okay.. i've had my DSS rig for nine months now.. [torus26]
as said above.. the DSS is simple, designed very well, and has a nize low profile in the water.
however, last month, i caved and decided to try a halcyon rig [eclipse30] to see what all the hoopla was about.. suffice it to say, the halcyon was disappointing from day one.
'don't like the hole in the center of the halcyon harness which adds a quarter-inch in thickness before you even have to add the steel 2.5lb halcyon single-tank-adapter [STA].. which of course requires the bolts and wingnuts too.. add to that the heavy steel halcyon tank-buckles which can dig into your tanks.. [they do provide a couple extra halcyon tank-pads which loosely attach to the tank-straps, but that's just another thing to line-up just right, else the halcyon buckles will gouge your tank]
as for the halcyon wing.. i found it overly bulky [like a very lumpy awkward pillow].. the halcyon inner tube did not/could not lay smoothly inside the halcyon outer shell.. [it was like the halcyon shells were mismatched in size and not aligned properly before the dump-valve and inflator hose were seated]
lol.. while you may not save all
that much money on not having to replace the harness.. it still can save you time and effort..
i know folks on island who've had their halcyon harness rip behind the shoulder.. in fact i've only had my halcyon for a couple months and it too is already showing wear and tear on the harness behind the shoulder.. the reason.. the shoulder harness slots in the halcyon back-plate are only cut level with the plate which doesn't allow the harness to flow naturally to your shoulders.
on the other hand, the superior design of the shoulder harness slots on the DSS plate are canted toward the outside so the harness can flow wide up and over.. and the DSS slots have the rubber inserts which help extend the life of the harness too.. moreover, the placement of the DSS harness-slots doesn't require a hole in the center of the hog harness.
for me, the simplicity of the DSS stems a lot from not needing a STA. the DSS only requires the tank-straps slid directly through the backplate.. then the straps are fit through the large windows in the low-profile wing.. done.
i discovered the true genius of the DSS backplate when i started diving doubles.. the multiple holes to mount the tank-bolts and the oversized lower bolt holes which allow for doubles tank-bands which weren't aligned exactly 11 inches on-center [borrowed tanks
] while i realize the multiple holes allow for the DSS derlin-thumbwheels-and-retainer.. they also allow you to adjust the DSS backplate up and down to fine-tune your forward and aft trim without having to move your tank-bands or add trim-weights.. plus, when you replace the wingnuts with the DSS thumbwheels-and-retainer.. you'll never have to chase wingnuts around the deck
props to DSS and tobin.. thanks for great ergonomic products!