IST BP/W setup

[fishinfortuna]

IST just released a BP/W harness system, that is very nice. Harness, crotch strap, backplate, backplate pad with surface marker pouch, 65 lbs. double bladders with inflators, weight pockets and tank bands (for doubles). This is a complete system.

There are a few things the die hard DIR folks aren't going to like, but I think tec/rec folks will love it for the price.

I have put my hands on this setup and can honestly say, the quality is as good and in some aspects better than Dive Rite.

I don't know hard numbers for retail price yet, its that new, but its going to be >$1000.

 

[johnsub]

You can post some detailed pictures for those who are interested. That would be nice. And also, you could do a full review once you dive with it...!!

IST just released a BP/W harness system, that is very nice. Harness, crotch strap, backplate, backplate pad with surface marker pouch, 65 lbs. double bladders with inflators, weight pockets and tank bands (for doubles). This is a complete system.

There are a few things the die hard DIR folks aren't going to like, but I think tec/rec folks will love it for the price.

I have put my hands on this setup and can honestly say, the quality is as good and in some aspects better than Dive Rite.

I don't know hard numbers for retail price yet, its that new, but its going to be >$1000.

 

[halocline]

IST just released a BP/W harness system, that is very nice. Harness, crotch strap, backplate, backplate pad with surface marker pouch, 65 lbs. double bladders with inflators, weight pockets and tank bands (for doubles). This is a complete system.

I don't know hard numbers for retail price yet, its that new, but its going to be >$1000.

Why would the "system" include bands for doubles? Those are mounted on the tanks. Or are you talking about cam bands for a single tank?

Hmmm, $1000 is more than twice what I paid for my doubles plate/wing/harness, including weight pockets and a crotch strap. (That's about $5 worth of webbing and hardware, BTW)

 

[fishinfortuna]

johnsub: IST have the pics. on their site now. www.istsports.com We will be testing the middle of next month (Nov.).

halocline: the bands for doubles are included with the "system", bands fit 7.25" tanks. Sounds like you either got a smoking deal on your setup or built it yourself, congratulations! For the rest of us, the price of this BCD is attractive and the initial quality that I'm seeing is impressive. I know alot of people who have spent much more than $1000 building a comparable BCD, myself included.

 

[johnsub]

Once you do get to dive with it post your thoughts..! It would be nice to have first hand impressions of the setup.
I'm not diving doubles so i cant comment, but 1000$ do look much to me for this setup. You can get well named brands for that kind of money. Plus whoever dives doubles, would already have the bands. They are only useful for those who are about to start diving doubles.
Just my thoughts.

 

[Wimmeke]

Is there anybody who has already tested the IST-wing?

I'm thinking of buying the 30lb single-tank IST wing.

 

[lucca brassi]

I'm thinking of buying the 30lb single-tank IST wing.

Is that wing TRUE DONUT style ?

I have DTD RING 18l (30lbs or so) but is in reality HORSE SHOE style. Because it has only one back valve you need some manuver to empty it from air.

 

[japan-diver]

IST just released a BP/W harness system, that is very nice. Harness, crotch strap, backplate, backplate pad with surface marker pouch, 65 lbs. double bladders with inflators, weight pockets and tank bands (for doubles). This is a complete system.

There are a few things the die hard DIR folks aren't going to like, but I think tec/rec folks will love it for the price.

I have put my hands on this setup and can honestly say, the quality is as good and in some aspects better than Dive Rite.

I don't know hard numbers for retail price yet, its that new, but its going to be >$1000.

Less than $1000 I would hope so a BP/W with harness and set of bands can be had for a little more than 1/2 of that from most major brand names now. Dive Rite or DSS doubles wing with plate and harness for about $500 and a set of bands for about $100-$150 - who is paying $1000 for this?

 

[blee017]

$1000 for IST system seems steep given that Halcyon goes for about $700.
I dived DSS (deepseasupply.com) and HOG (see diverightinscuba.com) kits that cost less than $500 and have no complaints whatsoever.
Some retailers help you minimize customs-related costs if you know what I mean.

 

[mahjong]

Just a belated follow up on your useful summary below: The Halcyon wings are made of 1000 denier (Cordura) DWR urethane coated outer shell and urethane coated 400 denier inner bladder. From what I have been able to gather, 1000 denier was and might still be a Dupont made Cordura designed as an alternative to the original 1050 denier ballistic (which was and "might" still be mainly US made). These two I gather to be roughly comparable, with each having certain small pluses over the other--both good stuff, if bought from reputable manufacturers. The 1680 denier was originally an Asia-made less expensive, inferior alternative to the 1050 denier ballistic.

An important factor, however, is urethane coating, which adds considerable durability. I am not absolutely certain, but I believe most of these fabrics come from the factory with a minimal coating, while only Halcyon and OMS have a more robust amount of the coating. I have personally examined a bunch of wings and have found that only the Halcyon and OMS wings have a very noticeable amount of urethane coating on the underside of their outer shell fabrics (one wing I have not examined on the inside is the Oxycheq, but if you go with their Extreme wing, then urethane undercoating might be redundant). The nicely designed and very reasonably priced HOG wing, for example, has no noticeable urethane coating on the underside of its 1680 outer shell, hence the lower price point. The newer OMS 32# single tank wings use 1680 with a (thin, thinner at least than is found on their other wings) urethane coating (all other OMS wings use 1000 denier with a thicker urethane coating), while the older OMS 32# wing (the ones with the urethane rubber inner bladder instead of the nylon bladder found on the newer ones) I believe used either the 1000 or 1050 (with a urethane coating).

In short, 1050 ballistic and 1000 cordura are generally superior to 1680, but then you also need to consider the urethane coating and the composition of the inner bladder. So a generously urethane coated 1680 might be fine, esp if covering a urethane coated 200 denier (eg, OMS 32#) or extra thick (22 or 25 mil) urethane rubber inner bladder. Perhaps the most run-of-the-mill combo might be an ordinary 1680 with an ordinary (12 or 15 mil) rubber inner bladder (eg, Dive Rite)--but even this works just fine for most applications.

From only looking at the pictures (and that is an important note), it does look like the LPI appears 'plastic-y' and low quality.

Below is a comparison of fabrics. You can see that IST use the same specification fabric as Halcyon. However, as any tailor can tell you... the quality comes with the stitching, not the fabric!

IST Fabric
Outer - 1680 denier ballistic nylon
Inner Air Cell - 420 denier TPU material

Halcyon Fabric
Outer - 1680-denier ballistic nylon
Inner Air Cell - 420 denier material

OMS Fabric
Outer - 1000 denier nylon, backed with 5 to 6 oz. of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU)
Inner Air Cell - 200 denier Nylon fabric backed with .12 mm of TPU

Oxycheq Fabric
Outer - 1000 Denier Cordura with 5 ounces of Urethane
Inner Air Cell - 26.5 Mil (thicker than water bed)

Diverite Fabric
Outer - 1680 or 1000 Denier Ballistic Nylon
Inner Air Cell - 15-mil polyether aromatic polyurethane