Please educate me on Hardpacks

[Mudhog]

I have a Voit Snugpack so far, seems to be made for kids or skinny people. Which ones might offer a better fit for a 5/10" broad shouldered and overweight person?
Would considder trading the Snugpack for something I could use.

[Bryan]

Get one of Allans harnesses. Will easily fit you and puts the double hose low and between your shoulder blades where it is supposed to be! Your regulator will perform best and be the easiest to breathe in that position.

[Mudhog]

Well I have read nice things about Allen,s harness, don't think I know what it looks like.

[NAUI Diver]

http://vintagedoublehose.com/cart/index ... ucts_id=81

Here is another link that goes to the page with lots of pictures...Bryan..

http://vintagedoublehose.com/parts/harness/index.html

[Nemrod]

Well, the Snug Pack was intended to fit around the waist with those little wings. I suppose if a person were a tad rotund it might not fit vvery well. I have used them for years and have of recent noticed they seem to be getting smaller. I have two suggestions in addition to Allens harness, use the plastic plates from the 70s that are not so contoured as the Snug Pack or there is a non vintage solution that works well with some vintage equipment--yep, a BP such as the Hammerhead Inc. plate. Those plastic plates that were ubiquitous in the 70s really work well and are often give aways. James

[Mudhog]

An tad rotund? thanks for the kind words!
Today I recieved 2 USD Kam-Pacs, first one has a yellow stripe running through the black webbing and uses D-rings for shoulder adjustment.
The 2nd one uses 3 of the lever buckles marked U.S. DIVERS on much stiffer grey/black webbing, I may reweb this one
Both have a frame of hollow black plastic.
The fit for me is perfect.
Jus how many varaitions are there?
I might get the top of the tank 3/4" closer using just a harness.

[Nemrod]

Glad to hear you fund some back plates that will work out for for you. The reason some folks like the original harness style such as dipicted on Bryan's site for Allen is that they are truely vintage and they do hold the tanka bit closer. They are also very comfortable I am told. James

[Mudhog]

Only proablem I see with the harness is the single crotch strap, getting racked is not my idea of fun.

[William]

I Got all the Sea Hunt shows about 6 months ago and just lately figured out how to hook up the DVD Player,ha. I was starting to watch some of the Shows and noticed that on a Tank Harness he was putting on, it had 2 crotch Straps and no waist strap at all. I am not sure but think I heard it called a parachute style harness. Just looped them around each of his legs and pulled it up tight. He pulled in the slack a little fast, went up on his tip toes, so I guess it needs to be tightened carefully and a little slower. william

[duckbill]

Today I recieved 2 USD Kam-Pacs, first one has a yellow stripe running through the black webbing and uses D-rings for shoulder adjustment.
The 2nd one uses 3 of the lever buckles marked U.S. DIVERS on much stiffer grey/black webbing, I may reweb this one

While the stiffer webbing is not all that comfortable on bare skin, if you will be mostly wet suit diving you may want to stick with it. The more pliable webbing you described with the yellow stripe can be a b**ch when it folds and binds in the slots in the backpack as it tends to do for me.

Only proablem I see with the harness is the single crotch strap, getting racked is not my idea of fun.

Many times by many people the crotch stap was not used at all....either removed or laced around the waist strap.

[Mudhog]

Thats good to know about the webbing, will try it in the water before thoughts of change again.

[JES]

I own a couple of different hardpacks and one of Allan's reproduction harnesses. I really like my hardpacks because of the ease of swapping out tanks.

I must say that you really owe it to yourself to contact Allan and purchase one of his reproduction harnesses from him.

You won't regret it!

[treasureman]

Ok i'll bite. If you are using doubles with allans harnes or singles for that matter. How comfortable is it to use without any back plate for the tank. I had always had some form of backpac, and never dove using just straps and band. Do the tanks dig in anywhere. The idea of lowering the tanks a bit appeals to me.

whats the scoop on these starps and band setup?

[simonbeans]

The harness is surprisingly very comfortable in the water. The one crouch strap is not an issue as it is designed to hold the tank from riding up and getting the reg in the back of the head. As for comfort out of water, this is open to individual preference. The tank weight is taken by the shoulder straps. whereas the "later" pacs distributed some of the weight to the lower back. Sort of like the hiking frames. But, I don't know of any tank harness/pac/BC that is designed for you to walk around town and go shopping in. Once you are in the water, the tank's weight disappears. That is one reason I like the harness. It keeps the tank close to the body and has a nice sense of security. As was mentioned in a earlier response to this thread. The pac won't fit everyone. The harnesses are very adjustable. So the question has to be asked. "Why did the harness concept disappear and almost every equipment supplier went to contour-style pacs?" I think that they were easier to sell to an immerging market of divers in two ways. 1) Most companies developed a cam of some sort on the pac so the pac could be exchanged from one tank to another very easily. 2) The customer was sold on its "comfort" in the store. "See how nicely it distributes the weight of the tank to the lower back?" Great sales gimmic, but in the water? I liked the Sportsways pac of the 1960's as it had a chest strap. But the Sportsways had no crouch strap. I have recently added one. This past week because I had to fly to Florida, Chucko lent me a late USD pac that had just two shoulder straps and a waist belt. Nice on land, but the shoulder straps kept slipping off my shoulders in the water. No chest strap. Also when you are head down (seems that is the position most of the time in Blue Spring due to the flow) the tank would slide down and I got my reg in the back of the head. I thank Chucko for bringing this pac for me as it made transfer to other tanks a breeze, but I surely missed my harnesses.
Lastly, tank harnesses/pacs are a matter of personal preference. But my goal is to recreate a period of time in vintage diving and use what was available at that time. Sure, in 1962 we would have used BCs with built- in tank holders if we had them. But we didn't.

[luis]

Double tanks with just a harness are very comfortable in or out of the water (if you don’t mind the total weight).

The nice rounded tanks come in contact with the sides of your back were you have the most muscle for padding. The empty space between the tanks is better than a backpack since nothing presses against your backbone.

Not having a backpack or back plate also means that the weight (out of the water) is closer to you. Not pulling you back with more leverage.

The most comfortable tanks I have ever owned are my two sets of Poseidon twin tanks with harness. Each tank is 50 cu ft and they are as tall as 72 cu ft but skinny. The small diameter means they are even closer to my center of gravity. They are heavy tanks, but I can walk with them further than with any other setup. I just can’t use them anymore because they are not DOT stamped.