Dive rite, Halcyon or Hollis

[ektess1]

If you plan on going tech, you can forget about any octo. Bungy necklace all the way. If you are dive steel 120s in temperate waters, you will be overweighted with even an aluminum backplate. Think high tech, expensive plastic, backplate.
I dive steel 100s in south Florida. I use a DeepSeaSupply 26 lbs wing and a fancy plastic, cann't rember the offical name, backplate. Add a small can light and I am netrially bouyant.
With a 120 you may not be able to be neutral.
Love my setup.

 

[halocline]

Thanks all for your advice, i am thinking about the transplate which seems like a more stable piece than the transpac and i have the ability to drop some weight as well, the plate is 6 pounds so i can drop my weight completely and use this, i use HP Steel 120's. Can you all suggest a wing setup for single tank thats good for tropical warm water (south florida) and travel. Anyone use the RiteSource octo instead of the normal octo?

Given that this is a hogarthian forum, the transpac, transplate, and especially octo/inflator are not going to be recommended.

A major idea of hogarthian diving is to eliminate unnecessary gear. A simple BP/W set up with a one piece harness does this extremely well. It's just a plate, webbing, and a wing, possibly fitted with a STA for single tank use. The simplicity of the system is really important, and all the things you mentioned add complexity.

If you talk with purely rec divers on the BP/W forum, you might get different perspectives. IMO, for all of my diving, less is more when it comes to gear configuration.

You might spend a little time figuring out your weighting needs in various situations to determine whether you're better off with a steel or AL plate. Many divers who get into this have both. I use my steel plate in most single tank dives, and my AL plate for my steel doubles, and on the occasional single tank dive with no wetsuit or heavy steel tank.

As far as the brands you mentioned, both dive rite and halcyon are widely used and respected by tech divers. Hollis I'm not familiar with, but my impression from their line of products is that they seem to be marketing themselves towards the rec diving community that is trying to be tech oriented. Just stay with a simple plate, webbing harness, and wing.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Another vote for DSS. I started out with a Transplate system (DR harness, stainless DR plate and Rec wing). I loved it until I tried a different style (Oxycheq) wing. The difference in ease of trim and venting was so profound I sold the Rec wing and purchased an Oxycheq wing immediately.

I loved this setup until I tried a standard hog harness. I switched right away, sold the DR harness (they're very expensive compared to a hog harness), and have never regretted the switch.

About a year later I tried a DSS backplate. I really liked the idea of the rubber insets on the harness slots, as it reduced wear to basically nothing. Now I almost never wear out a harness ... I change them when I get tired of the color and want a different one ...

I've since switched from Oxycheq wings to DSS wings ... for several reasons. I currently own four of them (two singles, one doubles, and one tropical), and love them all. They're incredibly durable, dive beautifully, and you won't get better customer support from anyone.

I also currently own two Halcyon wings ... an Eclipse 40 (singles) and Evolve 60 (doubles), which I like a lot ... but Halcyon wings are much more expensive than DSS wings. Also, the Eclipse is nowhere near as streamlined as the DSS Torus.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[letterboy]

Deep Sea Supply -- best value for money, high quality gear, fantastic one-on-one customer service. What more can you ask for?

Note that you won't want a single-tank setup (the Eclipse) for "tech diving".

When he calls and talks to them they will straighten him out, they did me . . . spent 20 minutes on the phone with me!

Plus they didn't pressure me to buy, they truly wanted me to get what would work for me, even if it wasn't their product.

I bought the SS plate, Harness and 26lb Torus

Should get here this week!

 

[jdfmail]

I've been diving Hollis SS BP with S25 wing and couldn't be happier.Very similar to Halcyon but without all the logos. It's extremely well made, looks great and is finished off perfectly. I wouldn't trade it for any other rig. I don't know why their products aren't discussed more often. Maybe because they haven't been around too long. I use mine in warm salt water with a full 3mm and use 3-4 lbs on my camband.

 

[Splitlip]

Black:

I don't think the Transpac is really "Hogarthian", and would not recommend in any event.

This is a good package:

BackPlate and Wing Package reviews and discounts, Dive Rite

It is one of the rigs I use, but put it together myself over time. If you do consider this, ask if the 10% discount can be applied.

The Oxy MV is the best singles wing out there IMO. The DR plate lower profile than some which is a good thing. I drilled my alumium plate to receive a Halcyon storage pack and a 40# Halcyon marker still fits nicely.

I would add a light weight STA, but that is just me.

 

[chrisculina]

I think Oxycheq should also be mentioned. I've had a couple of their single wings, and I'm currently using the Mach V together with the standard SS backplate. It feels the same as Halcyon's. One thing though, their hogarthian harness kit uses a bit too stiff webbing I think. The crotch strap is softer. Would it be a good idea to wear a pair of boxers outside the drysuit to spare the crotch area from wear and tear?

Waiting for the Halcyon Cinch upgrade kit. It looks promising, and will be fun to test. If you haven't seen it yet, check out this video.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The DSS and HOG single wings do not require an STA of any kind. I have 2 DSS rigs. I just bought two HOG coldwater regs last night. If I had to buy another BPW setup my only question as to whether DSS or HOG would be the price at the time and how much cash I had on hand. I would not even consider any other brands.

 

[Splitlip]

Oxycheq Mach V does not require a STA

 

[Hollis Gear Nick]

Neither does Hollis