Vintage Double Hose

Greetings,

Whilst I'm not in the double hose club yet, I am happy to find this site. I'd decided to ditch BC diving after learning buoyancy on a DIR Fundamentals course. Already equipped with rubber fins, oval mask and Cyklon reg I got a tank for my birthday, and so now I just need something to mount the tank to my back.

I don't mind if the back is not vintage, I'm more interested in the freedom of diving with the same ease as snorkelling. Any suggestions other than the plastic tank backs available now?

Kindly,

Daniel.

Daniel
To assist you in selection of a possible back pack, there is an article that I wrote that you can find in the Manuals and Catalogs section of this forum. Click on the tab at the top of this page for Manuals and Catalogs, then click on Continue, then click BLPEN163, click Misc Information, and finally Back pack changes.pdf. The article discusses the various back packs/harnesses that were available during the classic vintage period of diving. Once you have a possible choice, contact this forum again and I am sure someone has this harness/pack pack for you.

CLICK HERE for the direct link


Thanks Allan

Welcome to the board.
If you are thinking of getting a double hose at some point then I would suggest you consider restricting your choices to DH friendly BPs. There are a number of them available on the used market both in metal and plasic.

Allan,Tom this is more of a general question that will likely span ourside of a completely vintage discussion, would it be approperate to move the thread to the general discussion area of the board?

Herman
As long as it continues in the classic vintage equipment tone, it should stay. However as soon as it starts to branch into BCs, etc., those threads will be redirected. There is plenty of traffic discussing how to use a modern BC with vintage equipment. That is why it is refreshing to introduce the backpacks/harness of the pre-1970 period to a new individual.

My suggestion would be healthways aluminum backpack. It is simple, strong and DH friendly. Later molded style plastic and metal backpack can interfere with getting the DH low enough . The USD metal dog bone pack would also be a good option but both are hard to find. For non DH the Sportways aluminum molded pack would also be a stronger option than the molded plastic ones.

I have a Voit Snug Pack in really good shape if you wanted to go that way. I dont know how vintage that is.

I first had a Voit Snug-pak that I got for free. I like the feel of the contoured backpacks when using a single cylinder. It didn't take long till that one cracked completely in half. I found a Sportsways CAM Pak which is basically the same but made of aluminum. These ones are pretty indestructible. I throw mine all over the place and they hold up great. You will need to add a crotch strap to it though as to keep the pack from sliding up your back. I also have a couple fitted for double 50s. Love em.

Have you tried or considered just a harness? The most comfortable setup I have ever used is a steel 50 with bands and a harness. Long before I ever discovered double hoses or vintage diving -- I started with a old scuba pro pack. Once I discovered that wearing a bcd was not 'law'. I was in search of minimalism in terms of diving equipment. A single small tank, harness, mask and fins and you are about as close to being a manfish as possible.

An all cotton harness from Allan is the best most reliable way to go IMO.

1969ivan1 wrote:An all cotton harness from Allan is the best most reliable way to go IMO.

Agreed! I have several and think they are the best.