BP/W What is your set up like?

[wader]

I am curious what set-ups people are using to dive of the California coast. I dove once off the Truth Aquatics/Vision, but was using a BCD at the time. I have since switched to a BP/W. What size wing and environmental protection would be useful (I am a wet suit type of guy).

Thanks for sharing.

 

[fisheater]

I use a DSS medium stainless steel backplate with DSS weight plates bolted on. I have an Oxycheq 40# extreme wing. I'm a big guy with thick exposure protection, so I can use the extra lift. Most California divers with single tanks, are fine with #30 wings.

I use 130 or 120 HP steel single tanks.

My exposure protection is either a High Tide custom compressed neo DS (with an Otter Bay hood) or a custom 7 mm semidry wetsuit.


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[FrankPro1]

6.5mm wetsuit with a 3mm vest underneath during the winter and spring. Oxycheq 30lb wing w/ Salvo Backplate and Salvo STA.

I've run the gambit of BCDs in my short 3 years of scuba diving. Started off with an Oceanic Jacket style, then a used Zeagle Ranger and finally my BP/w setup. First time diving my current rig I knew I'd never go back to a traditional BCD. No need for padding, over flowing pockets and tons of plastic snap clips to break and leave you dry.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

For multi-day, repetitive dive trips in SoCal, it's difficult to beat the convenience and comfort of a drysuit.
Your wing needs to have enough lift to compensate for the greater of:

• Floating your rig (BC + full tank + attached weights/gear) at the surface without you in it.
• Compensating for maximal loss of positive buoyancy of your exposure protection.

If you're diving a drysuit + a certain set of undergarments, you need to know how much inherent positive buoyancy that exposure protection system (with enough air inside to offset squeeze) has.

As one datapoint, my wing has 30 lbs. of lift.
I dive a Halcyon SS BP with Eclipse 30.
I've also dived a Deep Sea Supply SS BP with LCD 30 wing. For various reasons, I like the Deep Sea Supply reg more.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Freedom plate, 27# wing for single tank, 55# wing with Halcyon plate for doubles, Diving Concepts drysuit, Jetfins, Nikon D700 in Ikelite housing.

 

[scubadobadoo]

Pinnacle Black Ice compressed neoprene dry suit w/ 7mm hood and gloves
Turtles w/ spring straps (a must imho for shore diving)
HP100 Tank or HP80 for long walks and shallow dives
Dive Rite Transplate harness with steel BP and 6 pound STA w/ DR 30# wing
SP s600 reg
weight belt sometimes
wrist mounted compass and comp

 

[wader]

I use the Pinnacle Elstoprene 7mm. I have never heard of Black Ice. Whats that all about??

We went to Fiji over spring break and I dove a #40 Oxycheq MachV extreme. Great wing, but way more than I needed. I am going to try a Dive Rite Venture wing #30. I really liked the donut shape, and not sure about this trapezoid. I use a SS BP.

Pinnacle Black Ice compressed neoprene dry suit w/ 7mm hood and gloves
Turtles w/ spring straps (a must imho for shore diving)
HP100 Tank or HP80 for long walks and shallow dives
Dive Rite Transplate harness with steel BP and 6 pound STA w/ DR 30# wing
SP s600 reg
weight belt sometimes
wrist mounted compass and comp

 

[scubadobadoo]

I use the Pinnacle Elstoprene 7mm. I have never heard of Black Ice. Whats that all about??

We went to Fiji over spring break and I dove a #40 Oxycheq MachV extreme. Great wing, but way more than I needed. I am going to try a Dive Rite Venture wing #30. I really liked the donut shape, and not sure about this trapezoid. I use a SS BP.

Pinnacle Black Ice is a 7mm neo dry suit compressed to 4.5mm and it has merino lining inside. Very warm, very heavy, but very warm, lol. It is very comfy and is my first ever neo dry suit after a string of TLS 350's that were wonderful in soooo many ways but just didn't keep me warm enough for my taste no matter what undies I used. It has been the top of the line Pinnacle neo dry suit for a while now. I rarely see people diving them though. Not sure why. Maybe it's the neo thing. It's a lot of bang for the buck IMHO. I like it a lot. Great for local diving. Not so great for travel with weight restrictions and all.

I have the Venture wing that is square. It does the job and I can't really complain. It has lasted for over 7 years now but honestly it hasn't given me any reason to want to change it yet. Several folks make nice 30# wings for single tank diving so you have a nice range to choose from.

I do like the transplate harness as it allows me to quickly adjust from warm to cold water diving etc...I would prefer to just use a standard harness and have less clutter but I switch suits too much so the flexibility is nice for me personally. There are also more choices in the "transplate style" harness out there now since I first bought it. Not so much 7 years ago.

 

[enigmata]

OMS SS backplate with Dive Rite deluxe harness and Hollis S26 wing. Mobby's bilaminate drysuit with AUG 200 Hollis undergarment. I use 18 pounds in total with a steel HP100 with this setup.

 

[eelnoraa]

I own OMS AL plate & Dive Rite SS plate, also use H SS plate quite a few time. I use STA, so switching plate is easy. Of these 3, OMS and H has more steep band so with signle tank setup, the tank is further away from my back. DiveRite, on the other hand, is flatter (same as DSS plate). Personally, I prefer the steeper band of OMS and H because my head will be further away from first stage. Between OMS and H, H is more comfortable.

For wing, I have Oxycheq Mach V 30lb. I like it better than H and DSS wing.

For harness, I started with DiveRite transplate. Now I use basic Dive Rite haness. I prefer basic harness, but I hate the webbing Dive Rite use. It is way too soft and sloppy. The DiveRite crotch strap howeve, is sooo stiff, totally un-reasonable. I am switching out the DR webbing to H and I will make a crotch strap from the soft DR harness webbing.