Lightest BP/W + Regulator setup (warm water)

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Or Cressi at 31.8 oz -
Cressi Ellipse Titanium MC9 Regulator - $289.
Thermosplastic shell instead of metal to get the weight down

"Compact Pro" is supposed to be an ounce lighter, a competitor to mikron. Unless you go for the "SC" version 1st stage, that adds an ounce or two.
 
My kids have Mikrons. They are good refs and nice & light. The wife and I both have 18# Oxycheq wings with travel plates. 4.5# with one piece harness and SS hardware. You could maybe reduce that by a couple of ounces with nylon hardware.

I carry on everything, including large Jet fins w/ spring straps and SP Mk5 w/ 108/156 seconds. Backpack is Akona Globetrotter. Total weight about 25#. If you went with different fins and lighter reg set, You could get that down to about 22#. The rest of the family fins are too long to fit in the carry-on box so we still have one checked bag for the group.
 
Thanks everyone, this is VERY GOOD information that I am getting! I did some more research on the OxyCheq Ultralite backplate and there has been talk about it being too soft and not as sturdy, and the aluminum plate is worth the extra weight for that rigidity. So with that, I am now considering a Kydex or aluminum backplate. @Couv from this site sold a custom aluminum backplate that was like the OXYCHEQ SS Dogbone one. Does anyone make 1 similar to this? attached is pic of what I am talking about


I have read much about the Mikrons being a go-to for travel and that may be the choice. The Atomic T3 sounds extra nice but it’s also EXTRA expensive.


The fins I carry on are the ScubaPro Seawing Novas (Large). I have a 35L Minaal Carry-on backpack and bungeed at a slight angle so it fits the profile of the backpack. I fly from MA/CT and usually it’s Jetblue or United. I’ve brought this setup plus the Pennyboard Skateboard to both Cuba and Mexico as carry-on without issues at all. Its damn heavy though and pretty sure it exceeds the capacity but doesn’t look so because of the way I pack.


Now wing wise, there seems to be a debate about 18# vs 30#. As #1 priority is less weight and compact carry-on packing and #2 being POTENTIAL Northeast cold water diving, what would be the best choice? As a reminder, I just dove Cozumel with 3mm Shorty, AL80, and 7lb lead (not sure if that was too much/little but I had no issues under water and floating above)
 
the older bladderless wings are both light and have enough lift for some cold water diving, halcyon pioneer 27 and the apeks wtx3. the apeks is a bit wide and tacos worse in warm water, but has enough lift for a drysuit flood. both aren't as sturdy as the two piece wings with shells like the oxycheq though.
 
The travel plate is a little floppy. Aluminum would be more stable and would only weight a couple of pounds more. That is probably a good trade-off. The 30# wing is not much bigger than the 18# wing and doesn’t weight much more either. If you intend to dive local, the 30# is going to work better for you.

Regulator weight is kind of like bicycle weight. You can pay $X for a very good bike or you can pay $10X (or $100X) for a world class bike. If you look at the titanium Atomic regs v. the bottom of the line Z2, you are looking at 3 or 4 times the cost for the exact same performance. If you have the disposable income, knock yourself out. :)

If your local diving is in cold water, I would probably spend my money on a SS plate, the larger wing, a good diaphragm reg like an SP MK17 and a drysuit. So that is a several thousand $ upgrade package and not too travel friendly. You could always leave the drysuit at home and the rest would be fine for travel. You might not have much ditchable weight with a steel plate but that doesn’t bother a lot of folks. This would bump your travel weight up about 8 or 10 pounds.

Also, the amount of weight you need is the amount of weight you need. No one but you can really determine if is is too much or too little unless you are floating back to the surface or plowing through the water, feet down, and roto-tilling the bottom. Then everyone can tell you’re off.
 
the older bladderless wings are both light and have enough lift for some cold water diving, halcyon pioneer 27 and the apeks wtx3. the apeks is a bit wide and tacos worse in warm water, but has enough lift for a drysuit flood. both aren't as sturdy as the two piece wings with shells like the oxycheq though.

Im leaning towards the oxycheq 30# STA free setup, extra capacity in emergency, and cold water dives at home. It weighs 2lb 7oz.

Are there other wings that dont need STA and weigh the same or less?

Are there many old wings that dont need STA and weigh less? Would soft STA + old wing weigh less than the oxycheq 30#?


The travel plate is a little floppy. Aluminum would be more stable and would only weight a couple of pounds more. That is probably a good trade-off. The 30# wing is not much bigger than the 18# wing and doesn’t weight much more either. If you intend to dive local, the 30# is going to work better for you.

Regulator weight is kind of like bicycle weight. You can pay $X for a very good bike or you can pay $10X (or $100X) for a world class bike. If you look at the titanium Atomic regs v. the bottom of the line Z2, you are looking at 3 or 4 times the cost for the exact same performance. If you have the disposable income, knock yourself out. :)

If your local diving is in cold water, I would probably spend my money on a SS plate, the larger wing, a good diaphragm reg like an SP MK17 and a drysuit. So that is a several thousand $ upgrade package and not too travel friendly. You could always leave the drysuit at home and the rest would be fine for travel. You might not have much ditchable weight with a steel plate but that doesn’t bother a lot of folks. This would bump your travel weight up about 8 or 10 pounds.

Also, the amount of weight you need is the amount of weight you need. No one but you can really determine if is is too much or too little unless you are floating back to the surface or plowing through the water, feet down, and roto-tilling the bottom. Then everyone can tell you’re off.

Gotcha, most likely not ganna spend over 800 on reg.


What about harness. I read alot alot the simplistic HOG harness. Seems to be the lighest and easy DIY as long as i know how to run a sewing machine?
 
What about harness. I read alot alot the simplistic HOG harness. Seems to be the lighest and easy DIY as long as i know how to run a sewing machine?

Don't need a machine: it's a continuous piece of 2.5" webbing. Crotch strap is a separate piece and has a loop on the front (the waist ends of the harness thread through) but they're a) sold with loop made already, or b) you can make the loop with a slider or c) mine's glued with either shoe goo or sole repair, I forget which (the factory-made loop was a bit tight and I didn't feel like stitching).
 
2” webbing. :)

That is what I have always used and never had a problem. Also, use the soft webbing for the crotch strap. The stiff stuff would probably chaffe really badly.
 

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