Looking to upgrade from current bc to a backplate and wing. Have been looking at the halcyon infinity, i like all of the features,but they are a little pricy. As most of me diving is done in southern ontario with the occasional trip south, just wondering if i need all the bells and whistles of the infinity including the pad, or if i should save my money and buy seperate components. Im usually diving 7ml and in spring and fall full farmer john, will i even feel a difference having the pad through my wetsuit vs ss plate.i do not intend to dive dry suit so i wont need to make very many adjustments one set up.i plan to rent an infinity and try it in the next week or 2. Any advice would be great.
Fellow Canuck here, I bought the Halcyon Infinity rig a few years ago when I returned to diving after a multi-decade hiatus and have a few dozen dives on it, from the Caribbean to the St Lawrence. It is definitely a good system, very high quality, but as you say the blue H does come at a premium, and I find some of the items that came with my rig to be of limited or no use and inflated the price somewhat. (I got mine on a great sale, so I don't feel too bad about having overspent)
Assuming the Infinity system you are looking at is what I received, then it comes with a few items of dubious usefulness, to me anyway. On the plus side, mine had an SS backplate, which stays on most of the time, but is replaced by a cheap Hollis AL BP I bought to use with my 3/2 wetsuit. That's the beauty of a BP/W system, you can mix and match to your heart's content. Most of the time, I'm in a Fusion Bullet drysuit and a medium undergarment. My Infinity system came with the 6 lb.STA weight insert, which I use most of the time, so it's a great addition but comes off when I use the thin wetsuit. The back pad is one thing I have never used and sits in a drawer in my basement. I don't notice the SS or AL backplate pressing against my back, even in the thin 3/2 mm wetsuit, and I find the "storage" capability of the backpad to be confusing and hard to use. My drysuit has massive pockets on both thighs instead of small pouch on my lower back. I've used the rig with and without the shoulder pads, but most of the time, they stay on. They're a bit "catchy" when putting the rig on and off, but are fine once it's on. The other inclusion that sits in a drawer is the Cinch adapter, for supposedly helping with tightening and loosening the shoulder straps. I never found it to be as easy as it is made out to be, and I found it very sensitive to the angle at which you pull the shoulder straps, pull it at a slightly off angle and the straps grab and are impossible to tighten. I watched all the Halcyon videos a bunch of times and still couldn't figure out how to "Cinch" it properly. I ditched the Cinch hardware, stuck it in the drawer with the backpad, and went with an excellent and simple system from a company in Sweden called Agir-Brokk. They make a very simple set of steel loops and harness called the Harpa system which was a simple bolt on to the Infinity and makes tightening and loosening the shoulder straps a breeze. Works with most other BP/Ws as well.
Honestly, I would have to say that the blue H is a premium that just isn't worth it to me, now that I have some experience with it, and there are many other great BP/Ws out there. Knowing what I know now, and having a few inclusions that I have never used, I would have saved a few hundred $$$s and gone with a rig that, while maybe not as high quality, didn't come with things I never use. No matter what though , DEFINITELY go with a backplate and wing, and enjoy the freedom and flexibility. And I would also suggest that you give some more thought to diving dry. In our part of the world, it makes life, sometimes, a LOT more comfortable than standing around in a cold wetsuit. There are always a lot of great deals on used drysuits out there on Kijiji or here on SB ;o)
