Harness/Plate-Thingy Question

[benha]

Folks,

Recently I was on a trip with a guy who had a single-tank, plastic "back-plate" / harness thing that he used with a wing.

It was a nice looking gadget - had sort of a molded, ergonomic design to it that looked like it would feel comfy and hug your back to keep things locked in place.

Of course, I forgot to note who made it and Googling around has produced no results.

It had a sort of "tortoise-shell" / camo pattern to it, and was a plastic/composite tank holder with a very minimalist strap system. Anyone know what that might be?

Thanks,
-Benha

 

[belgianbrew]

Is it this thing...

Aqua Tank Back Pack with Strap from LeisurePro.com

 

[Bob]

I dove with a couple in Bonaire a few years ago and they had a plastic BP with a wing. They were very irritating people and I never asked them about their gear. I haven't seen anything similar since. almtree: Bob

 

[belgianbrew]

It's rather old school isn't it? The only people I've seen using these are the antarctica divers who dive without BCs. Besides metal plates are not uncomfortable.

 

[Bob]

It's rather old school isn't it? The only people I've seen using these are the antarctica divers who dive without BCs. Besides metal plates are not uncomfortable.

Plastic backpacks certainly aren't new, they've been around for years and years. The ones I'm referring to, were some kind of retro rig. They had actually had a plastic plate and a small wing. The lady's plate and wing was pink, the man's was black. Like I said, I haven't seen rigs like this since. I would think they are excellent warm water travel rigs. almtree: Bob

 

[Tortuga68]

Sounds like the OP is talking about an oxycheq ultra light travel plate with a camo mach V wing:

Wings-Single

Wings-BackPlates

 

[Nemrod]

Those old plastic plates should be so common that you should be able to find one easy. They were supplied with a variety of scuba rigs including wings. They are comfortable and easy to dive with and will work just fine with many types of wings. I had a bunch and have given them away except for the two I still use.

This Sea Tec wing from 1984 came with a plastic plate:

The new Freedom Plate on my Mach V is modeled after the old plastic plates:

This wing, center, also had a plastic plate:

As did this early scuba Pro wing:

The plastic plates also show up on ebay regularly and are not expensive.

Wings and plates are not new and neither are single loop Hog harness, we just did not call them Hog rigged or refer to them as a wing/BP. The wing and plate go back to the mid 70s or even earlier.

N

 

[Nemrod]

Another interesting link:

Gallery of California Backpack Divers : 1999-2001

One thing, most modern wings are designed for use with two cambands and during the scubazoic we used a single camband. Additionally the plastic plates are often countour shaped to the tank such a modern wing like a Mach V may not sit in the groove flat. I have installed a STA on one and it worked fine but once I discovered my Freedom Plate, why bother, it is far better for single tank diving that the bent doubles plates you guys make do with, it fits nice and close and is comfortable due ot it's ergonomic design modeled I believe after this old Voit pack for the 50's and 60's:

And look what this brand new Oxy ultra light plates looks like:

N

 

[Bob]

Thanks N,
I was hoping you would add to the conversation as I consider you the resident expert here on retro gear. After looking at your pics, The plates I was trying to describe look more like the Sea Tec. Wish I could have had a closer look, but I didn't.
When I first started diving I bought a used Voit plate and harness, and a used US Divers DA Aquamaster. I dive the Aquamaster occasionally and it's still a very good breather. almtree: Bob

 

[Nemrod]

DA and Luis are more expert than me, several others too. If you want one of those plates you should scour local dive shops and ebay. They show up frequently on ebay often complete with the tattered BC they were used with. My wife has a old Sea Tec bc jacket and it has one of those "universal" plates in it. They are pretty easy to find often for free. They usually don't work all that great with modern wings due to the camband issue. I mostly still use my universal plates for diving using my various horse collar BCs.

You need to fix that DA up!

N