GoDiva(Offline)

I am about too take an exam approximately equivalent too the level of an AOW in my club. One of the (pool) exercises includes approaching an unconcious diver, bringing him up to the surface, swim 50m while ventilating him and removing your equipment and his equipment so that you can get yourself and your buddy out of the water.
Most exam-exercises I would want to do with my wing-set up. It is what I know best and I do not like the club-equipment (lots of dangly bits and badly fitting jackets). On the other hand I do not want to make the exam to hard for my fellow "exam takers".
Is there an easy way of removing a wing from an unconcious diver (apart from cutting the shoulder straps)? It will already be hard for my "saviour" to remember to remove the longhose from my neck and the bungied back up (I sometimes even forget that last thing myself when removing my set )...

I believe this will also be a part of the new fundamental course, but I will only be taking that at the end of May.

Sterny(Offline)

Great question, GoDiva. I'd like to know people's thoughts on that too!

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GLOC (Online)

The new TDI Adv Nitrox and Deco standards say you have to do the tow and remove from a single piece harness and I had to do this 1 month ago with Mark Powell. The important bit was to unclip everything from the harness and let it either drop or hand off to someone else, then put a little air in the drysuit to maintain bouyancy and then deflate the wing completely before 'floating' the patient out of the harness. The hardest parts were getting the straps past the bloody sticky stuff that is on the shoulders of the O-3 suits and getting the left shoulder strap past the auto-dump. Other than that it was relatively easy...

Admittedly I didn't have to ventilate but I am sure I will learn all about that next weekend with Frank Bruce when I do the IANTD rescue course in Vobster....mmm, nice and cold!

Rob Dobson (Online)

In the real world you'd cut it. In a training scenario I'd just say "right - I'm cutting this harness now" get them out and carry on.

GoDiva(Offline)

In the pool I will not be wearing a dry suit: no added buoyancy, but also dump valves to get caught on. It reminds me though: For my buddy to take my weights off will be difficult too if they are under my crotch strap... I might ask if I can take my exam with most exercises in my own gear, and this one in club gear, but if I were an instructor I think it sounds most logical to be consistent: the whole exam in one set-up.
What do you mean with "unclip everything from the harness"? I persume you do not mean that my SPG needs to be unclipped, and I can see that trying to clip away a long hose can be considered a waste of time; on the other hand a 3 m long hose dangling around could be considered a nuisance (or worse) as well...


That is the reason that I think I might aid my buddy when he is taking my set off, as he would cut it "irl".

LCF(Offline)

I just finished taking PADI Rescue a couple of months ago, and we had to do removal of gear from an unconscious diver, as well as shedding one's own gear while towing a victim and giving rescue breaths (whew!) The instructors in my class were of little help figuring out how to accomplish those things, as they were not familiar with the Hog harness.

Turns out it is quite easy to remove gear from an unconscious diver on the surface. If the diver is floating supine, one releases the waist strap, brings the diver's arms up over his head, and gently draws the harness upward. It comes right off. It's a little more difficult if the wing is very much inflated.

Dropping the weights is not hard, if one knows to undo the waist strap and crotch strap first. It frustrated my practice partners enormously, however

It was actually significantly more difficult to get out of my harness while towing and resuscitating another diver than it was for someone else to get me out of my harness while I was "unconscious".

GLOC (Online)

When I 'rescued' Rob Dobson, my victim, he had a stage and a canister light, these were all unclipped and handed to the instructor, I also unclipped the primary regulator and let that hang out of the way, removed the necklaced regulator and put that to the side (left valve) out of the way, I also unclipped the SPG because it saved me catching anything in the loop formed between the first stage and the harness D-ring. Removing the weights shouldn't be too much of a problem, they will catch on the crotch strap but can be removed fairly easy once they are hanging.

The reason I am doing the IANTD rescue course is because all my diving from now on will be on twins or hog rigged singles and I wanted to have the training to deal with that. I could have easily done the PADI rescue course last year for less money and got it out of the way but I need to know how to deal with rescue scenarios in a technical diving situation.

GoDiva(Offline)

Thx for that tip, LCF.
I suppose loosening the crotchstrap is not too hard: it actually makes life easier for the rescuer: just undo both buckles at the waist, and the weight comes of easily, also they will not forget to undo the strap when taking the harness off.
So basically you can easily slide an unconcious person "down" his backplate, and everything comes off without difficulty?

And did you find any tricks for getting out of your own set when rescuing someone else? I can imagine you do not want to inflate the wing fully. Do you clip your longhose off, or do you just leave it dangling? I know I will have to remember to take the bungeed reg from around my neck, but with a bit of "luck", it might remind me when I am breathing into my buddy...

LCF(Offline)

Clipped off the long hose, removed the necklace, and slid the harness off to each side. Then I chicken-winged my right arm through the strap, and just rolled out of the rest of it. It's actually not very difficult to do if the wing is partially inflated, because the rig tends to ride up with the waist and crotch straps undone, and that makes it easier. Getting it done while delivering rescue breaths every five seconds reminds me of maintaining "situational awareness" while shooting a bag -- interrupt the process every step to make eye contact (or give a breath).

davy(Offline)

It can be daunting at first, but it is quite easy...
especially when you have to do it in the swimming pool where you are not wearing your thermal protection so the harnass will actually be too loose and should come off real easy

We had to do it at full sea in full technical gear and it was still easy.
the big help is to deflate the wing and float the victim with his dry suit. (wet suit will float itself, ditch the weightbelt)
pull the victim down his set or the set over his head like mentioned before.


To get yourself out of your set, also make sure to deflate the wing.
Some people find it easy to "hook" the shoulder D-rings with their thumbs and pull the straps down this way, or grab the inflator to pull the left strap of your shoulder... once one strap is of your shoulder it's very easy to get out from there.
don't forget your back-up