor to the reasons I stopped using my DiveRite adjustable harness. It wasn't likely to fail... I just would have preferred it to.

Originally Posted by Floridiot

After all. W/O the strap. you just have the floppy ol' Hogarthian.

Not really. What you have is an adjustable harness with no chest strap. There's still quite a bit of difference between that and a single piece of webbing.

[BSea]

Originally Posted by Floridiot

While backplate and wing sounds neat. Its just another BCD (Bouyancy Compensation Device). All BCD's should be adjusted for comfort and balance. Build em so they are adjustable w/o failure points.

The Dive-rite / oms comfort harness style does save you adjustment time over a traditional hogarthian setup. 5 minutes to adjust. Some call the chest strap just another failure point, but the versatility is wonderful. Also the failure of the part does not constitute a dive termination unless you are uncomfortable. After all. W/O the strap. you just have the floppy ol' Hogarthian.

Everybody has their own preference. I had a comfort harness, and I think I made less than 10 dives in it before I knew it wasn't for me. The webbing is way too soft IMHO, and easily gets tangled, and is the definition of floppy. Yes it is adjustable on the fly, but then you have all the adjustment straps floating around. The webbing used in a hog harness (at least most that I've looked at) is stiffer than comfort harness webbing. I've used weight belt webbing to make my own version of a Dive Rite Deluxe harness (not to be confused with a comfort harness), and it's even more stiff, but it doesn't twist, and is just as comfortable as the "Comfort" harness to me.

My advise for anyone looking at a harness is to get a hog harness & work your way up in price & adjustability to find what you want. It's cheaper than working your way down.

[Jack Hammer]

You shouldn't really need to get back into the 7mm to readjust the harness. If you adjust it 1 inch on each side for the drysuit, just adjust it back an inch after the class. I loaned my BP to a friend and I was able to adjust it back by looking at the wear marks on the webbing.

If you are really concerned, just take a paint pen and make a dot on the webbing. Or you could make a dot on the sleeve and the webbing so you know where to move them back to.

Jack