Cavebum is a transpac advocate and if you ever decide to sidemount you are 75% of the way there already with a transpac. My opinions differ from his in a couple minor areas, but unlike some divers on the board, he strikes me as a solid cave diver who knows his stuff, so I give his opinion a lot of weight even when I don't share it. Send him a pm on the ins and outs of transpac diving.
Personally, for back mount diving I have never found it to be as stable as a BP, even with the stabilizer plates.
I have also in the past dove a "deluxe" harness/pivot ring harness with a quick release and chest strap. The chest strap allows some easy adjustability if switching from say a drysuit to a t-shirt and a QR can be an advanatage in really cold water and in very cold weather in heavy drysuit underwear with dry glove rings, etc, or if you have a shoulder injury, or smilar circumstances where ease of exit with no need to chicken wing an arm is very desireable. But outside of that there is no real advantage over a one piece harness.
I now dive a 1 piece harness exclusively and once adjusted properly it is both stable in and out of the water and not hard to get out once you get the techniques figured out. I added neoprene shoulder pads that velcro around the shoulder straps on mines mostly to avoid the strap hickies that can result when lifting and carrying 130 pounds of tanks, plate, light etc on bare nylon straps over bare shoulders or just a t-shirt.
It has the advanatge of being inexpensive, cheap to replace the harness (11-12 ft of webbing is the only cost item) and will be accpeted by almost any instructor. In contrast at least some istructors will object to pivot ring harnesses, transpacs, transplates, etc.
Personally, for back mount diving I have never found it to be as stable as a BP, even with the stabilizer plates.
I have also in the past dove a "deluxe" harness/pivot ring harness with a quick release and chest strap. The chest strap allows some easy adjustability if switching from say a drysuit to a t-shirt and a QR can be an advanatage in really cold water and in very cold weather in heavy drysuit underwear with dry glove rings, etc, or if you have a shoulder injury, or smilar circumstances where ease of exit with no need to chicken wing an arm is very desireable. But outside of that there is no real advantage over a one piece harness.
I now dive a 1 piece harness exclusively and once adjusted properly it is both stable in and out of the water and not hard to get out once you get the techniques figured out. I added neoprene shoulder pads that velcro around the shoulder straps on mines mostly to avoid the strap hickies that can result when lifting and carrying 130 pounds of tanks, plate, light etc on bare nylon straps over bare shoulders or just a t-shirt.
It has the advanatge of being inexpensive, cheap to replace the harness (11-12 ft of webbing is the only cost item) and will be accpeted by almost any instructor. In contrast at least some istructors will object to pivot ring harnesses, transpacs, transplates, etc.
