Heated Vest Questions

[LiteHedded]

I love my santi vest. the thinsulate is a nice consolation prize when the battery doesn't work for some reason.
but the crotch strap is a dumb stupid awful idea. only thing santi has ever produced that has left my scratching my head

[tbone1004]

crotch straps are nice because when you stretch forward the vest either stays in place or goes back to its place when you pull your arms back....

[LiteHedded]

crotch straps are nice because when you stretch forward the vest either stays in place or goes back to its place when you pull your arms back....

it works fine with the crotch strap not hooked up. once you're in the suit it squeezes and everything stays in place.
i never connect it anymore. it makes it super difficult to gear up not to mention the p valve connection. and it's uncomfortable

[kwinter]

It's not a crotch strap. It's a beaver tail. And I love the way it keeps the vest from riding up. It does make it a bit more difficult to connect the p-valve, but not all that bad.

[LiteHedded]

ok
more power to you. try it without it and you'll see it's not doing you any good. i haven't connected it in quite a few dives

[chilldive]

Check out page 27: http://www.nsscds.org/files/uws/v39n...llprintweb.pdf

We use this setup on 14 hr dives in 50 degree water.

All of my battery canisters are setup with the same underwater connector. I have multiple battery packs that can be used, depending on the length of deco planned. I also have small light battery cans that I can use during a dive in extremely cold water. Very flexible. This setup even works when wet (not soaked).

We've also been experimenting with a little higher voltage battery packs, which can crank up the heat a bit. Sometimes start the first couple of hours of deco with normal voltage packs, then switch to higher voltage pack for last few hours when the cold is setting in.

You ALWAYS need to be prepared that this will not work. This is a nice to have, but not something you should DEPEND on. Too many things can go wrong.

Very cost effective and can be expanded to include heat pants.

[w ripley]

GG builds a good product. Got a couple hundred dives on mine. Like the on/off + 3 heat settings. New battery canister is now waterproof at the charger plug, in case you leave the cap off. Vest wires are coated so as not to shock if flooded. As mentioned earlier, they're on sale now. You can use any canister if you go with the EO plugs. Here's how I mount my battery:

[PfcAJ]

I wear two cans with e/o cords when I'm vesting. Provides redundancy for both the light and the vest if one can craps out during the dive.

[kwinter]

I also wear 2 cans with E/O cords. But please don't make me agree with AJ.

[PfcAJ]

I also wear 2 cans with E/O cords. But please don't make me agree with AJ.

It's happening more and more often these days.

Soon your journey to the dir side will be complete.