BP/W questions

[sharpenu]

Let me start by saying that if my questions have already been addressed elsewhere, sorry.

Background:
I don't like diving with more than what I need to do the dive. I am getting to the point where I want to move from B/C's like the Malibu or Black Diamond to a BP/W. I have used rear inflation for years and I am comfortable with weight trim and all that. I am chiefly a warm water diver, although I occasionally wear a 2 mil shorty or a 3/2mm full, I mostly dive with no wetsuit. I dive steel 120's which are -10lbs full and -1lb empty.

With no wetsuit, I dive with 4 lbs in seawater. I am thinking of getting the hammerhead BP in steel with the light STA. I will buy the rigging kit from them, I think.

My questions:

1 Is this a good choice?

2 Is the BP too heavy for my diving conditions? Or is it too heavy for a FSA? I had to swim to the surface from 80FSW once when my BC ruptured (got cut on a wreck). I had 8 lbs of weight and a nearly full tank. I made it and didn't have to dump.

3 Will 27 lbs of lift be OK?

4 What would be a good choice of wings? I was thinking of one of the Halcyon products.

Im sureI will have more ???'s later, but thanks for now.

 

[kidspot]

Let me start by saying that if my questions have already been addressed elsewhere, sorry.

Background:
I don't like diving with more than what I need to do the dive. I am getting to the point where I want to move from B/C's like the Malibu or Black Diamond to a BP/W. I have used rear inflation for years and I am comfortable with weight trim and all that. I am chiefly a warm water diver, although I occasionally wear a 2 mil shorty or a 3/2mm full, I mostly dive with no wetsuit. I dive steel 120's which are -10lbs full and -1lb empty.

With no wetsuit, I dive with 4 lbs in seawater. I am thinking of getting the hammerhead BP in steel with the light STA. I will buy the rigging kit from them, I think.

My questions:

1 Is this a good choice?

2 Is the BP too heavy for my diving conditions? Or is it too heavy for a FSA? I had to swim to the surface from 80FSW once when my BC ruptured (got cut on a wreck). I had 8 lbs of weight and a nearly full tank. I made it and didn't have to dump.

3 Will 27 lbs of lift be OK?

4 What would be a good choice of wings? I was thinking of one of the Halcyon products.

Im sure I will have more ???'s later, but thanks for now.

Hey sharpenu,

If you like minimalist diving, then you'll probably like the BP/W with a hogarthian harness. As to lift, I wear a full 3mil suit with 12lbs of lead + 6lb ss backplate and the 27lb lift is more than adequate. I have tried both the DiveRite Venture wing (30lb lift) and recently switched to a Halcyon Pioneer (27lb lift) I was quite pleased with the Venture wing, but am thrilled with the Pioneer. Primarily because of the inflator I find it much slower, giving me better control over my bouyancy.

If you don't need much weight, then you can go with an Aluminum backplate instead of a SS one. If you go with a pioneer wing, make sure you ask someone who has mated it with a Hammerhead plate to be sure the cam band slots line up. The Cam Band slots on my DiveRite plate and Pioneer wing do not match up, so I have to use an STA even though the pioneer has one built in.

Aloha, Tim

 

[d@n]

No quick answers here from me, I'm afraid but...

1 Is this a good choice?
Depends on other factors I would say you're going to be heavy but you need to be the one to calculate this. I like my Hammerhead AL plate just as much as my FredT SS plate. Both are excellent manufacturers and great to deal with. With the Hammerhead you need to get cam bands elsewhere.

2 Is the BP too heavy for my diving conditions? Or is it too heavy for a FSA? I had to swim to the surface from 80FSW once when my BC ruptured (got cut on a wreck). I had 8 lbs of weight and a nearly full tank. I made it and didn't have to dump.
My experience is that for ME, I need an AL plate with anything less than a 5 mil wetsuit or I'm overweighted. And that is when diving a single AL80. With the SS plate and light STA, I need to put a lot of air in my wing to get neutral at depth. Again, it's your calculation that's needed.

3 Will 27 lbs of lift be OK?
Should be but again, it depends on many factors such as your equipment, etc.

4 What would be a good choice of wings? I was thinking of one of the Halcyon products.
Halcyon is good but expensive. I have an Oxycheq 30 and an OMS 35. Like em both. Some will say the inflator hose needs to be shortened on some models other than Halcyon.

 

[Aerodog]

If you go with a pioneer wing, make sure you ask someone who has mated it with a Hammerhead plate to be sure the cam band slots line up. The Cam Band slots on my DiveRite plate and Pioneer wing do not match up, so I have to use an STA even though the pioneer has one built in.

Aloha, Tim

And a FYI, I just got my hammerdhead SS and Alum plate, the cam slots are located so the Oxycheq 30 can be used without a STA.

 

[Restart]

I am chiefly a warm water diver, although I occasionally wear a 2 mil shorty or a 3/2mm full, I mostly dive with no wetsuit. I dive steel 120's which are -10lbs full and -1lb empty.

With no wetsuit, I dive with 4 lbs in seawater. I am thinking of getting the hammerhead BP in steel with the light STA. I will buy the rigging kit from them, I think.

You may need to reduce lead weight, if you use SS BP, SS 120's and without wetsuit.

As for my setup, i need 8 lbs of lead. Alu BP, Eclipse Wing, Alu 80, 3mm Shortie.

I tried 4 lbs on a night dive, it was dangerous i almost float up to the surface when my tank is almost empty. When i need to do safety stop at 5m........

 

[Spectre]

Going from a BC to a BP/Wings, you most likely will end up with unexplained weight reduction; well, unexplained unless you take into account the inherent bouyancy of the BC vs. the wing.

In other words; if you're using 4 lbs now; I would say it would be a good idea to just go with an aluminum plate and see how it goes. If you still need weight; then you might look at a small belt; or getting a steel plate and putting the aluminum on the shelf for fresh water or if you decide to go doubles later.

 

[jonnythan]

In other words; if you're using 4 lbs now; I would say it would be a good idea to just go with an aluminum plate and see how it goes.

Just to note.. that's 4 lbs with no exposure protection.

 

[zboss]

I am thinking of getting the hammerhead BP in steel with the light STA. I will buy the rigging kit from them, I think.

I just got my BP and Heavy single tank adapter in the mail and I am amazed at the service and quality. While I didn't have a low expectation to start with, it did have to live up to the quality of my Abyss BP and DIve Rite's.

Hand-down - except for nice deep red finish on my Abyss, the Hammerhead is the winner. The quality is VERY good and the single tank adapter is very very sturdy. I especially like the wing-nut screws for the adapter instead of the double screw-driver ones that are common with Dive Rite rigs.

I'm also very happy with the delivery time, it was delivered before it showed up on my charge card.

 

[sharpenu]

Ok, so other than the following, is there anything that will make this better? I usually dive with no exposure protection. Does that mean I will need something between me and the BP?

Wing
BP
STA
Rigging
(extra weight, maybe- with pouches)