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Help with Harnesses - Q&A?

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#1 ·
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I meant to post this earlier,mainly for Dominic who was after some decent webbing.One of the many reasons I see for people adopting one piece harnesses etc.(and rightly so really)is the potential failiure point phenomenon surrounding the clips,buckles etc.Having only ever used either older gear "won" from the Old Man et al,or commercial kit,I must admit that I wondered what all the fuss was about.As I read around DIR for instance,I thought that they were perhaps overdoing it a bit as I'd never really experienced any problems,eg backplates failing?
Anyway,I became involved in various things for people and beimng the sort who's happy to use whatever he can borrow/scrounge I began using current rec.gear.
I must say,(and I did look at/use a lot)that the majority of it is indeed diabolical.Many of the clips etc.I experienced were very flimsy to say the least.Many were broken/deformed beyond use with having a cylinder put on top of them,I cringe to think that divers actually take this equipment aboard boats etc.and entrust their lives to it.
I appreciate now where the for higher quality gear thing lies.I'm amazed that the diving world actually allowed much of this stuff to become commonplace anyway,much of it being by major manufacturers.I'm not saying the older gear I have is better,but it is all very substantial.The commercial gear is too,you have'nt got time to be thinking about harness problems etc.in the 1st place,just use something that's right anyway,obviously the same standards don't apply.
Here's a couple of pics.of some commercial harnesses,they're not that clear and the crutch straps are most likely not in use(rarely used).They are typical of the harnesses in use however,with v,sustantial ss buckles,good webbing,stiching etc.Consider the age of some of this kit and the abuse it gets and you'lll see my point.Stuff like this can often be acquired 2nd hand through various commercial dive suppliers eg SMS.
Regards,Hobby.
<a href="http://www.commercialdivers.co.uk/images/large/new3.jpg

" target="_blank">http://www.commercialdivers.co.uk/images/large/new3.jpg

</a> <a href="http://www.commercialdivers.co.uk/images/large/new10.jpg





(Edited" target="_blank">http://www.commercialdivers.co.uk/images....(Edited</a> by Bren Tierney at 4:18 pm on Jan. 21, 2003)
 
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#2 ·
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Love the pictures!  Want one of those helmets....

I was interested in the DIR concept of continuous harnesses - the idea that this removes weakpoints etc.  I suppose it might, if the fittings were all plastic, and all were simultaneously stressed to breaking point.  I don't think it's very likely though.  One clip remaining might be enough to hold you... The downside of continuous webbing would appear to be lack of adjustment and poor fit.  One baby DIR diver, just getting into it, was seen to be unable to sit upright on the surface because the wing had shifted position - no fine adjustment was possible at the time.

I think a good fitting, serviceable harness is the important thing - and that can include buckles.  Military parachutists used to use continuous harnesses where the lift webs continued to the canopy where the harness left off.  However, later models binned this idea, and now they use chest and separate leg fittings (snap ejector hooks).  Parachuting is a sport where you really don't want anything to go ping! The stresses are much higher than diving - although there aren't that many cylinders rolling about... The webbing and its stitching has a breaking strain of around 2000lbs.  The metal work has a breaking strain of nearer 5000 - that's a couple of landrovers!  So it looks like you're better off in this case with the clips and a better fitting harness.

With that in mind, I'm going to stick with an adjustable, well-fitting, serviceable harness - the emphasis being on serviceable.  

Flame on...
 
#3 ·
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<font color='#000080'>Ok just a quickie

I know i could search myself but i just know someone on here will have the answer straight away,

I have just got a new wing and i want to buy some harness webbing & D-rings to make my own DIR style harness, can anyone recommend a good online supplier?

Cheers


Paul
 
#4 ·
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<font color='#000080'>A couple more questions (in for a penny in for a pound)

Roughly how many metres should i order?

Do you use a different width for the crotch strap?


Cheers

Paul
 
#6 ·
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Look at www.gasdiving.co.uk.  they have a really easy to follow example with required lengths etc

5m of webbing is plenty enough.

I used the same width webbing for the crotch strap but the softer weight-belt stuff to stop uncomfortable chafing!

I don't know about an online supplier, sorry, although I would have thought that DIRdirect would have it?

HTH

Lou
 
#7 ·
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I used Runnymede diving.   .Runnymede

5m of stiff webbing (I also used the same width for the crotch strap but less stiff webbing would probably be more comfortable).

5 stainless steel D rings, stainless steel buckle and some stainless steel weight retainers.

I also bent the 2 chest D rings so they stand slightly proud and are easy to hook bits to.

Daz
 
#8 ·
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<font color='#000080'>Thanks Guys

LOU never seen that site before, it's really good even if you're not DIR to the core although i did think £51 for a harness & D-Rings was expensive (maybe i'm kidding myself!)

I think i'll wait until the dive show i forgot it's only 2 weeks away


Thanks again for your input


Cheers


Paul
 
#9 ·
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Is that the Halcyon one?

I was actually suprised that it is relatively cheap.  The aquatec one from Portland Oceaneering is £75 (being a stitched and clipped one) and isn't bad, but isn't worth that (we have one).

In comparison, just buying all the d-rings, buckle and stainless weightbelt retainers needed for a one-piece harness, plus webbing, adds up to a fair whack.  I was a little overcharged (I went to the onl local shop that stocks that stuff and they are a bit dear) but it cost me around £40 to make it myself.  

Lou
 
#10 ·
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<font color='#000080'>Yes it was the Halcyon one, if i can do it for £40 at the show then i don't mind rigging it myself as it will be good practise (along with getting used to a wing after 10+ years in a stab
)

Paul
 
#11 ·
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Hi Paul
I bought the webbing for a harness a few months back, but ended up buying a Scubapro X-Tec harness instead, so if you're interested, I have 6 metres of stiff black webbing and four large d-rings that you can have for a tenner, plus P&P, so say £12. You'll then just need (maybe) a couple more d-rings, and some weight retainers (to hold the d-rings in place), plus a weight belt buckle and you should have enough webbing left to get the crotch strap out of that as well.
Let me know.
Martin
 
#12 ·
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I can get webbing, it's not extremely stiff, but is certainly good enough for my uses. £1 a metre. Let me know if you want me to buy some for the dive show. Happy to meet up then.

Or you could take Martin's offer. The question you have to ask yourself is - Do you feel lucky?
 
#13 ·
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I like Point North Point North They're lovely people to speak with on the phone, and do both stiff and floppy (missus) webbing. They also do ripstop nylon sailcloth which is great for flags.

Give them a ring and they'll even send you a sample.

Laters,
   Janos
 
#14 ·
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I have a Buddy Tekwing with which I use a s/s backplate and an X-Tec harness (similar to the dive rite transpac II harness by the look of it).  The harness is OK, but a little bulky for my liking, and the pulls on the shoulder clips are quite small and difficult to use with my gloves on.  For these reasons, I want to change it for a webbing harness BUT I do want at least one shoulder clip.   I've already have a crotch strap, so will be keeping this in place, but really want to slim down the harness.
Is this possible if I make it myself?  I have the webbing, and I also bought a 50mm push clip, but guess I'll need to get some stitching done to keep the bottom webbing in place

It appears I can buy a harness which can be threaded through my backplate that comes complete (like the CD Sports Harness (anyone know how much these are?)), but is there a way to do this using webbing, the appropriate shoulder clip and buckles and d-rings required?
Any help and advice greatly appreciated.
Regards, and dive safe
Martin

Have just found some prices, and from DW the CD harness is £140 but they also do an OMS Comfort Harness (which comes without the pockets) for a much more reasonable £80.  I'm going to keep that idea as my back-up plan  
 
#15 ·
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You don't necessarily have to sew it to keep clips in place, depending on the clip and the webbing.

But a needle and some fishing line can do everything you need in a matter of minutes
 
#16 ·
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You can use a one piece harnis rig but install an inline clip on a loop of the webbing. Once you release the clip the loop allowes  the slack out and you can get in and out of the harnes easily. I dont thing this system involves any stitching.

I quite like this idea and might try it when my CD tec harnes gives up the ghost. Dan is the man to ask as he rigged his wing this way last year and he dives loads and calls a spade a spade so he can tell you if its any good.

ATB

Mark Chase
 
#20 ·
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<font color='#0000FF'>All good points.
I'd just like to say somthing about the "burning the hole in the webbing" tho.
I dive a homemade continuous harness, a la gas diving, but didnt burn the hole. I found that the position of my back plate on my bands (combro) didnt require me to use the same hole to attach to the bands and decided to leave it till i was happy with the harnes.
Now, 2 years on i'm glad I didnt. I've adjusted, farted and fannied around with it so much it would look like swiss cheese if I holed it every time.

Try it yourself, if it dont work you can always make a hole, but you cant unmake a hole if you know what I mean.

Stu.
 
#21 ·
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<font color='#0000FF'>get a cobbler to do the stiching, if you want any done, i know my local guy charges very little
 
#22 ·
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<font color='#0000FF'>Hello all,

I am thinking of changing my CD harness with a more simple one! One question that springs in my mind is, why some harness are criss crossed behind diver neck CD harness and others such as DIR not! What are the benefits of both? Who have dived them both what is the difference underwater?

Regards

Pierre
 
#23 ·
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<font color='#000080'>Crossing them pulls them tighter in across the shoulders. If you don't have the widest shoulders you might want to do it. I've never had a problem with having mine uncrossed. The DIR boys don't need to cross them because they all have such big shoulders from all those weights they do.


Pierre, Woz has started selling kits for simple harnesses, all the webbing, weightbelt buckles and D-rings, go to www.kitfondle.co.uk - even with the postage it might well be cheaper than LDS.

Digs.
 
#24 ·
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<font color='#0000FF'>No problem with my uncrossed unbroken harness pierre.
Chasey recently posted somthing about his crossed harness which I found interesting tho.
I need/use a crotch strap - he dosent. The crossed harness stays where it is for him.
Maybe he'll be along to explain soon..

stu.
 
#25 ·
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I use a crossed harnes and as mentioned above I dont use a crotch strap or a chest strap. I have quite a large chest (44") and dispite being a fat git I only have a 34 waist. I have absolutly no idea if this makes a diferance but it works for me.

I just find the crossed harnes pulls in tighter than the streight harnes so it tends to stay in one place and not move arround on my back. I like it like that and its made possable by the adjustable sholder straps. All the one piece harnis rigs I have used were way to slopy for my liking.

My wifes new OMS wing has parallel straps and I definitly need the crotch strap when using her rig. Its OK during the dive but on the surface the whole thing rides up over my head.

Its no big deel to rig so why not try both and see which one you like.

ATB

Mark Chase
 
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