Dive Rite Backplate

[David P]

he may not be able to "convert" the transpac, but he can unbolt the wings, cut the one or two zipties, push out the little pin, install a new inflator by doing the last 2 steps backwards, and bolt the newly working wings onto a plate and call it good!

DR just upped their price of a plate to ~$160, wing is ~$300, harness ~100, tank straps ~60. so right there is $640 with no crotch strap. now they have a padded back plate, more crap for people to add on to go with their quick ditch weight pockets... now were up to ~$800...

 

[billyf]

Aluminum Backplate $65
Basic Harness $42
Tank Straps $63
Crotch Strap $17
Rec Wing $356

Well it will cost $543 + Shipping to build a new system, but why would you want too???

The Transpac is good technical platform, so why move to a backplate???

You can replace the power inflator for $40 and go back to diving the system you have.
If you LDS wont replace the inflator for a small fee I’m sure that if you contact Dive Rite they would fix your wing.

Power Inflator $40

 

[karstdvr]

The Transpac is good technical platform, so why move to a backplate???

I agree,very versatile. The again we have the dive computer,one of the greatest inventions in diving since the demand valve regulator,but we go back to the bottom timer/depth guage/table combination.

 

[PerroneFord]

That’s not entirely true.

If you using a single tank I would agree, but with doubles you can put the transpac on and then drop the back plate on top.

However Dive Rite makes plates for the transpac to be used with doubles

I have seen it used both ways.

I've seen it used both ways as well. Including as a sidemount platform. We are currently using it as a rebreather sidemount platform and I helped a young lady set up the transpac/nomad for sidemount rebreather use on Monday night. We put the transpac on first (like a single tank with an STA) and then the plate for weight. It ended up not working very well, and we had to ditch the idea. With doubles it might be doale.

I'm not saying you can't use the transpac as an effective platform, I'm just saying it's not possible to "convert it" to something else. Dave P's description is right on the money. It can be adapted.

 

[karstdvr]

I am surprised,I have heard very good feedback on the transpac/nomad configuration for CCR.

 

[PerroneFord]

karstdivr, I too have heard good feedback on using the nomad for CCR. I've even tried it on myself. The problem comes when adding a real backplate to the rig. We were trying to find a way to add distributed weight to the unit for a diver, and tried the backplate. The problem was that when we layed the backplate on top, the normal "body wrap" of the unit was lost, and the backplate tended to cause the system to rock quite a bit and seem unstable. Without the plate, it worked great.

Evie Dudas uses the nomad without the plate, and I spent some time talking to her and examining her setup over at Devils a couple weeks ago.

We have seen some issues with the buttpad on the Nomad, but other than that, it seems to be working well.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

karstdivr, I too have heard good feedback on using the nomad for CCR. I've even tried it on myself. The problem comes when adding a real backplate to the rig. We were trying to find a way to add distributed weight to the unit for a diver, and tried the backplate. The problem was that when we layed the backplate on top, the normal "body wrap" of the unit was lost, and the backplate tended to cause the system to rock quite a bit and seem unstable. Without the plate, it worked great.

Evie Dudas uses the nomad without the plate, and I spent some time talking to her and examining her setup over at Devils a couple weeks ago.

We have seen some issues with the buttpad on the Nomad, but other than that, it seems to be working well.

You should consider usint the 4 pound bolt on soft weights and affixing them to the 1" D rings on the side of the transpac / nomad. It gives me 8 pounds right over the middle of my back. That's 2 pounds more than the backplate alone. It doesn't get in the way of the rebreather (MEG). You can also mount weights above the Dil and O2 tanks on the nomad with zip ties, if you need to tweek the trim. I've even seen small clipper weigh pockets mounted on the tanks themselves (dil O2).

Cheers

Mike

 

[PerroneFord]

You should consider usint the 4 pound bolt on soft weights and affixing them to the 1" D rings on the side of the transpac / nomad. It gives me 8 pounds right over the middle of my back. That's 2 pounds more than the backplate alone. It doesn't get in the way of the rebreather (MEG). You can also mount weights above the Dil and O2 tanks on the nomad with zip ties, if you need to tweek the trim. I've even seen small clipper weigh pockets mounted on the tanks themselves (dil O2).

Cheers

Mike

Mike, do you dive a Meg?

The issue was that we were able to trim out the diver without the weights on the tanks, just by moving cylinders. But she still needed some extra weight to sink her neoprene drysuit. We were hoping to get that done with a backplate on top of the nomad, but that didn't work out.

As for attaching the weights to the side d-rings, it may not get in the way of the rebreather per se, but seems it could be a pain to work around when you're carrying bailout as well as deco bottles as was the case with this person.

 

[karstdvr]

It is important to distribute weight with sidemount rigs,because if you remove a tank to go through a restricition you don't want to become positively bouyant. We had stainless steel plates made that sandwich against each other,and fit in that space between the wing and the transpac back area. People will pick up my harness and be surprised how heavy it is because the you can't see the plates.

You ought to consider talking to Jerry Murphy at DR,he has adpted the Transpac/Nomad to many CCR configurations.

 

[PerroneFord]

Yea, I was sorry I couldn't make it over to the thing at Peacock. I think Gregg would have enjoyed it to.

I'll have to see how the student made out with her Nomad/Meg combo yesterday. I didn't have a chance to check on them.