Continuous Webbed Harness

[Vtach]

I was going to stay quiet on this one...so much for that. ;D  For starters, I am not going to tell anyone how to rig their gear.   This is my opinion on what is best and why I choose not to agree with some of the ideas expressed in this thread.  I will not reconfigure my harness for the sole purpose of making it easier to get out of at the surface.  I've tried it in the past and it did prove to fail.  By adding any sort of buckle to connect or hold two pieces of webbing together you are adding a possible failure point.  Given the nature of "technical" diving (deco, overhead) an individual is relatively task loaded.  Obviously training, practice and routine make our ability to handle this type of loading more effective and easier.  Now add an equipment failure to this equation and you are left trying to manage a dive that is already task loaded to begin with.  Now is a harness buckle failure going to kill you?  I agree with most here that this is not likely.  What will get you killed is the downward spiral that happens when a small problem occurs in an already task loaded situation and creates multiple larger problems that become very difficult to manage effectively.  At this point tunnel vision ensues and the primary focus necessary for managing an already difficult dive is lost.  When you lose this focus you stop remaining calm, forget about your SAC rate, neglect to monitor your gas supply, lose track of your surroundings.......and the spiral continues...  All this for the sake of making it easier to get out of your harness at the surface?  Not for me.
If I am having problems with a skill such as this, (different skills for different dives), I will go out and practice those skills with a buddy until I am proficient.  This also goes for safety at the surface.  If I am proficent at doffing gear in open water, I shouldn't have to worry about gear removal issues.  Adding failure points because I am not proficient is no longer an option for me.  Been there done that..no more.

It's quite possible that Paul was referring to the agreement of all that posted so.  If that was not the case, I do not want silence to equal agreement on this topic.  Ultimately, if you are happy with the choice of adding a shoulder buckle, great.  I won't and it's not because GI3 says so.  It's because it makes sense and works for me.