Backplate weight?

[crlavoie]

I was in pretty much the exact same position about a month ago. Both wings are great (Oxy and DSS) but the DSS system presented more flexibility at the end of the day. When you think about how simple BP/W's really are, you will see that DSS is about as evolved as you can get with all of the little enhancements.

Add to that the unbelieveable support and it's really hard to beat. I can't speak for Oxy (I've heard they too are great) but Tobin himself is an excellent resource though I'm not sure where he finds time to design or make stuff.

Hmm... Let me think. When was the last time the designer / owner from (Insert big name gear company) called me to answer a question....???

 

[GreenDiverDown]

In order to answer your original question I need some more info. How much weight are you using in your wetsuit? What doubles would you plan to get? How much weight do you want to keep on a belt? EVen with these answers it will be hard to predict what your weight requirements will be in a drysuit undergarment.

I have a FredT 9#, a 12#, a 15# plate and a DSS standard plate with weight plates as well as a standard Halcyon SS and a AL plate. In general, the heavy plates are not very versatile. The 9 pounder works great with a single AL80 but I still add weight to it in several different ways. The 15# plate has found a home on my twin 80s. Tobin's plate is a work of art! I just love the web slot inserts. Unfortunately, I never get to use it...



A couple of thoughts...

If you get twin 130s the 9# plate MIGHT be too heavy. If you get twin Al80s you might want to add even more weight to it.

The 5# STA is HUGE and no fun to pack. Though it doesn't add much more setback than a standard STA it will set your tank back much more than a DSS rig.

Even Tobin's 14# combo may not be enough weight depending on the cylinder(s) and exposure protection. You may have to add weight to his set up.

With Tobin's weight plates you get a plate that weighs 6# or 14#. I'm not sure but it might cost the same as getting two FredT plates.

You can always add weight to any plate with a P or V weight, but you can't make 'em lighter.

I was very disappointed with the last plate that I got from Fred. The finishing looked... well... horrible... and it had so much material cut out of it that it didn't weigh as much as it should have weighed. I expected a 12# plate but it ended up being a little less than 10#. It pains me to say it... because I've been a FredT supporter for several years... but that's just the way I feel about my latest purchase. To be fair, I haven't taken this up with Fred. It is possible that he would try to accommodate me in this matter... he seems like a pretty stand up guy. But I just don't feel like dealing with it right now.

 

[StSomewhere]

I dive singles and sometimes have to switch between steel tanks and AL80s. For me adding the 5 lb (actually 5.3 lb) weight plates when using an AL80 perfectly offsets the buoyancy differences vs something like an E7100.

 

[*Floater*]

Anorther nice feature about the current DSS steel plate for vacation doubles diving is the independent doubles slots. If your resort doesn't have twinsets available, then no problem, you just use the two cam straps that come with your plate to strap two tanks onto it. Also some places charge extra for manifolded twinsets, but let you use an extra stadard tank free of charge - this was what happened to me in Egypt for example and as a result I was able to do longer dives at no extra charge.

I really like my DSS plate due to all it's special features, so when my girlfriend was looking for her first bcd I convinced her to get the DSS plate, even though she wanted a donut wing for it. I ended up picking up Tobin's doubles rig with his Torus wing, and then getting an oxy single donut for my girlfriend. The cost differences are pretty small between the different backplates and wings relative to what you will end up spending in this hobby so you might as well get whatever you think is the best for such a major piece of gear that you'll be using every single dive.

edit: just to clarify about the independent doubles, you'll also need your doubles wing to have slots for them, which you can cut yourself (I did it with my explorer), or if you get the DSS wing then it may have them already (though it's not a standard feature for the torus). And you'll need an extra spg for the extra tank (which you can rent in a pinch if you don't happen to carry one with you).