I have one on each side of my Mares TecRec Back Plate/Wing. The integrated weight pockets keeps the webbing from escaping. Works great on my travel BC.
I have a cinch custom system on one of my backplates to make it easier to get out of in a drysuit, and Halcyon still market something for the same purpose. But having said that I also use a standard back plate and harness for single-cylinder wetsuit diving and with the right technique I can get in and out of it without moving either strap. If you need adjustment on both sides, there is no real downside; just do it.
I use BP/W (DIR-ish singe piece webbing)and have dump pouches for weight on the waist strap portion of the harness. I wish I could use these loops for easy donning and doffing, but can't cause the I have the weight pouches as close to the BP as possible.
I use a continuous web harness, iput 2inch side release buckles on the shoulder straps both male and female sides of the buckle are speed 6-8 inches apart. When the buckle is open it gives me plenty of slack to don and doff, when they are buckled it tensions the shoulder straps and by adjusting the spacing of the male and female sides of the buckle I can go from no wet suit diving to dry suit in a few seconds
i have the mares xr DIR setup but i added a mares xr quick release buckle similer to the second one you showed, except i didnt cut the webbing, i created a loop with the buckle being beginning and end points. i threaded one end into the triglider, like a dring, the the otherside i threaded it like normal but put a triglider w/dring below so it wont slip. still retain both no failure points(within reason) and ease of doffing, especially in an emergency
Well I added a triglide under the dring, then slid the top part of the clip on then threaded the webbing through the triglide, left about 30cm before adding the bottom part of the clip and threading that. Then reassembled the harness like normal.
Why is it common to not have a right-hip D-ring? I mean I kind of get it if you run a cannister light, but I threaded a D-ring on my right waist webbing because I don't use a cannister light and I found it useful as a spot to clip off the shears I sheathe on my belt while I'm at it (they sometimes come out of the sheath despite the retaining velcro strap)
#askmark I fell down the rabbit hole of researching tec diving. While I'm not anywhere close to being ready to start that journey, I'm wondering what's the value of the traditional open circuit tec diving path? With CCR only getting better, and even creeping into the recreational world, what would the advantage be for someone to go tec open circuit instead of just jumping into CCR?
It mainly comes down to reliability. CCRs are incredible but, you'll always see a rebreather diver with an OC bailout cylinder. Rebreathers sometimes have a mind of their own and you need to switch to a more reliable OC system. OC is very wasteful though. With the prices of He going up a deep dive on OC becomes very expensive and the cost of a rebreather quickly becomes the cheaper option if you dive frequently.
It's mainly down to cost, and in particular how much diving you'll be doing. A good CCR set-up can cost up to $10,000 so you have to calculate how long it will take to amortise the cost of that, plus servicing and scrubber refills, compared to gas fills for the type of diving you will be doing. But if you just want to go CCR and have the funds, go for it!
I've had good experiences with a few, Mike's was very quick and efficient, I've bought a few bits from them. When you're shopping online it's easy to get caught out and end up buying equipment from a foreign store, even though everything is in £ etc. So, before I place an order online I check the _Contact Us_ or _About Us_ page and look for a UK address or phone number. Just so that the box doesn't get caught in customs or anything.
Mike's Dive Store is good, as are Aquanauts and DIR Direct. Simply Scuba has a more restricted range nowadays but there are several others out there with good deals to be had.
#askmark Mark im a new diver, and ive been told not to hold your breath, would it be ok to hold it at the bottom of your breath? (empty, near empty lungs) Or is there some kind of injury im not aware of? Thank you
Yes, the breath hold rule is more about holding a full lung and ascending leading to a lung over expansion injury. When we exhale we don't empty our lungs completely. There's always a small amount of air left inside your lungs called the _residual volume_ and this helps to prevent our lungs from collapsing. If you hold an empty lungful and descend then that volume will shrink which won't be great for your lungs. It's best just to breathe normally to prevent barotrauma and promote the best gas transfer while diving.
#askmark Love the videos, perfect for new divers like me. I know the best practice is typically to have your regulators serviced once a year. I live in a landlocked state in the US and it could be feasible to go an entire year without using them. Would you still have them serviced? I don’t actually own any but just thinking down the road. Thanks!
Regulators don't do very well in storage. They're a bit like cars: if you leave them on the drive for a year some of the seals are going to deteriorate and you may end up with leaks. Some regulator warranties can have a clause where you must bring your regulator in for a service so, it's worth looking through the paperwork before skipping a service. If your regs are out of warranty and you plan to leave your regs in storage for more than 12months then I'd wait until I had a dive trip planned and organize a service for about 2 months before the trip. The technician is going to replace all of the worn parts during the service so, you might as well wait. Have a good look around though, some reguators like the Atomic T3 have 3 year service schedules
Not properly, you would need to fit one to the diagonal slot that may be a bit high up. It will probably do the job but, the Zen already has a system that creates a longer shoulder strap that tightens when you connect the waist. You probably won't get much extra benefit compared to the standard harness configuration of the NX backplate.
Standard DIR is a nightmare when you are diving somewhere where you have to go to a dive site with a small boat and where you to need jump off and put on your bcd in the water. Not a good idea. get a wing bcd with a deluxe harnesses so you don’t need to worry going anywhere. Just like my xdeep nx zen deluxe 😊
I have one on each side of my Mares TecRec Back Plate/Wing. The integrated weight pockets keeps the webbing from escaping. Works great on my travel BC.
I have a cinch custom system on one of my backplates to make it easier to get out of in a drysuit, and Halcyon still market something for the same purpose. But having said that I also use a standard back plate and harness for single-cylinder wetsuit diving and with the right technique I can get in and out of it without moving either strap. If you need adjustment on both sides, there is no real downside; just do it.
Using the OMS wight pocket system gives you a somewhat similar level of adjustment as well.
OMS has a great product line with regards to this subject
I use BP/W (DIR-ish singe piece webbing)and have dump pouches for weight on the waist strap portion of the harness. I wish I could use these loops for easy donning and doffing, but can't cause the I have the weight pouches as close to the BP as possible.
I use a continuous web harness, iput 2inch side release buckles on the shoulder straps both male and female sides of the buckle are speed 6-8 inches apart. When the buckle is open it gives me plenty of slack to don and doff, when they are buckled it tensions the shoulder straps and by adjusting the spacing of the male and female sides of the buckle I can go from no wet suit diving to dry suit in a few seconds
i have the mares xr DIR setup but i added a mares xr quick release buckle similer to the second one you showed, except i didnt cut the webbing, i created a loop with the buckle being beginning and end points. i threaded one end into the triglider, like a dring, the the otherside i threaded it like normal but put a triglider w/dring below so it wont slip. still retain both no failure points(within reason) and ease of doffing, especially in an emergency
Dove you have a pic of your system? I'd love to do the same in my bcd
Do you have. A pic of your system ? Or a video may be ? I'd love to do exactly what you did!
Well I added a triglide under the dring, then slid the top part of the clip on then threaded the webbing through the triglide, left about 30cm before adding the bottom part of the clip and threading that. Then reassembled the harness like normal.
Why is it common to not have a right-hip D-ring? I mean I kind of get it if you run a cannister light, but I threaded a D-ring on my right waist webbing because I don't use a cannister light and I found it useful as a spot to clip off the shears I sheathe on my belt while I'm at it (they sometimes come out of the sheath despite the retaining velcro strap)
#askmark I fell down the rabbit hole of researching tec diving. While I'm not anywhere close to being ready to start that journey, I'm wondering what's the value of the traditional open circuit tec diving path? With CCR only getting better, and even creeping into the recreational world, what would the advantage be for someone to go tec open circuit instead of just jumping into CCR?
It mainly comes down to reliability. CCRs are incredible but, you'll always see a rebreather diver with an OC bailout cylinder. Rebreathers sometimes have a mind of their own and you need to switch to a more reliable OC system.
OC is very wasteful though. With the prices of He going up a deep dive on OC becomes very expensive and the cost of a rebreather quickly becomes the cheaper option if you dive frequently.
It's mainly down to cost, and in particular how much diving you'll be doing. A good CCR set-up can cost up to $10,000 so you have to calculate how long it will take to amortise the cost of that, plus servicing and scrubber refills, compared to gas fills for the type of diving you will be doing. But if you just want to go CCR and have the funds, go for it!
#askmark
Hi I just wanna where is the best place to shop for dive gear online in England as there aren't any dive shop in my local area
I've had good experiences with a few, Mike's was very quick and efficient, I've bought a few bits from them.
When you're shopping online it's easy to get caught out and end up buying equipment from a foreign store, even though everything is in £ etc. So, before I place an order online I check the _Contact Us_ or _About Us_ page and look for a UK address or phone number. Just so that the box doesn't get caught in customs or anything.
Mike's Dive Store is good, as are Aquanauts and DIR Direct. Simply Scuba has a more restricted range nowadays but there are several others out there with good deals to be had.
#askmark
Mark im a new diver, and ive been told not to hold your breath, would it be ok to hold it at the bottom of your breath? (empty, near empty lungs) Or is there some kind of injury im not aware of? Thank you
Yes, the breath hold rule is more about holding a full lung and ascending leading to a lung over expansion injury.
When we exhale we don't empty our lungs completely. There's always a small amount of air left inside your lungs called the _residual volume_ and this helps to prevent our lungs from collapsing. If you hold an empty lungful and descend then that volume will shrink which won't be great for your lungs.
It's best just to breathe normally to prevent barotrauma and promote the best gas transfer while diving.
#askmark
Love the videos, perfect for new divers like me. I know the best practice is typically to have your regulators serviced once a year. I live in a landlocked state in the US and it could be feasible to go an entire year without using them. Would you still have them serviced? I don’t actually own any but just thinking down the road. Thanks!
Regulators don't do very well in storage. They're a bit like cars: if you leave them on the drive for a year some of the seals are going to deteriorate and you may end up with leaks.
Some regulator warranties can have a clause where you must bring your regulator in for a service so, it's worth looking through the paperwork before skipping a service.
If your regs are out of warranty and you plan to leave your regs in storage for more than 12months then I'd wait until I had a dive trip planned and organize a service for about 2 months before the trip. The technician is going to replace all of the worn parts during the service so, you might as well wait.
Have a good look around though, some reguators like the Atomic T3 have 3 year service schedules
#AskMark. Can these loops be used with an XDeep NX Zen ?
Not properly, you would need to fit one to the diagonal slot that may be a bit high up. It will probably do the job but, the Zen already has a system that creates a longer shoulder strap that tightens when you connect the waist.
You probably won't get much extra benefit compared to the standard harness configuration of the NX backplate.
Standard DIR is a nightmare when you are diving somewhere where you have to go to a dive site with a small boat and where you to need jump off and put on your bcd in the water. Not a good idea. get a wing bcd with a deluxe harnesses so you don’t need to worry going anywhere. Just like my xdeep nx zen deluxe 😊
A standard DIR rig should still be easy to don and doff in the water, and possibly easier than on dry land; it's just knowing the correct technique.