The quality of the gear is exceptional. The backplate edges have a mirror-finish, with no rough edges. The tank cam bands (or tank bands) have stainless steel cams that are made from a heavy gauge steel. Once they have been locked down, they are rock solid. You have to watch out that you don't catch your finger in them when tightening the bands as they really grip!
The wing is very tough, with an outer wing and an inner cordura bladder. It really is tough. The downside of this is that it holds its shape well, which means that it looks wide from the front when deflated. This is only a "looks" issue on the surface and has no impact on its performance during the dive.
The inflator is very solid, made of a durable plastic. It feels solid in the hand and is easy to operate. The inflate and deflate buttons are stainless steel and all the internals of the inflator are stainless steel. It is a piece of work!
The built in rods on the wing work well as a replacement for an STA. The backplate does not move at all relative to the tank once the cam bands have been tightened down.
The stainless hardware on the harness is pretty standard. The fact that the harness came pre-rigged was a big plus for me as I do not have anyone down here in SA that can mentor me on the use of BP/Wing setup. They really are rare down here.
The stainless knife looks like a cut-off meat knife (and probably is), but it is very well finished. You will probably have noticed in your investigations that most DIR knives are made by cutting off the end of a conventional steak knife. It really keeps costs down and makes replacing a knife simple and inexpensive. Why spends 100s of dollars on a knife that you may end up losing?
I can't think of anything else that is relevant about the quality of the BP/Wing combo.
If you do buy Golem Gear, remember to buy the backplate screws, as they are crucial to putting the combo together, but they are not included in the "standard" package.
As far as the STA-less philosophy goes, I must tell you that I am considering buying an STA to add to this rig. With the current configuration, the cam bands feed through the wing, around the BP spine and then back through the wing. So, if you want to disassemble the wing from the plate for cleaning, the cam bands have to be unthreaded first. I am starting to think that an STA would be preferable, as the STA complete with cam bands can be removed from the BP in one operation. But this is my personal experience and may have no bearing on the way you dive or work with your gear.
I think that the Golem Gear wing is a bit wider than the other single tank wings offered by Oxycheq or DSS, but I cannot feel this extra width during the dive. It is reassuring having the extra lift offered by this width...
I could not fault the quality of this gear when it arrived, as I cannot now. It really is well made. (I believe) It is marketed under the brand DIR-Zone in Europe. The service I got from Jakub (username lof) of Golem Gear was excellent. At the time I bought my gear (December last year), the Golem Gear combo was the cheapest on the market. The price I paid and the quality I got had no relation to one another.
There may be fancier wings on the market, but if you are looking for durability, Golem Gear is the way to go.
I must add that the gear offered by DSS and Oxycheq appears to be of an excellent quality too. I have never used their gear, so I cannot personally attest to it. I like the ideas that both of these manufacturers have implemented in their designs.
There, I had a lot to say, but I do not want you to make a decision based upon half a story. If you are moving to a BP/Wing from a conventional SCUBA setup, I suggest you buy some stainless steel boltsnaps with your BP/Wing, as you will suddenly need some method of attaching your accessories to your harness. I could have saved myself quite a bit of shipping costs by doing this up front.
