Finally got my BCD (DSS)

[Slym]

So my dive shop finally got my Deep Sea Supply bcd in. I spoke with Tobin prior to ordering it and got what he suggested. Its a 35 pound Torus wing with Large backplate.

So far the quality seems pretty good! Stiff webbing and a soft crotch strap, the wing feels thick and looks pretty nice! the backplate doesn't have any sharp edges and I quite like the grommets that hold the webbing in place!

One thing I would say is that the instructions that came with the package are a little bit hard to follow, the descriptions are alright, but it is black and white pictures that are a bit hard to see. Thankfully though, DSS has all sorts of stuff online that is in color and even some videos. That helped quite a bit. Also the set came with some string... anybody know what it is for?

Also I am having an incredible time with the tank buckles no video or aid can help me lol quite thrown off without the tank.

Can't wait to get it wet!


Edit: Well I'm a dunce lol just figured out the cam band

 

[Slym]

Alright, so after getting it all together and playing around for the last 30 minutes (without a tank) I think I will be quite happy with this bcd.

Few things I have noticed VS the Halcyon Eclipse I have been using from my dive shop:

First:
Halcyon has a longer LP inflator hose and it is secured to the shoulder strap by bungees
vs
DSS has a short LP inflator with nothing securing it (except I presume the LP hose from the 1st stage, tucked under the inner tube above the inflator... correct me if I am wrong)

Since I am a tall guy I found that I cannot release air the same way I did with the Halcyon (which was a poor way of lazily dumping it in front of me with some success), but now will have to reach it up beside my head which I think might be more effective.

Second:
Halcyon comes with weight pockets
vs
DSS does not (but it does come with a knife)

I never liked the weight pockets, I am 160 pounds wet but am pretty tall at 6'1". So the space on my waist is valuable real estate. I plan on fixing this issue by adding trim pockets, I will have to work out my weight when I hit the water. I need 16 total roughly to sink. Also, without the weight pockets to tuck my long hose under, I am going to try tucking it under the knife that came with the bcd.

Finally:
Halcyon comes with an STA also had the extra weight of 6 pounds under it
vs
DSS no STA (optional weight plates)

So this kinda is an extension of the last point, the bcd weight of the halcyon was nice I really didn't need to carry much with me as rig weighted 12 pounds alone. Also my dive shop was saying how I would NEED an STA to keep my tank nice. but the DSS has wedge blocks on the back that compress against the backplate it looks like and a "cradle" on the wing itself. So we will see how that goes. Every post I have seen Tobin post about that topic, he seems confident in his product so I don't doubt it.

So that is my first impression we will see what I think on Sunday when I get it we, pictures to come!!!

 

[Neilwood]

The benefit of the lack of STA is your tank will sit closer to your plate which will make things more stable.

 

[Slym]

Nice! now for the trim pockets would they be better attached to the cam bands or attaching somewhere to the plate? I might try making something up in SolidWorks like the weight plates DSS sells, could be a fun little project... advantage being I can fine tune the weight to exactly what I need.

 

[RandomGuy1]

Since I am a tall guy I found that I cannot release air the same way I did with the Halcyon (which was a poor way of lazily dumping it in front of me with some success), but now will have to reach it up beside my head which I think might be more effective.

Use the rear dump when in horizontal position. I rarely if ever use the dump on the inflator. The best technique I have found for me is to reach back with my left hand and use a finger to circle the dump valve and find the pull, then lift up toward the surface. The tendency for some folks is to try and pull the string down, which causes it not to dump well.

 

[Slym]

lol funny you mention wrapping your finger around the string, just last wednesday, my dump valve string broke on the rental and I had no knob to pull on, ended up doing what you said.

 

[bryanmc57]

The weight plates are worth every penny. You said you need 16 lbs of ballast (I'm assuming your regs are not included in this figure). You backplate is 5.8 lbs, the weight plates are 8.1 so that leaves you just a tad shy of 14 lbs. You can use lead to "fine tune" from there if need be and it's no big thing to just thread a 2 lb weight onto a cam band (outside the buckle and the velcro will keep it in place).

 

[Slym]

No, I haven't counted my regs or anything extra, so fine tuning with a few 1 pound or 2 pound weights would be awesome! I'll see what my needs are when I hit the water this Sunday.

 

[StefinSB]

Stuff your long hose under the waist strap on the right side.

 

[cool_hardware52]

lol funny you mention wrapping your finger around the string, just last wednesday, my dump valve string broke on the rental and I had no knob to pull on, ended up doing what you said.

Not going to happen with a DSS OPV. We make our own. The main problem with the industry standard OPV is there is insufficient space in the soft seat retainer to allow for a complete knot on thicker cord.

We fixed that. DSS OPV's are equipped with 3mm kermantle cord and all of the internals were designed to work with this heavier cord.

"Standard" seat retainer Note larger cord with know will not fit in the small relief.

DSS Seat retainer with larger recess

Altering the geometry of the seat retainer also required a redesign of the entire OPV, but changing to a thicker cord that requires a tiny melted blob on the end of the cord to fit inside a small seat retainer was something I wanted to avoid.

Tobin