djcheburashka
Contributor
I started with a Zeagle stainless steel plate, then used Hollis AL and SS plates, and am now switching to DSS.
The Hollis plates are virtually identical to the Halcyon. The only difference I can discern is in the position of the top-most hole for mounting doubles. I thought my Hollis plates were pretty good. The only problem I had with them was that the aluminum one showed a lot of wear and abrasion around the holes. The Halcyon al might not have that problem, and the Hollis SS plate did not have it. It made me nervous that the AL plate wouldn't last more than a few seasons. It was sure starting to get ugly after 1.5 seasons!
Nick is right that you can use the Hollis plate single tank without an STA. But its really not built for that. Then again, I don't know why people want this. Maybe they're trying to save luggage weight? Anyway I've always used an STA, a Salvo that lets you put in an STA weight if you want.
I'm switching to the DSS... I don't know exactly why, but there are some obvious advantages. First, the webbing doesn't cross-over the tank mounting hole, so you can use ordinary webbing. You don't need webbing with a grommet, or to make a hole in ordinary webbing. Second, the webbing slots at the shoulders are angled, which makes them a little more comfortable and I -think- (maybe Tobin or someone else will correct me) provides a little more range of motion.
The DSS plate is also flatter. That's supposed to be some kind of advantage, but I haven't noticed it. Maybe I will as I get more time on the plate. A downside to that is that some DIR divers make a pocket out of a backplate pad (Halcyon especially promotes this) and stick a lift bag or SMB in the channel in the backplate. You can't really do this with the DSS. Well maybe you can, but I don't know of a pocket that would fit properly, and it would be a pretty tight fit.
I will say that I prefer the DSS plate for some abstract reason I can't fully put my fingers on. It does -feel- firmer, stronger, more sturdy than any other plate I've played with.
Oh - and one other thing I forgot earlier: There are substantial differences among the harnesses offered by each vendor. DSS makes by far the best crotch strap I've played with. Its very soft and has nice hardware.
As for d-rings, I prefer ones with thin wire and a large opening, because I think that makes them easier to clip off. The Hollis and DSS and Halcyon d-rings are all like that. (Apeks and some other harness makers use thicker gauge d-rings.) But the DSS bent d-rings have a larger angle than the Halcyon or Hollis (which I think are the same), or at least they seem that way. I have a slight preference for the Hollis bent d-rings. But you may have a different preference.
One modification I definitely recommend is these instead of, or in addition to, inner tubes to hold the backup lights in place: http://northeastscubasupply.com/sto...ings/utility-keeper-2-to-a-set/prod_1564.html I'm not sure if they're DIR, but (a) they hold the lights in place well but have plenty of "give", and (b) its much easier to put a backup light back on with these than with inner tubes, especially with gloved hands.
The Hollis plates are virtually identical to the Halcyon. The only difference I can discern is in the position of the top-most hole for mounting doubles. I thought my Hollis plates were pretty good. The only problem I had with them was that the aluminum one showed a lot of wear and abrasion around the holes. The Halcyon al might not have that problem, and the Hollis SS plate did not have it. It made me nervous that the AL plate wouldn't last more than a few seasons. It was sure starting to get ugly after 1.5 seasons!
Nick is right that you can use the Hollis plate single tank without an STA. But its really not built for that. Then again, I don't know why people want this. Maybe they're trying to save luggage weight? Anyway I've always used an STA, a Salvo that lets you put in an STA weight if you want.
I'm switching to the DSS... I don't know exactly why, but there are some obvious advantages. First, the webbing doesn't cross-over the tank mounting hole, so you can use ordinary webbing. You don't need webbing with a grommet, or to make a hole in ordinary webbing. Second, the webbing slots at the shoulders are angled, which makes them a little more comfortable and I -think- (maybe Tobin or someone else will correct me) provides a little more range of motion.
The DSS plate is also flatter. That's supposed to be some kind of advantage, but I haven't noticed it. Maybe I will as I get more time on the plate. A downside to that is that some DIR divers make a pocket out of a backplate pad (Halcyon especially promotes this) and stick a lift bag or SMB in the channel in the backplate. You can't really do this with the DSS. Well maybe you can, but I don't know of a pocket that would fit properly, and it would be a pretty tight fit.
I will say that I prefer the DSS plate for some abstract reason I can't fully put my fingers on. It does -feel- firmer, stronger, more sturdy than any other plate I've played with.
Oh - and one other thing I forgot earlier: There are substantial differences among the harnesses offered by each vendor. DSS makes by far the best crotch strap I've played with. Its very soft and has nice hardware.
As for d-rings, I prefer ones with thin wire and a large opening, because I think that makes them easier to clip off. The Hollis and DSS and Halcyon d-rings are all like that. (Apeks and some other harness makers use thicker gauge d-rings.) But the DSS bent d-rings have a larger angle than the Halcyon or Hollis (which I think are the same), or at least they seem that way. I have a slight preference for the Hollis bent d-rings. But you may have a different preference.
One modification I definitely recommend is these instead of, or in addition to, inner tubes to hold the backup lights in place: http://northeastscubasupply.com/sto...ings/utility-keeper-2-to-a-set/prod_1564.html I'm not sure if they're DIR, but (a) they hold the lights in place well but have plenty of "give", and (b) its much easier to put a backup light back on with these than with inner tubes, especially with gloved hands.
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