Choosing a Backplate/Wing

[Ben_ca]

With all purchases consider the resale value... After a few years you might decide to get out of diving it would be nice to recover some of your hard earned dough.

I would suggest looking at Ebay and watching the Halcyon stuff... If you get one at a decent price you could probably turn around and sell it at a minimal depreciated price or if you are lucky the same price.

 

[iflyprops]

Thanks again.

Minimizing cost isn't a huge issue, its getting the best 'bang for the buck' per say. Just trying to do my research and get the best gear for me.

Also, referencing the GUE and Halcyon sites, they seem to be pretty much in bed together, if you excuse the term, but it seems to be the truth. I'm not a big fan of that. GUE seems to have a lot of good things to teach, but there are other ways of doing things, such as inflating your lift bag or smb with your second stage. They need to say "this is the type of equipment we require, we don't care who you get it from as long as it meets the requirements and is well made"... Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-Halcyon by any means, I'm just trying to look past the haze.

I would love to dive with zero added weight, I hate hauling around lead! Swimming up doesn't bother me a bit.



On the decostop someone mentioned HOG gear, HOG 32 lb Wing for Single Cylinder Diving , from the pictures it looks well made. Any experiences with these?

I wasn't worried about Kydex breakage, I have worked in it and the stuff is extremely tough, I tried to break it and couldn't. It really is good stuff, I was just curious. I think I will stick with a to be determined stainless or aluminum plate.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[John_B]

I had a diver come to me a couple of years ago and ask to rent a backplate. I offered him SS, aluminum or resin, from three different manufacturers. "No Halcyon?" he said, clearly disappointed. "Sorry" I said, "but you'll find the DiveRite SS pretty close in design". "No, it has to be Halcyon". "Well, goodbye then". This guy had swallowed the DIR/GUE hype hook, line and sinker, and clearly believed there was no other way to dive. My shop was/still is the only one in Belize that rents tech equipment, so I guess he never got to dive here.

You can be DIR/GUE without any gear from the blue H. Nothing in the GUE Equipment Configuration Guide requires Halcyon gear. This is just more "...a friend of a friend of a friend told me..." anti-DIR BS.

Edit: If this true-blue-figment-of-your-imagination were real he wouldn't have been to looking to you to rent gear, he would've brought it with him.

 

[TSandM]

I own a Halcyon reel and a Halcyon SMB and a bit of Halcyon webbing. Nothing else I own is Halcyon, DUI or Gavin. I've taken Fundies, Rec Triox and Cave 1, and never, not once, has a single word been said about the brands of the gear I own.

GUE's website has a lot of pictures of Halcyon gear. I don't think that's surprising. It doesn't mean you have to have it.

 

[halocline]

Your first decision is going to be whether to get a steel or aluminum plate. If you are typically diving with 8lbs or more of lead, with your heaviest tank and thinnest wetsuit in fresh water, with a standard BC, I would consider it safe to say you'll benefit from a steel plate. If you commonly need less lead than that, I'd go with a AL plate. If you're back and forth, you will almost certainly eventually end up with one of each. For me, basically I use a steel plate when diving with an AL tank and vice versa.

One of the primary advantages of the BP/W set up is weight distribution, which plays a larger role in determining your trim than anything else like wing choice. If you have a heavy steel tank in warm water, it's possible that you might trim out a little better in a AL plate and 5-6 lbs in pockets or a belt. With the weight requirements you gave, it's kind of tough to guess, at least for me. You can always approximate the weight distribution of a steel plate by putting some weight on the cambands of an AL plate, but it's not quite as nice as using the steel plate when you need the weight on your back.

I would also suggest DSS, and I would not overlook the kydex plate. Aluminum has it's downside; it does eventually corrode and the kydex plate would probably last forever like the steel plates do. One very good thing about the DSS set up is that there's no STA. I have yet to find a STA that puts the cambands where I want them. To me the top one is always too high, because it's right up there over the top bolt hole in the plate. Plus, if you go steel you probably want to avoid a STA due to your specific weighting needs.

The hammerhead plates are an excellent deal; I bought an AL one for use with steel tanks. I'm going STA-less with it, but I'm also zip-tieing my travel wing to it and adding a strip of rubber boat decking as a sort of "soft STA" and it's pretty solid. A popular set up is the hammerhead plate/oxycheq wings, but I don't know if the slots match up for use without an STA. It's easy to find out, just call them and ask for the measurement between the slots on the plate, do the same with oxycheq, and you're set. (or out of luck!) The slots do match with my venture wing, and that's not a bad wing at all.

As a few people have said, it's tough to beat the price/quality/service equation of DSS when buying a whole rig. Even though the hammerhead is a great deal, when you add up shipping from several vendors by piecing together a set up, the price rises quickly.

 

[iflyprops]

Once again thank you all for your well thought out and informative responses.

I did a shore dive today with my Zeagle Escape and as usual, it rode up, reinforcing my desire for a BP/W.

In looking at the DSS products one thing I really like about their BP's is that they offer a 'long' version of the plate, which is ideal for me as I'm 6'6". Do any other manufacturers make a long plate? Are different sized plates even necessary? Hammerheads' website states "We only make one size plate because we found that by adding an extra set of adjustment holes and also adding an extra small bend at the bottom of our plate allows the plate to comfortably fit people from about 5 foot to about 6'6"." Any words of wisdom on this?

I am just having a tough time putting all the variables which make this system so adaptable together. I think I may go and rent a rig (I think they only rent Halcyon) from my LDS to play a little bit before I make the investment.

I am leaning towards the DSS wing at the very least...next to figure out the rest!

It was mentioned that my weighting description was a little on the lax side, what other information would help with the AL/ST/Kydex BP decision?

Thanks again!

 

[Sat Diver]

I used Halcyon Bp/w for a while. I was in Rhode Island doing some dives in cold water without a dry suit (lots of neoprene) and had buoyancy issues that I had not encountered before. I spoke to Tobin George from Deep Sea Supply, and he sold me a stainless backplate with a doubles wing and singles wing.
He took a lot of time to help me with my needs and was helpful post sale when I needed to figure a couple of things out.
The DSS system is fantastic. I cannot recommend it more strongly. Once you have the harness setup (takes about 20 minutes the first time - for me at least) it requires no more thought. His inserts in the slots for the webbing do not allow the straps to move around.
Fantastic

Once again thank you all for your well thought out and informative responses.

I did a shore dive today with my Zeagle Escape and as usual, it rode up, reinforcing my desire for a BP/W.

In looking at the DSS products one thing I really like about their BP's is that they offer a 'long' version of the plate, which is ideal for me as I'm 6'6". Do any other manufacturers make a long plate? Are different sized plates even necessary? Hammerheads' website states "We only make one size plate because we found that by adding an extra set of adjustment holes and also adding an extra small bend at the bottom of our plate allows the plate to comfortably fit people from about 5 foot to about 6'6"." Any words of wisdom on this?

I am just having a tough time putting all the variables which make this system so adaptable together. I think I may go and rent a rig (I think they only rent Halcyon) from my LDS to play a little bit before I make the investment.

I am leaning towards the DSS wing at the very least...next to figure out the rest!

It was mentioned that my weighting description was a little on the lax side, what other information would help with the AL/ST/Kydex BP decision?

Thanks again!

 

[TSandM]

Having spent some time fitting gear to a six footer yesterday, I think you CAN use a standard sized plate at 6'6", but you will be more comfortable with where the waist strap sits if you have the longer pattern plate.

 

[eelnoraa]

I just finisehd GUE fundie. Here is what I have to say.

Your Zeagle escape is definitely a NO go with GUE. Beside GUE policy, The main issue is see is no way you can mount a can light or stow the long hose with a full blown BC. DiveRite Transpace is also a NO go per GUE policy. Even a metal back plate with comfort harness like DiveRite transplate is a NO go. You only option is a solid backplate with a once piece hogarthian harness.

As for you setup, assuming you are staying with 3mm farmer john for a while, since you are only carrying 6-8lb with your Escape, I would suggest you to go with AL plate. Your BC is probably +2lb. By switching to AL plate (-2lb), you are alreadying taking 4lb off your weight belt. 2-4lb of lead is very manageable. If you use SS plate, you maybe overweightet to started with.

Which brand of plate to get depends on you preference. DiveRite, DSS, HOG, Hammerhead plates are flatter. Halcyon and OMS plates have a deeper V. I have DiveRite SS and OMS AL. I prefer OMS's deeper V myself. But it doesn't bother me enough for me to switch out the DiveRite plate.

For wing, I used Oxycheq Mach V 30lb and DSS 17lb myself. I have seen HOG, Halcyon in my fundies. Oxycheq wing is noticebly narrower that all the above with same lift. But it is a bit longer. Oxycheq's outter shell also appears to be the toughest. DSS has the most convinient design for attachement.

Two things where Halcyon excel. 1)3.3ft SMB. I didn't believe it, but one use later, it is easy to see why. If you plan to be using SMB more often, just get the halcyon. 2)their webbing. not more expansive compare to no name webbing, but just the right amount of stiffness, comfortable but not sloppy.

 

[Insta-Gator]

I use a SS BP with a 3mm jumpsuit. In fresh water it's dead on. In salt water I use 4# (2 x 2) to adjust trim and the "floaty empty AL tank" syndrome.