Asking about this one: Ultra Lite Travel Plate - the description says it "uses two cam bands" but the photo only shows one pair of slots. Does it indeed support two cam bands, and if yes, where does the other one goes?
Does Oxycheck Ultra Lite Travel Plate support two cam bands?
- Thread starter fatgeorge
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Two cam bands with an STA as far as I remember
gmerick
Contributor
I dive the UltraLite Travel Plate. Yes, it has two tank band slots. The plate itself is several layers of fabric, with no metal. The bladder is sandwiched between the plate and the cylinder, and attached with a pair of "sex bolts". The BPW "could" be used with a single tank band, but stability would be compromised.
I've rigged the plate with the "Speed Harness" which is simply a single strap with a cam buckle, and I added a chest strap as I'm a bit too wide in the shoulders for the setup.
I've rigged the plate with the "Speed Harness" which is simply a single strap with a cam buckle, and I added a chest strap as I'm a bit too wide in the shoulders for the setup.
I have been diving the Ultralight Plate since they came out. The plate utilizes two cam bands and I add an adjustable loop hanger under the top "sex bolt" or as some call them a barrel screw. The lower cam band goes through the plate and the upper cam band goes through a stiff piece of webbing that is essentally a built in STA. You do not need to add a metal STA. I suppose you could but there is really no point to doing so. The plate is quite stable.
It should be noted that these fabric travel plates are never going to be as stable as a metal plate like a VDH plate or Freedom Plate but they are much lighter and IMO more comfortable. They are intended for use with tanks that are not terribly negative such as the ubiquitous aluminum 80 or 63.
I do not rig my Oxy plates per the instructions. I add keepers at the attach points to lock the harness. I rig standard Hogarthian single piece harness. (
, I think I need some new cam bands, those are getting old) The plates rig out around 5 pounds depending upon the wing and hardware.
I am weight integrated. I use two cam band trim pouches and two QR dump pouches on my waist. It is important to install the cam band trim pouches such that they are tucked in tightly between the tank and the plate to add stability and keep the center of gravity and lift close.
Some people rig the Oxy plate with a speed harness with both sides points of the waist strap allowed to slide and some leave only one side loose. As I said, I fix mine at all four points with keepers.
The Oxy plate rigs light and travels well and is comfortable without a wet suit for tropical diving with a swimsuit and rash guard or wear a suit as preferred. BTW, I do have down in classified an aluminum VDH single tank plate. Being metal the VDH plate is more stable with negative tanks and slung pony bottles.
I have found my Oxy Plates to be comfortable and durable and enjoy using them for warm water and tropical travel. My three, one has a VDH 18# wing, one has a Oxy Mach V 18# wing, one has a VDH 23# wing and is my favorite. So much so I have for the time being temporarily retired my (rare) VDH metal plate and as I said, I have another nice VDH plate listed in classifieds.
Oh, in hundreds of dives, the only thing that has broken was the crotch strap attach ring which is Nylon. What happened is I was walking into the water (shore dive in Red Sea) and tripped and fell backwards hitting the bottom with my cylinder which shoved the tank upward to the limit of the crotch strap (ouchie) and then snapped the Nylon attach ring. This has actually happned on another of my rigs going into a pool, slipped, fell back on my rear end and popped that Nylon ring. I have since cut the plastic rings off and installed a stainless slotted ring for crotch strap attachment. Oh, one last thing, the Oxy UL Plate does quite well without a crotch strap, I should know.
One last thing, you might ask about why the harness makes a Vee at the top and tucks into the piece of webbing, why does it do that? Well, what that allows is shoulder strap length adjustment as long as you leave a little extra material in the harness.
It should be noted that these fabric travel plates are never going to be as stable as a metal plate like a VDH plate or Freedom Plate but they are much lighter and IMO more comfortable. They are intended for use with tanks that are not terribly negative such as the ubiquitous aluminum 80 or 63.
I do not rig my Oxy plates per the instructions. I add keepers at the attach points to lock the harness. I rig standard Hogarthian single piece harness. (
, I think I need some new cam bands, those are getting old) The plates rig out around 5 pounds depending upon the wing and hardware.I am weight integrated. I use two cam band trim pouches and two QR dump pouches on my waist. It is important to install the cam band trim pouches such that they are tucked in tightly between the tank and the plate to add stability and keep the center of gravity and lift close.
Some people rig the Oxy plate with a speed harness with both sides points of the waist strap allowed to slide and some leave only one side loose. As I said, I fix mine at all four points with keepers.
The Oxy plate rigs light and travels well and is comfortable without a wet suit for tropical diving with a swimsuit and rash guard or wear a suit as preferred. BTW, I do have down in classified an aluminum VDH single tank plate. Being metal the VDH plate is more stable with negative tanks and slung pony bottles.
I have found my Oxy Plates to be comfortable and durable and enjoy using them for warm water and tropical travel. My three, one has a VDH 18# wing, one has a Oxy Mach V 18# wing, one has a VDH 23# wing and is my favorite. So much so I have for the time being temporarily retired my (rare) VDH metal plate and as I said, I have another nice VDH plate listed in classifieds.
Oh, in hundreds of dives, the only thing that has broken was the crotch strap attach ring which is Nylon. What happened is I was walking into the water (shore dive in Red Sea) and tripped and fell backwards hitting the bottom with my cylinder which shoved the tank upward to the limit of the crotch strap (ouchie) and then snapped the Nylon attach ring. This has actually happned on another of my rigs going into a pool, slipped, fell back on my rear end and popped that Nylon ring. I have since cut the plastic rings off and installed a stainless slotted ring for crotch strap attachment. Oh, one last thing, the Oxy UL Plate does quite well without a crotch strap, I should know
.One last thing, you might ask about why the harness makes a Vee at the top and tucks into the piece of webbing, why does it do that? Well, what that allows is shoulder strap length adjustment as long as you leave a little extra material in the harness.
You might notice in my photos that one of my OUL plates does not appear to have a cam band in the provided slots. The very early OUL plates had a center slot and the newer plates have instead a set of much lower slots. I think the original plates may have been intended for a single cam band and that does actually work with the addition of the hanger loop at the tank neck for stability. Yes, a single cam band works. But, there are slots on that original plate under the webbing and of course the newest plates have the lower slots repositioned for the bottom band and the upper band goes through a slot in the OUL webbing that runs top to bottom on the backside of the OUL plate.
Side view, two cam bands and hanger:
Side view, two cam bands and hanger:
Thank you everyone for responses! I've received the backplate and it indeed has two pairs of slots. However the top slot doesn't match the slot in my wing, and the belly straps are too low (I'm 5"4). So it goes back to the store.
Gonna make my own soft plate over the weekend with right dimensions, this looks like a couple hour effort unless I miss something. Will share the design.
Gonna make my own soft plate over the weekend with right dimensions, this looks like a couple hour effort unless I miss something. Will share the design.
Just for future folks doing searches. The OP has a solution in mind that will hopefully work out. My wife is 5'4" and the Oxy soft plate worked fine for her, perfect in fact. As to cam band locations, the center web on the back side should have had several locations to run the top cam band through. That web is so tight to the plate that these slots are nearly invisible. I have had no difficulty installing several different standard wings to the Oxy plates. As to the waist strap being low. That is why I fix all four points with keepers. If the lower two are left adjustable then the shoulder straps slip upward in the unfixed lower rings resulting in the plate sitting too low because the shoulder straps are now too long. I suggest if an adjustable strap is needed to leave only the left side as a slip fit and fix the right side. That way you can cinch up the left side to match the right side in length when the waist buckle is pulled across tight. Anyways, hope that helps some future soul.
Mares and Apeks have a similar soft plate if you can find one. These have upper slots that pass through the plate rather than the center web as does the Oxy. Otherwise they are pretty much the same thing.
Mares and Apeks have a similar soft plate if you can find one. These have upper slots that pass through the plate rather than the center web as does the Oxy. Otherwise they are pretty much the same thing.
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