DIR- Generic Lightweight backplate for tropical singles & twinsets?

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SaltyWombat

Contributor
Messages
427
Reaction score
154
Location
Monterey, Calif.
# of dives
500 - 999
I use a Halcyon stainless plate for singles and twinset diving in cold water.

Planning a tropical vacation soon. I'll dive both singles and doubles. An aluminum or titanium backplate will cut down on luggage weight and also let me be more flexible with placing trim weights.

I'm leaning towards the Halcyon aluminum plate since I like the steel one. The Russian titanium plate by Helium Dive looks cool too.

However, a plain old OMS aluminum backplate will probably be just fine.

Anyone have thoughts to share?
 
what wing are you using? If it has a full STA on the Halcyon plate then you'll save as much weight by ditching the STA with a wing change than you will by moving to an AL or lightweight plate, it's only a 3lb weight savings...

All basic backplates are basically the same so there is no real advantage to the expensive plates.

If you want to go really light then the Oxycheq fabric plate is about as small/light as you can get.

What do you need trim weights for with warm water single tank AL80 diving?
 
I prefer a steel plate for Al80 singles and Al80 doubles diving in warm water, even though it adds a few pounds to travel weight. With a steel plate, and wearing only a thin 3/2 wetsuit, I need no extra lead to dive an Al80, although I may put a couple of 1 lb weights on the cambands for trim; those little trim weights don't make me "overweighted." With a steel plate, and using a drysuit with just a baselayer, I need no extra lead to dive double 80s in the Mexican caves. On my first Mexico cave trip I tried an aluminum plate and felt I was underweighted by maybe 2-4 lbs; it was uncomfortable holding depth at the end of the dive. I have a Halcyon aluminum plate but use it only for steel doubles with drysuit.
 
what wing are you using?

What do you need trim weights for with warm water single tank AL80 diving?

Wings: Halcyon Eclipse 30 for singles and Evolve 40 for doubles.

Re: trim weights. It will be my first tropical trip. I don't know what to expect regarding trim.

I'll be diving single HP120s and double LP85s. No current plans for AL80s.
 
Wings: Halcyon Eclipse 30 for singles and Evolve 40 for doubles.

Re: trim weights. It will be my first tropical trip. I don't know what to expect regarding trim.

I'll be diving single HP120s and double LP85s. No current plans for AL80s.
You need to look for a wing that dives without a sta if you want to save weight…. That is not a good travel wing
 
Mares has two small rods built into their 34 pound single tank wing. It doesn’t work as well as a STA, but it works better than nothing.

You can also get the two bent u shaped stainless steel stabalizing brackets from diverite. They are used in conjunction with the slots in most plates. They weigh almost nothing.

To really save some weight, I use a titanium plate and dive both singles and doubles on many trips. If you haven’t yet seen this video, it shows you how to do this. I am sure the usual characters will get on this thread and tell you this is a bad idea.

 
Anyone have thoughts to share?
Don't overspend, just get the cheapest ali plate you can find. The deeper V is to be desired though. Depending on the shop they can cut bolts a bit short for flatter plates like the DSS and DGX plates.

Your wing will need replacing unless you want to carry an STA as well (which negates the tiny ~2-3lb weight savings going to an ali plate)
 
You need to look for a wing that dives without a sta if you want to save weight…. That is not a good travel wing

Ah, now I see what you mean. The Halcyon Traveler Pro looks to be just the same as an Evolve, but with slots that allow cam bands. This means no STA is required. I could be wrong about the Traveler Pro, but it does look that way.

How strange that Halcyon has two wings which only differ by the inclusion of these slots.

Have a recommended wing for tropical diving? I'm looking at the Apeks WTX-D18 now.
 
Assuming you're using a tropical wetsuit, my thought is double steel tanks will make you quite overweighted. On top of the typical drawbacks (more drag, more rapid buoyancy changes, etc.), for me that would be about 25 lbs negative at depth at the beginning of the dive. I don't think I could get off the bottom (assuming there IS a bottom) in the event of a wing failure.

Double AL80s would leave you less overweight if that's an option. Otherwise, you might consider redundant buoyancy or a buddy you can really count on.
 
Have a recommended wing for tropical diving? I'm looking at the Apeks WTX-D18 now.
My Mares 22 lb wing is OK for me on the surface when the wind/chop is up, but I wouldn't want anything smaller in such conditions. The stabilizer bars work well.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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