Best BP/W

[tbone1004]

waste of money bud, harnesses are all the same, Dive Rite set the 11" bolt spacing years ago and that is industry standard, only thing not standard is where the cam band spacing is on some wings, but other than that it is all pretty much identical as far as the bits that matter. You wouldn't have had any easier time with any other brands of anything on your list. I still prefer STA's if I am using a hard backplate, but scubaboard has decided they are not useful and a waste of money. I guess they are if you only use your backplate with single tanks, but I still like them, granted I don't use them because all of my plates are transpacs, but that is besides the point

 

[AlexL]

There is a price for trying to keep all points of manufacture domestic.

There's also a price for supporting your local small buisness. seeing Eric's contributions in this thread without a single mention of the FCP is like seeing a Lotus engineer talking shop on a street corner about the pros and cons of a Honda Accord vs Toyota Camery.

 

[C Dub]

I have a Hollis BP/W, that I dive wearing a full 7mm wetsuit, and initially didn't use a STA. The tank would move around some (but not a lot), and occasionally I would tend to lean to one side or another in the water, having trim issues. When I'd get back in the boat, the tank would be tilted to the side on the BP, rather than straight up and down. So I put on a STA, which keeps the tank straight, and took 2 pounds off my weight belt.

Do I need the STA? No.

Do I prefer having the STA? Yes.

Would I recommend one? If diving a thick wetsuit, yes. If warm tropical, no.

 

[cb5150]

waste of money bud, harnesses are all the same, Dive Rite set the 11" bolt spacing years ago and that is industry standard, only thing not standard is where the cam band spacing is on some wings, but other than that it is all pretty much identical as far as the bits that matter. You wouldn't have had any easier time with any other brands of anything on your list. I still prefer STA's if I am using a hard backplate, but scubaboard has decided they are not useful and a waste of money. I guess they are if you only use your backplate with single tanks, but I still like them, granted I don't use them because all of my plates are transpacs, but that is besides the point

Not sure if your reply was directed at my post...but I'll play along and pretend it was since you were next in line.
"harnesses are all the same" Actually they're not. Feel free to Google a photo of a Hogarthian harness and a Dive Rite Deluxe harness, the differences should be obvious.
"You wouldn't have had any easier time with any other brands of anything on your list" I'm not necessarily looking for "easier", just my version of "better."

...and if I was worried about wasting money I probably wouldn't have 9 pairs of fins, LOL.

 

[tbone1004]

harnesses are all basically the same as far as how they are attached to the hard plates, the Dive Rite plates have the same slot patterns as most everyone else on the market. Since the Dive Rite Deluxe harness is actually just a one piece harness that had the shoulders cut in the middle and an O-ring put in, it still weaves the same as its hogarthian harness brethren. Seriously though, it does weave the same, you just have three pieces of webbing instead of one, if you look at it from the back of the plate which is where all the stuff that matters is, it's the same.

Even the Transplate weaves very similarly and works equally well on any brands backplate. All of the one piece harnesses are identical in practice, though the webbing can be slightly different, and quality of the hardware can be slightly different, but they are all woven the same, so they're the same.

So, by you switching to an Oxycheq backplate, or a Hog wing, you really won't be gaining anything other than going to a made in USA plate, or made in not-USA wing. It's not going to fit together any better. The Dive Rite wings really have to be used with an STA since they don't have guides on the sides of them for stabilizing the tank, and the DSS wings are much better off without an STA because they're designed to not use one. I do like Tobin's backplates better than some of the others, but that's because he actually makes a long backplate, which I need at my height, but it has nothing to do with the wings fitting any better than any other.

 

[cb5150]

TBone, are Tobin's backplates flatter than other plates? They seem flatter in the photos. If so, does that make them more comfortable? I also like the way his wings simply disengage from the backplate.

 

[tbone1004]

it is flatter than most of the others, but I don't think that necessarily makes it any more or less comfortable, but it moves the tank closer to your body, so some people don't like them because the first stage encroaches on your head. I just like the overall fit and finish of the DSS plates, and really like Tobin, so there's that. I don't like the non zippered bladder concept that he has, but that is a difference of opinion, and there really isn't a need to remove it 99.99999% of the time, but there's that to consider.

Most of the wings can attach to the plate with sex bolts, but you aren't taking them off very often, if you are removing them regularly, you are better off with an STA where you can leave the cam bands attached to the tanks, and separate the wing completely.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

There's also a price for supporting your local small buisness. seeing Eric's contributions in this thread without a single mention of the FCP is like seeing a Lotus engineer talking shop on a street corner about the pros and cons of a Honda Accord vs Toyota Camery.

I wasn't sure of the OP's intentions as a diver so I thought it would be akward to make mention of a product that is now obviously not going to work since he mentioned deep wreck penetrations meaning doubles territory. I thought a standard plate would be much more appropriate for his application.
I do know about the other plates so I figured I could possibly add something of value to the conversation.
In other words, guy who drives a Mercedes may also know something about Ford, Chevy, and Dodge pickup's. Fine vehicles all of them and all have a specific purpose.

 

[RJP]

There's also a price for supporting your local small buisness. seeing Eric's contributions in this thread without a single mention of the FCP is like seeing a Lotus engineer talking shop on a street corner about the pros and cons of a Honda Accord vs Toyota Camery.

Well if the Lotus engineer were talking to a guy who was trying to make a purchase decision between a Honda Accord and Toyota Camry... bringing the merits of an Elise or an Exige into the conversation would be a bit silly, no?

 

[halocline]

Donut shaped wings let the air move all around, horseshoe shaped wings don't. Get a wing where the bladder zips out so you can patch it or replace it if it gets a hole. Having a great repair or replacement policy is nice, but doesn't do anything to help if you have some kind of leak or tear on a dive vacation in the middle of nowhere

There's a bit of mis-information here, although well intended. Donut wings do not allow air to go from side to side across the bottom unless the diver is in a nearly upside down position. That portion of the wing is trapped under the tank and, in a small appropriately-sized single tank wing, air almost never travels under that part. There is essentially zero real-world difference between a small donut and small horseshoe wing. You just don't see many true single tank horseshoe wings; the small DSS wings are, and they're fantastic to do with.

Regarding the self-repairable leaky bladder, it used to be true that you could fix a pinch flat or other small hole in a bladder with something like aqua seal, but I've found that some of the wing manufacturers, including dive rite, started making their bladders out of material that resists sticking to adhesives. This was very frustrating for me on a long trip to Roatan when I had a leak and could not get anything to reliably stick. I emailed dive rite, and they said it was a 'safety' issue that made them choose to not repair bladders, and discourage owners from doing so by using a material that couldn't be patched. That really pissed me off, now I mostly use an oxycheq mach V wing that has a very tough exterior.

---------- Post added November 5th, 2014 at 07:27 AM ----------

TBone, are Tobin's backplates flatter than other plates? They seem flatter in the photos. If so, does that make them more comfortable? I also like the way his wings simply disengage from the backplate.

Yes they are, but I'm not sure if it makes them more comfortable. It does put the tank closer to your back, which IMO is an overall plus. It really does help with trim and balance. You just have to make sure that the height of your tank is correctly adjusted to avoid banging the back of your head.

The feature where you can pull the wing off without taking off the cam bands or a STA is great, to me that alone is almost worth buying it for. I can't believe other manufacturers have not copied this design. It makes cleaning and storage a breeze.