Based on what you now know with BP/W setups...

[swimbody]

With what you've learned thus far with new backplate technology and the myriad straps and buckles out there and all you were going to do was travel the warm salt water reefs and wrecks of the world with weight in mind, What setups would you consider if you could in the past with your present knowledge? I interacted with Bryan a bit over at VDH and can't beat the quality/price and his quick responses, now I'm thinking about the harness, straps, buckles etc. Any suggestion on a good harness/kit to buy? I'm a no go for Chinese crap so please don't link any of that. I'm a fan of democracies and especially ours.

Mind you I will never be a technical diver as the wife would kill me in the process of pursuit so I thought BP/W would be great for travel and shore diving on quick weekends from Houston to the Carib.

Peace...swim

 

[greeniguana]

"With weight in mind"

I recently got one of these:

New! Ultralight Soft Travel Backplate Pad

I adjusted it in the pool after assembly, but have not taken for a dive. Seems like it will work fine. Has a made in USA tag on it....

 

[lexvil]

Soft plates are ok, if you want to go more conventional deep 6 has aluminum plates and quick dry webbing, I use plastic D-rings and a plastic buckle, you can get most of the hardware from piranha.

 

[swimbody]

cool cool, exactly the kind of responses I was hoping for...keep em coming. Going to look at Deep 6 as I'm into aluminum more than soft plastic although I might buy one of each to test em out. At $54 bucks for the Piranha that's pretty great...but might be what you pay for.

 

[M-Cameron]

My backplate came with a “deluxe” harness with adjustable shoulder straps and pads and hoopla....and I thought it was going to be great.

It lasted 2 dives.

I replaced it with just a single piece of 2” scuba webbing and am much happier with it


You can get yourself 15’ of webbing for $15.....a grommet kit at the hardware store for $10.....and a buckle, triglides and D-rings for $20...... and you’ll have a great harness for <$50.

If you aren’t running doubles or a STA, you can skip the grommets all together

 

[divad]

My AL BP weights less than two pounds. BP with Harness weighs 3 1/2 lbs. Weight pouches on belt @ plate weigh almost nothing/ you can rent weights to keep weight down for travel.

 

[swimbody]

My AL BP weights less than two pounds. BP with Harness weighs 3 1/2 lbs. Weight pouches on belt @ plate weigh almost nothing/ you can rent weights to keep weight down for travel.

AL Backplate? Please expand?

 

[divad]

AL Backplate? Please expand?

Aluminum backplate instead of stainless steel backplate, which also helped with floaty feet by moving weight to the waist belt.

 

[loosenit2]

One thing to consider for soft vs al backplates is not just weight but also size and pack ability. With a solid backplate you are going to have a bit more bulk whereas with a soft plate you get more ability to fold and pack compressed. May matter if you do a lot of 2-4 day getaway trips where you don’t want to check luggage.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My vote for travel is a plain old aluminum backplate with a plain old harness--any manufacturer's is probably fine, as these are generic items. This setup will last forever--you won't be replacing it in five years because you saw ads in magazines for the supposedly latest and greatest BC. The money saved over the latest fancy BC can be put toward the dive trip itself.