andre14:
Hi,
I would be interested to know about people's experience with the Dive Rite Transplate with a SS backplate. I'm considering it as an option to migrate from my Mares Frontier jacket BCD.
Currently, I do recreational diving with singles 80 and a shell drysuit. However, I'm starting to move towards more advanced diving.
I'm looking for a rig that could be used with single tanks, but that could easily accomodate doubles when needed. I understand that proper wings are required according to tank setup, and that's fine.
Advice and experiences will be appreciated. Thanks!
--
André in Fredericton
I dived the TransPlate system for about a year before switching over to a standard BP/w configuration. I still own, and use, a TransPlate harness and DR aluminum plate for warm-water applications.
Overall, it's a nice system. And yes, the system will accommodate both singles and doubles, with some caveats ...
First, the harness ... I found it overall very comfortable and easy to use, especially for someone migrating to a harness/backplate system from a standard BCD. The only downside is that it's a relatively expensive harness (compared to the traditional one-piece), and can wear out rather quickly if you don't take precautions ... I wore out two harnesses in a year. The major wear point is where the harness feeds through the backplate slots, and you can take precautions to minimize this. Otherwise, it's a pretty nice harness for recreational and modestly technical diving applications.
The backplate ... I currently own backplates from four manufacturers, and the Dive Rite backplate is my least favorite of them all. The main reason is that the edges aren't as finished as on my other backplates, and tends to abrade the surfaces it contacts (e.g. the harness straps and the backside of the drysuit). I used a dremel tool to debur the edges, but other sources, such as Halcyon, FredT, and Deep Sea Supply, provide a more finished plate that does not require you to debur it yourself. Also, the Dive Rite standard-size plate is slightly longer than the other plates, which may or may not impact how it fits your body. If you do choose this plate for use with the TransPlate harness, I'd recommend using something like bicycle inner tube around the webbing slots to minimize wear on your harness.
Wings ... I tried out three Dive Rite "singles" wings ... and owned two of them. The
Venture is a nice wing, but was too small for me. What I found out was that although they are rated the same (30-lb lift) as the Deep Sea Supply singles wing, the Venture provides noticeably less lift. I like the overall stability and performance of the Venture wing, but would only recommend it for warm-water use with relatively small cylinders (and for a relatively small person). The
Trek wing is my least favorite of all DR wings. It's fairly wide and short, which isn't ideal for a singles application ... and it's too small to use with doubles. Although it's reasonably stable side-to-side, I found it more difficult to achieve proper trim than other singles wings ... it's doable, it just takes more effort than it needs to. I also thought it was the most difficult of all to properly vent on an ascent, requiring noticeable rolling because the bottom of the wing tends to "taco" around the cylinder. The
Rec wing is a reasonably good performer,when the bungee cord is properly tensioned. However, I would have to say it's a "compromise" wing that may be useable for both singles and doubles, but doesn't perform optimally for either. It's really a bit too wide for optimal singles applications, and a bit too narrow for all but the smallest of doubles cylinders (which tends to trap the wing under the cylinders, reducing the effective amount of lift).
I would recommend getting dedicated singles and doubles wings, if it's your desire to dive both configurations.
My recommendation would be that if you like the TransPlate harness, get one. Couple it with a DeepSeaSupply plate (it comes with built-in rubber grommets on the strap slots), and either a DSS singles wing or an Oxycheq wing. This will give you a really sweet system that you can "grow" with when you want to start diving doubles. If you get the DSS wing, you will not need a single-tank adapter (STA) for diving singles. With the Oxycheq and/or any Dive Rite wing, you don't have to purchase the STA, but it will provide better stability.
Oh ... and get the Dive Rite tank bands ... to my concern they're the best ones out there.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
