BP/W for my first purchase + weighting ques

[D_Fresh]

Zef's advice is pretty spot on in my opinion, and the others have covered the rest quite well.

The only think I'll add is, in addition to the DGX offering, is to look at the plate and harness option from Piranha Dive Mfg. It's the same (or similar) to DGX's. You can choose the wing to suit your dive circumstances, but the harness, webbing, and D-rings are essentially the same.

Welcome, and happy diving!!

 

[James Maggio]

Fellas, loving these options from DGX, HOG, Piranha, Deep6, etc...

A little further down the rabbit hole....
-Do all these backplates & wings interchange? (i.e. Piranha BP + HOG 32# wing) Are there known incompatibilities?
-What's the general consensus on shoulder pads or chest straps?
-I assume everyone adds dumpable weight pockets to the waist belt?

 

[Hartattack]

Fellas, loving these options from DGX, HOG, Piranha, Deep6, etc...

A little further down the rabbit hole....
-Do all these backplates & wings interchange? (i.e. Piranha BP + HOG 32# wing) Are there known incompatibilities?
-What's the general consensus on shoulder pads or chest straps?
-I assume everyone adds dumpable weight pockets to the waist belt?

These videos should help you in your quest:

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Fellas, loving these options from DGX, HOG, Piranha, Deep6, etc...

A little further down the rabbit hole....
-Do all these backplates & wings interchange? (i.e. Piranha BP + HOG 32# wing) Are there known incompatibilities?
-What's the general consensus on shoulder pads or chest straps?
-I assume everyone adds dumpable weight pockets to the waist belt?

We have a lot of scuba customers who really like our elastic "freedive" rubber belt. It stays put, won't spin, is super fast to ditch and compensates for suit compression. And if you ever have to ditch it, I will buy you a new one!

https://www.makospearguns.com/Freedive-Weight-Belt-p/mfdwb.htm

 

[lowwall]

-Do all these backplates & wings interchange?

Pretty much. If you aren't using an STA, you do need to make sure the slots in the wing and plate line up well enough to let the cam bands pass through both. But everyone makes the slots oversize so it usually works. You can ask the shop or here about your particular combo before you take the plunge.

-What's the general consensus on shoulder pads or chest straps?

Don't.

Some, but not all, people who have long hard walks to get to their dive site like the pads. But that's about it. Remember that we are talking about 2 full inches of width on the straps so the weight is spread over a large area when you are walking. The pads offer no advantage once you are in the water, it's just something you'll have to counter with additional lead.

I can't think of any reason to add a chest strap (although someone will now join in to disagree ). The dynamics of diving are very different from backpacking. You want the shoulder straps to be somewhat loose. The waist belt and crotch strap keep everything under control.

-Iassume everyone adds dumpable weight pockets to the waist belt?

Many if not most warm water divers do some version of this. I use an xscuba trim pocket on each side that can hold up to a 5lb hard weight.

Some divers are happy with non-ditchable weight and will add lead to their plates via trim pockets, weighted STAs, zip-ties, screw in plates, etc.

Weight belts and weight harnesses are still popular for those that need more weight than can be held in a couple of waist band pockets. Especially for those that need to make sure their rig is neutral so they can don and doff in the water (diving off a kayak for example)

 

[lairdb]

Weight belts and weight harnesses are still popular for those that need more weight than can be held in a couple of waist band pockets. Especially for those that need to make sure their rig is neutral so they can don and doff in the water (diving off a kayak for example)

There are also a few eccentrics (hi!) who still prefer a weight belt to harness pockets. I have trim pockets on the top tank strap (usually 2x2 pounds) and a belt (usually 2x3 pounds). (That's about right for me, with my AL plate, usual kit, and a new 3mm or well-used 5mm.) Those 6 belt pounds could easily be on the harness waist belt, but I just prefer the separate belt.

(And I'm still working on cutting ballast -- a little more focus and I think I can shed 2 more pounds.)

 

[Chavodel8en]

I can't think of any reason to add a chest strap (although someone will now join in to disagree ). The dynamics of diving are very different from backpacking. You want the shoulder straps to be somewhat loose. The waist belt and crotch strap keep everything under control.

You rang, lol.

I prefer a snug fit on the upper half of harness, and there's no way to properly make a standard BP/W harness snug without the chest strap - otherwise you'll just pull the shoulder straps away from their proper location. This is mostly a preference thing for me, I could and did dive the BP/W w/out a chest strap, but I decided to add a chest strap.

That being said, to the OP, a chest strap should only cost like $10, and you can add it whenever, so you can try a harness sans strap, and if you are good, then all good. If you want a snugger fit, buy a cheap chest strap.

 

[Brett Hatch]

I do not like adding weights to my harness's waist strap. I do have a couple of small trim pockets threaded onto the cam bands that go around the tank. With a SS plate, AL80 tank, and 3mm wetsuit, I only need about 3 or 4 pounds of lead total, so this is a convenient place to put it. Diving in cold water with SS plate, HP100 steel tank, and a drysuit, I add a @MAKO Spearguns rubber weight belt with 12 lbs of their lead pinch weights.

If you need a belt, rubber is a great way to go, the stretchiness makes it much easier to use than a plastic one. The "pinch" weights are nice because they don't change the overall length of the belt, so I can use the same belt hole whether I have 8, 12, or 16 lbs on there. They're also more comfortable in small bits than big blocks of 4 or 5 lbs would be (and less likely to break your toe when you drop them!). Here's a pic of the belt loaded with 16lbs of lead.

MAKO belt with weights

• Brett Hatch
• Jul 23, 2020

 

[James Maggio]

Again, I’m blown away by the wealth of knowledge you all have bestowed upon me. Thank you. Definitely more confident in what I am looking for, than I was two days ago.

This maybe nit-picking but, in comparing the stainless BPs, they all seem to be around 5.5 lbs. except Piranha which is 4.1 lbs, I assume because it’s made thinner, dimensionally it looks the same, anybody see an issue with it flexing/bending? Does this matter? Sorry, I’m a financial analyst by trade and I build race engines as a hobby, so I work with small tolerances, feel free to tell me I’m being an idiot.

 

[Zef]

Fellas, loving these options from DGX, HOG, Piranha, Deep6, etc...

A little further down the rabbit hole....
-Do all these backplates & wings interchange? (i.e. Piranha BP + HOG 32# wing) Are there known incompatibilities?
-What's the general consensus on shoulder pads or chest straps?
-I assume everyone adds dumpable weight pockets to the waist belt?

The issue is whether the cam strap slots in any particular wing will line up with the slots for cam straps in any particular plate. My recommendation is to choose a wing that has longer slots, it will be compatible with more plates than ones that have shorter slots. Compare the slots in a the following wings as examples:

No slots:

Short slots:

Short upper/Long Lower slots:

Long uppler/lower slots:

Cross-hair:

Regarding shoulder pads....I bought them when I originally purchased my BP/W and harness setup...they are just neoprene sleeves that are slid on when initially setting up the harness, but it was a waste of $20 with the exception that I gained the experience to know that they are a waste of money.

If you go with a basic hogarthian style harness (1 continuous length of webbing laced through the plate to form the shoulder and the waist straps) you will not need a chest strap. If you go with a "deluxe" style harness it will typically come with a chest strap.

Not everyone adds dumpable pockets. Some use a weight belt, some have pockets they mount on their cam straps, some use weights/weight pockets that mount on the plate, and others use pockets on their harness. The 4 of us in our house have Dive Rite pockets like these, they can be mounted vertically or horizontally on the waist belt:

-Z