Backplates, and Wings, and STAs... oh my!

[neophytediver]

I've been reading this board for some time now, and since Uncky Sam has seen it in his good graces to let me have some of my hard earned money back, I've decided it's time to buy my own rig. Having read this board I've narrowed my choices down considerably to several different back inflated BCs. But this little voice in the back of my head keeps nagging me to give into "the dark side" and go with a BP/wings combo instead. I'm not one on shelling out my pennies seemingly endlessly on upgrades and the latest and greatest (both my PC and my kitchen are testiments to that) and I really like the modular aspect to a BP/wings set up. Now, keeping this in mind, what are the items needed to assembly a proper BP/wings set-up?

From what info I've gathered thus far I'm leaning towards a FredT BP and DIY harness. Wing wise I'm firguring around 35#-40# should do it nicely for the diving I do now (anything wet, single alums, 49-92 degree water, 13mm of wetsuit when I dive the whole thing [which is rarely], and I's a big boy at 240#), but I really don't know. What other items would I need and about how much am I looking to pay for all this? What about online resources for everything? I don't have a whole lot to spend (read- I'm cheap) and am not looking forward to any hassle this may become.

Thanks in advance,
Neo

 

[Spectre]

You'd be looking at an Oxycheq or a Halcyon wing most likely. I think Dive Rite and OMS have single wings now, but I've not heard anything about those options. You'll want to see if the wing you are loking at has an internal STA [I know my Halcyon does; not sure about the others]. If it doesn't, then you'll want to look at a STA from Fred-T as well. Depending on how much weigth you wear, you might want to look at a heavy STA rather than a light one, to get some weight off your belt if you want it gone; but remember you'll drop some weight when you go to the wing [due to the differences in bouyancy between a BC and a wing]. I'd expect to drop at least 6 unexplained pounds.

The Fred-T plate varies depending on what you want; from ~$200 finished for the 3/8" SS plate, down to $65 for a finished aluminum [mind you I'm looking at a 6 month old price list]. A STA'll run you $65 finished.

All in all, expect to hit around $500; but you might be able to do a little better than that [e.g. Oxycheq is going to be cheaper than Halcyon, etc...]

 

[fdog]

I have a FredT long plate which was a great value and beyond well-built.

Not sure from your post what your usual dive profile is, but the thing that jumps out is you are diving wet with the potential of 13mm of wetsuit.

At depth this will squeeze enough to cause a big loss of bouyancy. Your wing will have to make up the difference. Generally, your wing should be able to float your weight belt, BP/Wing, tank and reg(s).

Also, if you plan to head deeper, and continue to dive wet, you should consider dual bladders. Of course the price climbs with this.

All the best, James

 

[neophytediver]

What's this I hear about cam bands?

 

[ericfine50]

What's this I hear about cam bands?

The cam bands are used to attach the tank to the STA which you would attach to the BP and Wing

Eric

 

[jonnythan]

You need to buy the cam bands separately, and they'll run about $40 usually.

Just FYI, you can buy a complete Oxy setup with SS bp, STA, wing, cam bands, harness and hardware for $480 from COVCI.com, so if you're cheap like I am it's worth looking into. I hear FredT's gear is really top notch though.

If you do get the Oxy wing, I'd go with the 45 pound wing. 13mm is a lot of neoprene and therefore a lot of weight.. and a lot of lost buoyancy at depth to compensate for.

 

[mattengstrom]

I got the aluminum plate and the 30lb Venture wing. I went with Aluminum because I don't want the weight of steel while travelling and in the tropics. And 30 lbs is enough for me, even with my cold-water setup.

 

[Spectre]

If your coming from a BC setup, you can always take the tank band from the BC and use it w/ your backplate [thus only needing to buy one]. If you have a BC that actually has two straps, you can just take those and not need to buy new ones. Tank straps == Can Bands.

[oh.. thanks for the reminder.. gotta point out my BC doesn't have a tank strap when I try to sell it! ]

 

[mempilot]

OMS's single tank wing is available and very nice. I have about 50 dives on mine. You do not need the STA with the OMS Stainless backplate and wing. The plate has camband slots that line up with the single tank wing's slots. The wing has little tank stabalizers built in to eliminate tank shift. OMS has a single piece harness, as well as non-DIR harnesses. Check out http://www.escubashop.com/html/tech.htm

 

[jonnythan]

OMS's single tank wing is available and very nice. I have about 50 dives on mine. You do not need the STA with the OMS Stainless backplate and wing. The plate has camband slots that line up with the single tank wing's slots. The wing has little tank stabalizers built in to eliminate tank shift.

Wonder where they got that idea?