Weight Harness's (stupid question)

[Sparky750]

Ok i bought myself a bowstone harness which seems great but how do you wear it? do i lower it down so the belt ties around my hips (kinda like those low cut jeans that girls wear) or as you'd normally wear a weight belt around your waist. around my waist seems a little high and almost under my BC but i can still get at the release tabs just and whilst on the subject of release tabs are they meant to be that bloody had to pull the pouches out? I'll be trying it out for the first time on the 30th hopefully. Cheers for the help in advance and you can snigger at me all you want my mum says i'm clever

[sidthejedi]

I use a DUI weight harness and position it so its about where my weight belt used to be. You have no idea how nice it is to be able to dive and not have to think about tightening up the weightbelt when the neoprene compresses or if its going to start slipping when you start to climb the ladder out of the water (the ladder up the side of swanage pier with the weightbelt around my knees was not pleasant).

TBH as long as you can get to the handles to dump the weight and nothing is digging in it isn't an issue. Later on you can fiddle with it to sort out your trim. As for it being hard to release having not used that make I can't really comment but I guess its worth having a play about and making sure something hasn't been put together wrong creating a snag.

[msdkeith]

Harnesses rock! No more worrying about a belt slipping round your knees on the Stanegarth during a night dive (that was an interesting experience, particularly ascending the buoy line whilst holding a weight belt)

Take your time to fiddle and decide what configuration is the most comfortable, with increased experience you need less weight anyway (I've dispensed with 6Kg over the past year), the only thing that matters is being able to get to the releases freely. (Something to do with safety....probably not that important....unless you happen to think that the acronym BWRAF in the pre-dive check might have some relevance....W for weights, R for releases?)

As to stiff releases, I'm not familiar with your system but I'd suggest releasing the weight packs and reassembling them a few times. If that doesn't improve things I would go back to the shop and make dissatisfied noises, they should be able to sort out the stuff they sell.

Once you've dived with the harness a few times you'll wonder why they aren't standard issue rather than belts but there are so many ways to carry weight and the belt is probably the easiest default method.

Enjoy your diving.

[msdkeith]

Harnesses rock! No more worrying about a belt slipping round your knees on the Stanegarth during a night dive (that was an interesting experience, particularly ascending the buoy line whilst holding a weight belt)

Take your time to fiddle and decide what configuration is the most comfortable, with increased experience you need less weight anyway (I've dispensed with 6Kg over the past year), the only thing that matters is being able to get to the releases freely. (Something to do with safety....probably not that important....unless you happen to think that the acronym BWRAF in the pre-dive check might have some relevance....W for weights, R for releases?)

As to stiff releases, I'm not familiar with your system but I'd suggest releasing the weight packs and reassembling them a few times. If that doesn't improve things I would go back to the shop and make dissatisfied noises, they should be able to sort out the stuff they sell.

Once you've dived with the harness a few times you'll wonder why they aren't standard issue rather than belts but there are so many ways to carry weight and the belt is probably the easiest default method.

Enjoy your diving.

[msdkeith]

Which is why I sent the same message twice.

My Mum thinks I'm clever too.....but she is getting old....

[Dan Wilko]

Yeah harnesses are great I brought one after loosing my weight belt (it slipped off during a surface swim. I wouldn't go back to a weight belt if you paid me! However I do think they are geared more towards Wings. With the less cluttered front (i.e. the side bits) as it is quite hard to get to the release mechanism, but I imagine a lot easier on a wing. IMO.

[pieater]

I use a Ralftech harness when singles diving. I have to position the pouches around my hips otherwise I can't get the wing on. Once the wing is in place it holds the weight pouches solidly, no problems.

[Jules]

To be honest it depends on what works for you. Being of petite stature a weightbelt round my waist is hard to get to when i have a BCD on. so my holiday kit is a harness which I wear with the weights more round my hips so i can get to the weights to release them if necessary AND so the BCD doesnt result in the weights digging into my waist.

Jules

[Roger Cardy]

Ive got the bowstone harness and its great, the only thing i would warn you about is the quality of the press studs. After a few dives they will begin to disolve, and one day when you pluu out the pouch, it will part company. One useless weightbelt no more diving today. Go to a boat chandler and get some brass ones and fit them before the aluminium ones corrode.

Ive adjusted mine so it sits a few inches below the BC, it's probably on the hips not the waist, I find this the most comfortable.

Roger

[Lazlo]

I use this harness too. I have it adjusted at hip level - i.e. just below the bottom of the BC. One of the studs has parted company with the stitching, but TBH I can't be bothered with them anyway, there's more than enough velcro to keep the whole thing together IMO.

For single-tank, with a drysuit, I normally put a couple of kilos high on the back of the BC - in those BC "trim pockets" if available, or if not I have them in pouches on the tank band.