Dive Rite Transpac II

[plongeursousmarin]

DR TPII is a great rig not as good as a BP, but very good indeed.

I use the TPII for travel 'cause the ease of packing, it won't be as stable as a BP, but stable enough to dive while on vacation, another point that usually gets reported is that due to the proximity of the tank to your body, some divers (including me) experience hitting the 1st stage with the head.

The QRs are good and will last a lifetime, I use QRs all the time in Fannypacks, Backpacks, and in my BP harness, and the only 2 times I've broken one is when I've closed the truck door with the fannypack on the seat and the QR is in the way.
I won't trust them for skydiving, but for anything else in my opinion they work OK.
Of course, you may find cheap flimsy QRs here and there, but I haven't seen one used on dive gear.

I think the biggest failure point is people's own body. If those people obsessed with their equipment's real or imagined potential shortcomings became a little more fit, they'd be a lot less likely to encounter a problem underwater than their BC's quick releases suddenly "catastrophically" breaking.

 

[drbill]

Gee, my brain has a lot more failure points than a TPII and I still dive.

Seriously, I have a ScubaPro X-Tek which is essentially the same as the original Transpac. I love it... much snugger fit than I've experienced so far with BP's (although I have one). See if you can borrow one to try out first... IF the snow melts soon.

 

[bradshsi]

[*]The shoulder straps are connected with velcro. IMHO, that's not very secure, and I had a problem with one of them pulling out once.

Those are reasonable comments with the exception of the above. I've personally replaced the shoulder straps on mine (from the XL size strap it was supplied with, to a medium size strap), and I am positive that the velcro is just to capture the end of the shoulder strap padding.

The webbing of the shoulder strap is threaded though a metal plate and then back on itself. This is what holds the load. It is very secure and also a total pain to rethread when changing to a different shoulder strap size (as I found out).

If your shoulder strap pulled out most likely it wasn't threaded right in the first place. I would never trust a BCD that relied totally on velcro for a load carrying point.

 

[ArcticDiver]

Any body familiar with them> Looks good hanging...

Very familiar. I have one that I dive both with a wetsuit and with a drysuit. Works real well. My experience is that there is no one dive system that is perfect for all people, or for all circumstances. But the TransPac II comes pretty darn close.

Some folks who are either enthralled with their own snake oil, or who are lacking in perspective nit pick the TransPac's "faults". What they don't say, except for one post earlier, is that every system has its "faults". Which ones are important or not important is a personal choice and depends on your preferences and the type of diving you do.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the harness from the Transpac can be removed an used with a BP. DiveRite calls this the Transplate. So, with a Transpack and a backplate you can use the same harness and attachments for just about every situation. There are several advantages to that.

Oh yes, no load bearing or critical part of the harness is secured by velcro. To say so shows a lack of knowledge. Velcro is used to secure some strap ends and in the inflator hose/air dump keeper.

Good luck on getting one that is best for your diving.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

My wife and I both enjoy our TP II's. We use them for singles and 'light' doubles (double 100's or less). There are times I'll dive with double 63's while she dives a single 80, for example.

We have an assortment of wings. She uses the Jr. Wing for her rig, I use a Travel wing for singles and a DeepOutdoors 55 lb wing for doubles. Sometimes we'll trade and I'll use the Jr. Wing for double 63's or double 80's while she uses the Travel Wing with a single 80 for example.

No load bearing part of the TP II's we have are secured by velcro either.

I like your style, bradshsi! The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle says everything is uncertain (including I suppose the validity of said principle) since the entropy of the universe is constantly increasing.

In my younger days I certainly had vehicles with LOTS of failure points that I used as daily drivers, without incident. I think risk analysis and risk acceptance are individual choices too.

 

[carldarl]

I understand many of the concerns with failure points but trust me,the biggest failure point I have to deal with is connected to the second stage end of my air hose. And that failure point I can work on myself.

With any luck I would have received my new Transpac today by UPS so I could assemble and play with it this weekend. But... as with most of my luck, it is now sitting in the local UPS warehouse scheduled for a Monday delivery.

I'm hoping to get a chance to use some pool time next weekend to sort out the new BC, new tank and new weight harness. Definately have enough new items to reconfigure for weight and trim.

Looking forward to it...

 

[Mandy3206]

I understand many of the concerns with failure points but trust me,the biggest failure point I have to deal with is connected to the second stage end of my air hose. And that failure point I can work on myself.

With any luck I would have received my new Transpac today by UPS so I could assemble and play with it this weekend. But... as with most of my luck, it is now sitting in the local UPS warehouse scheduled for a Monday delivery.

I'm hoping to get a chance to use some pool time next weekend to sort out the new BC, new tank and new weight harness. Definately have enough new items to reconfigure for weight and trim.

Looking forward to it...

Well?
Did you got it?
Tell us how it fits

It's cool to receive new dive gear!!............

 

[MSilvia]

I'll have to take another look at my wife's TPII, and see why I thought the velcro was load bearing. I'm glad to hear it shouldn't be.

 

[carldarl]

Well?
Did you got it?
Tell us how it fits

It's cool to receive new dive gear!!............

It didn't make it Friday and the tracking shows it on the delivery truck today. I came home for lunch (right now) in hopes it would be here but it hasn't made it yet. Should be here when I get home tonight.

 

[Mandy3206]

It didn't make it Friday and the tracking shows it on the delivery truck today. I came home for lunch (right now) in hopes it would be here but it hasn't made it yet. Should be here when I get home tonight.

The butterflies of anticipation......................