Tank height adjustment strap

[sarinae]

Help! I just got a new backplate and harness system and got it all set up but am having trouble getting the tank height correct. I know that this will be an ongoing issue and I would like to buy a strap that hangs the plate off of the tank while I am adjusting the cam straps. Any idea of where I can get one of these little straps? I have looked on the usual dive sites but I think I must not be using the correct terminology because I can't seem to find it.

Am I just crazy or can you add such a strap to a backplate harness system? It is just a simple adjustable loop that hangs off of the top of the plate, right?

If you know where to obtain one of these I would be grateful for the advice of you more advanced divers out there.

Thanks!

[CaptnJack]

1) You could just use a sharpie and put a line on your tank where the cam band should be.
2) You could loop a peice of cord or webbing from Seattle fabrics through the shoulder slots and adjust to the correct length

Personally, the top of my top cam band goes right up by the crown of any tank I use so its pretty easy to repeat that.

[sarinae]

Oh, good ideas!! My creativity and spatial reasoning was completely exhausted by the process of weaving the harness straps this week. I couldn't wrap my head around a solution, so thank you for helping me see some options!

[Nwcid]

For Beth and her HP-100's the plate touches the boot.

For me and my HP-130 I have 3 fingers between the plate and the boot.

[CaptnJack]

For Beth and her HP-100's the plate touches the boot.

For me and my HP-130 I have 3 fingers between the plate and the boot.

Your tanks are really high (compared to most). I'm surprised you aren't lawn darting although you're probably compensating somehow.

[Nwcid]

Interesting. I think my trim is good.

The reg sits right at the top of the wing and must not be that high since Bob has never corrected us on it. Also any lower and my back up wouldn't reach my mouth without pulling.

When we are in the water top of our tanks sit right below shoulder level.

I don't have any good pics that show me in the water, but here is where it sits on Beth. Mine is very similar. We are both tall with her at 5'10" and me at 6'2" if that makes any difference.

[GearHead]

I also tried to come up with a tank height adjustment strap or cord when I first switched to a backplate. I found that my wing got in the way of such a strap.

Since then I've just learned to gauge top strap location by eye. I prefer the tank high enough that I can touch the first stage with the back of my head if I tilt it way back.

[Dusty2]

Put a nitrox sticker on it and the problem is solved! My top tank strap sits at the bottom of the top green stripe.

Actually take a strong cord and tie it into a loop and sandwich it between the sta and the wing so it is looped under the top bolt and your good to go. gives you a way to hang up your gear too.

[KneeDeep]

Personally, the top of my top cam band goes right up by the crown of any tank I use so its pretty easy to repeat that.

This is exactly how I gauge my placement. I have my bands so they barely slide on the tank, which helps (me) to fine tune placement, as the bottom band binds so it does fall. Lock down the top band, then I can straighten the bottom band.... at least it works for me.

[CaptnJack]

Interesting. I think my trim is good.

The reg sits right at the top of the wing and must not be that high since Bob has never corrected us on it. Also any lower and my back up wouldn't reach my mouth without pulling.

When we are in the water top of our tanks sit right below shoulder level.

I don't have any good pics that show me in the water, but here is where it sits on Beth. Mine is very similar. We are both tall with her at 5'10" and me at 6'2" if that makes any difference.

DSC_0049.jpg

What brand of plate it that? Its hard to tell but looks like the top strap is exactly where mine is (just below the crown of the tank). You measure up while I measure down...

If it helps any, her knees are quite low and thighs + back are at about 35 deg off horizontal, neck is in line with torso instead of tilted back and looking forward. I don't think it has anything to do with tank placement though.

[Nwcid]

Diverite plates. So maybe just measured different. It seems to work.

Her knees are low. Next thing to get is better fins for her that she can actually frog kick in. This was taken in Nov on a train wreck dive. I know that somethings are easy to tell just by looking overall but this was taken with a 10.5mm WA lens so there is a lot of "bending" on the edges. Then the edge of the train car is actually sitting at a pretty good down slope.

[CaptnJack]

As awkward as it sounds, the mask strap "should" be smushed against the tank valve. Neck line at a ~45deg angle to torsoe. Dropping the head is generally a sign that the back half of your body (hips to feet) is too low. Also called "popping a wheelie" and as counterintuitive as it sounds its generally because you are too head heavy, so you rear back like on a horse or motorcycle. One source of being head heavy is mounting the tank too high (or having too heavy a plate or weighted STA when you don't need one etc). So the general rule is: mount the tank as low as you can on the backplate. (this does not apply to conventional jacket BCs their straps are positioned differently and people frequently have tanks on jacket BCs with the boot near their ankles which is way too low)

But that tank looks fine to me, its possible the fins are too light or the plate is too heavy, or most likely she's just not accustomed to actually being flat in the water. There are lots of folks over here who could help next time you're around.

[Nwcid]

Thanks for the info. We are diving with Bob again for Rescue next month. We will have him check us over again but we have done 3 classes with him so far.

[CaptnJack]

No worries
Just the way you described setting the tank height was so different than I visualize I had this mental image of your tank towering above your head. Obviously that's not the case.

[kdupreez]

The easy way I position single tank cam straps is I use the top strap to hang over the tank and hold in position while fastening the bottom strap. Then the top one is strapped in last and any final adjustments made. So I guess I use the top cam strap like the retaining strap you are talking about wanting to buy.

Its hard to gauge in that pic what your true trim is wrt to the environment, but if the camera is flat n square, I would offer the following advice to improve trim even further.

Good trim is described as: Head up, flat body from chest to knees, slightly arched back, legs bent around 90-130 degrees, Fin tips Flat. And your body should be at between 0-20 degrees from horizontal. thats considered fairly good trim.

So, wrt your posted picture: Bring your knees up and drop your fin tips flat, arch your back slightly and bring your head up.. it will also help a lot to het heavier fins and to also bring you arms up a little.

Kinda like this: