BP/W choice; help!

[deerhunter1911a1]

Howdy all! Im looking at buying my first tech rig and have a few questions i can't find answers to...

1) stainless or aluminum for the plate? is it just a weight issue for trim and stuff, or is there something more to it?

2) HOG-style harness, or a comfort-harness type?

3) i would like to use a 40-45lb wing, and was looking at the larry green signature wing from OMS, for i will be mostly diving a single tank, and like the longer wing.

right now, i have in my head of using a hammerhead stainless plate with the lightweight STA with a HOG harness system, to which i will add a pair of OMS quick dump weight pouches, coupled with an OMS larry green 45lb wing. im 6'1" and a fit 210lbs, and i usually dive with 16-20 lbs of weight with a 7mm wetsuit in freshwater. any input/suggestions/ideas/awesomely amazing stuff i haven't thought of? thanks tons!

 

[vicdiver656]

I'll give you a complete setup idea. You can go for OMS, but you can get an entire rig that is made by Agir Brokk for $650. The wing is a 36 pounder, which should be ample for you. As far as specs go, the Agir Brokk wings are made from heavy cordura, a very durable material. Go for a steel plate, as you won't have to pack the extra weight around that you lost with the aluminum plate. Do HOG style. The comfort style is an option but in my eyes is a lot of extra money to spend. Don't worry about the quick dumps, as you should never have to dump weight. Instead, look at XSScuba's weight pouches. If necessary, they can be opened up to dump weight.

Also, you don't necessarily need to buy new jetfins, as used ones are almost as good and much cheaper. The Bare Arctic 7mm 2 piece wetsuit should be ample for you.

Have you bought regs yet? If not, I would suggest the Scubapro MK17 first stage with 2 G250Vs as second stages. You can go with the MK25 and S600s, but they are more designed for warm water, and may not work extremely well in cold water.

Also check out Scubatoys.com for tanks, knives, computers, and such. I got 4 HP100s from them for $390 each, and they only charged me $136. All other stuff you buy from them ships for free.


Hope that helps!
Taylor
Vicdiver656

P.S. I just bought my first technical rig, so I've had to do a lot of research! Just trying to save you some time!

 

[Bubbletrubble]

If you're interested in tech diving, you may want to do some research on DIR diving. SB members in the DIR forum can also be very helpful.

To answer your questions...

1. Your choice between SS or AL bp depends on your weight requirements and the distribution of that weight. As a rule of thumb, if you're diving single tanks in cold water, then a SS bp is probably a good fit. Even if you're diving in warm water with a single tank, a SS bp can work (just less ditchable weight). If you're diving doubles, you may want to go with an AL bp. Since you're pretty new to the sport (only doing single tank dives) and diving cold water that necessitates wearing a 7mm wetsuit, I would suggest a SS bp.

2. Start off with the cheaper, spartan HOG harness. Have somebody help you adjust it properly. If the HOG harness isn't comfortable enough for your taste, then spend the extra dough on a comfort-harness.

3. I'm just guessing here, but you'll probably only need 30 lbs. of lift. Your wing needs to do the greater of: (a) compensate for total loss of buoyancy of your exposure suit or (b) float your rig (with full tank and without you in it) at the surface. You may need a little more lift if you decide to put weight pockets on your harness. The best way to arrive at the optimal wing size is to go to one of the experts. On the Deep Sea Supply manufacturer's forum, Tobin gives sound advice on how much wing lift a diver needs. Post your question there...or call him up. He's very helpful. The complete DSS rigs are a very nice STA-less design and affordable, too.

Good luck with your gear purchase. Many people (myself included) really enjoy the durability, modularity, customizability, and easy-to-trim-out qualities of a BP/W setup.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Also check out Scubatoys.com for tanks, knives, computers, and such. I got 4 HP100s from them for $390 each, and they only charged me $136. All other stuff you buy from them ships for free.

@Vicdiver656: Did Scubatoys charge you $136 for each tank...or all 4? Sounds like a price mistake to me! I do agree that, among online retailers, Scubatoys is an outstanding place to buy dive gear.

 

[TSandM]

1. Choice of backplate material depends on the ballast you require for the tanks you dive, in the water where you dive them. If you require significant ballast, stainless steel makes sense. If your trim requires that you move a ton of weight down your body, Al may be better. The best thing is to borrow or rent, if you possibly can, to understand what you need for your body and your tanks.

2. No one wing will work well for singles and doubles, and it's a bit of self-delusion to think that's possible. Doubles wings are broad in the center panel, to accomodate the tanks. If you put a single tank in the middle of a doubles wing, the wing folds, or "tacos" up around the tank. It thus becomes very difficult to vent, or to move the air around in it. Wings built for single tanks have narrow center panels, and if you put double tanks on them, it seriously decreases the amount of life available from the wing. Since the cost of a wing is only one small part of the total cost of a technical diving setup, you are far better off buying a singles wing and a doubles wing, and using them as appropriate.

3. I know a lot of people who have gone from some kind of "comfort" harness to a Hog rig. I know of very few who have done the reverse. A simple harness is not that hard to get in and out of.

4. As far as other bells and whistles, I'd be judicious with money where you can, and try to save enough for a good canister light. You can get a Salvo fixed focus 10W HID for just over $500. A canister light is a HUGE part of good team strategy in tech diving.

 

[*Floater*]

Howdy all! Im looking at buying my first tech rig and have a few questions i can't find answers to...

1) stainless or aluminum for the plate? is it just a weight issue for trim and stuff, or is there something more to it?

For some people it's about trim (i.e. with AL plate they can put more weight lower down, otherwise they would be top heavy), but I've never heard of someone your size having that issue, unless it was because of the "wrong" wing or something other than plate weight. For others it's about ditchable weight, i.e. AL plate allows 3 or 4 more lbs of lead on the belt you can ditch ("balanced rig" and such) - how much can you swim up? For how long? (these are rhetorical q's.) Others prefer AL for travel or because "balanced rig" aside, they'd be overweighted in some configurations (usually involving a 3mm wetsuit, heavy can light and warm water deco dives). That said, most people don't like having to carry an extra 3 or 4# on the belt, so if you need the weight anyway, and are not prone to trim issues or such, then steel is the better choice.

2) HOG-style harness, or a comfort-harness type?

Hog has worked for me, although I did add a quick-release clip above the left shoulder d-ring. While I've not tried a "comfort harness," I've read multiple posts here about people switching from one of those to the hog, none the other way round (but do a search to check on it).

3) i would like to use a 40-45lb wing, and was looking at the larry green signature wing from OMS, for i will be mostly diving a single tank, and like the longer wing.

right now, i have in my head of using a hammerhead stainless plate with the lightweight STA with a HOG harness system, to which i will add a pair of OMS quick dump weight pouches, coupled with an OMS larry green 45lb wing. im 6'1" and a fit 210lbs, and i usually dive with 16-20 lbs of weight with a 7mm wetsuit in freshwater. any input/suggestions/ideas/awesomely amazing stuff i haven't thought of? thanks tons!

I prefer donut wings to horseshoes, and I could go on about wings, but there's too much so I'll leave it at that. Good luck with your choices.

 

[Kern]

I dive an OMS LG 45lb wing with my 100cf doubles. Does that job well. Using it for single tanks is just a crazy idea. The centre panel is around 11" wide. I know it has cam slots, but that has to be marketing BS aimed at people who don't have the experience to know better & have been told that it will do doubles & singles just as well.

Just for fun, I'v strapped my LG to a single tank. The taco was so pronounced the tank almost disappeared into the fold of the wing.

 

[RAWalker]

I have the 45# OMS bungee style wing it doesn't seem to suffer as badly from the taco since the bungee puts pressure on the bladder.It is still a compromise for a single tank though.

 

[deerhunter1911a1]

thanks a bunch guys and gals! im just setting up my BC right now (already have everything else) and so i think im going with a ss backplate with a HOG style harness and maybe a dss wing? thanks a bunch for the great input, keep it coming. i'll let you know how it goes!

 

[realdiver7]

Check out Oxycheq's Mach V wing. In my opinion, you can't buy anything better. This is what we use, so we have real-world experience with it. I have used others, but the Mach V is in a class all by itself.