Bryan wrote:The way you have the shoulder straps run now will work but it will not work as well as crossing the straps in the way Luis shows and details it. I have used the plate both ways and having the straps crossed gets the regulator more centered and the whole rig more comfortable. To each their own of course.
I might also suggest putting your banjo facing down and letting the HP hose run under your arm against your body as opposed to facing it up like an antenna.
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Hi Bryan,
In fact, I DO cross my straps. (I've been crossing my straps ever since I purchased my first doubles plate (the DiveRite Al plate pictured at the left in the photos) in 1993 or so. I agree: My doubles always felt much more centered, much more stable, with my straps crossed--stable enough, in fact, that I didn't need a crotch strap, nor a chest strap.) My photos might be a bit misleading because I left the straps parted in the top picture so people could see better how the harness weaves through the VDH Plate.
I don't use a banjo. My reg is fitted with a first generation Phoenix. (This used to be TN Traveler's reg; I believe you, yourself, did all the work--new hoses, new wagon wheel valves, new duckbill valve, etc.--on it when he had it serviced several years ago.)
Thanks for the suggestion to run the LP inflator hose downward, under my arm. I actually learned to run things this way when I took a NSS-CDS Cavern and Basic Cave course in 1988. This method worked extremely well. Of course, I was using a much longer corrugated inflator hose and a correspondingly longer LP inflator hose then. If/when I eventually switch out the much shorter Halcyon hoses to my Pioneer Singles wing, for longer hoses, I will keep this suggestion in mind.
One thing I forgot to mention: I preferred having a "quick disconnect" (actually, a weight belt buckle) on the right shoulder of my doubles harness since I wore that harness snug in the shoulder straps. I am thinking that I won't need one for the VDH Plate harness, though, since wearing a crotch strap will probably mean I can wear my shoulder straps looser. I have a way of putting a quick disconnect on a continuous harness, but doing this requires a longer harness made of webbing that's thinner than the blue webbing seen in the pictures. (The webbing you sent with my VDH Plate is perfect for this, though--except I already halved it, and, besides, it probably wouldn't have been long enough anyway.) I'll be able to tell more about this when I eventually take this rig diving.
Thanks again for the suggestion/comments.
Safe Diving
rx7diver