#2242
MDW - 1/04/2012 5:28 PM
I recommend putting all the little stuff in pockets rather than having it all dangling from your harness. I like to put the stuff I plan to use (wet notes, dive table, etc.) in my right pocket, because I’m right handed. I put all the "emergency" stuff (backup mask, backup computer, deco tables, whistle, SMB, etc.) in my left pocket so it doesn’t interfere with getting to the stuff int the right pocket. If you don’t have pockets on your suit, I recommend X-shorts (I think some others make them now too), which are neoprene shorts with 2 large cargo pockets on the outer thighs. These can then be worn over any suit to always have your stuff available in the same spot on every dive. I have 2 dry suits and 2 wet suits, all without pockets. The shorts allow me to just leave all my stuff in the pockets and just don the shorts over whatever suit I wear that day. Any extras that I do clip to the harness always go on the butt D ring so they don’t hang down below my body.

As for hoses, I swear by the long hose w/ clip / short hose with necklace concept. I even do this with my side-mount setup so it’s still easy to donate immediately (even though I can later just hand the whole right side tank off to the out of air diver). The DIR rule of keeping all stages and deco bottles on the left side make sense with the long hose setup because they will not be in the way (as they would be on the right side) for long hose deployment.

That said, I don’t adhere strictly to DIR. I have adopted most of it, because the reasoning behind it makes sense to me, and some of it because I have different reasons why the DIR way makes sense. I ignore a few things because they really don’t provide any benefit to me in the type of dives I do. And, since I do sometimes side mount (that is not DIR) I am not 100% DIR compliant. I also sometimes dive an old plastic BP with no wing (use dry suit or horse collar to inflate - definitely not DIR), but with a nearly DIR harness and reg setup.

Mark