Mares or OMS - Cant decide for the life of me....

[lowwall]

We need to go back to the start. What type of diving are you doing? What type(s) of exposure suit? How much lead are you currently using on what type of BCD?

 

[happy-diver]

Yeah we need to go back to the start

At the dawn of time after the ice age when we came out of the ground, so no ice or sump diving
a lake or in the sea, in the quarry that could be me, a river in winter or summer, so a suit that suits
lead it's the lead that makes you go down, then up, not interested in the old when I want a new me

 

[ModularHippo]

I know when you buy your first gun, mountain bike, dive gear, etc. It tends to be like this is the only one I'll ever get, so I need to make the right decision....
But if you stay in the sport its usually the first of many,....
Good you are doing your research,
But don't get to hung up, first good choice is a steel backplate,, that will last you for life, (but I don't know how many backplates I have now)
Harness is replaceable and configurable,
( i am still changing mine and reconfiguring after 20ish years of diving).

Wing is where you are more than likely to change or get different sizes,
(I got a 60lb DiveRight classic was to big for what I needed at first, but I am very happy with it.. 18ish years and still using it..)
if you plan to dive single tank get a smaller wing, or PM me and I'll show you what I did to a larger wing,
When you want to go doubles either get a bigger new wing or you'll know someone that's selling a used one etc,,,,,

Oh
If you are long torso make sure you get a long plate,
makes a huge difference having the waist strap come off closer to your hips,
A real pain when its higher up...

Hi Rol diy, thank you for feedback. The point of different size back pates is really valuable as I am 6'4. Can see that you are in Ontario - did a couple of dives in Lake Ontario 20 years ago (around 2002) and enjoyed it. Remember that you around that time had a huge influx of a white clam that I believe was not native and had come in via the ballast water in a ship? Back to plate - Using steel tanks in the UK (not Aluminum) so maybe from that perspective I have enough weigh on my back anyway and can afford to go with a lighter material such as Aluminum?

 

[Shabaday]

Zebra Mussels....Lake Ontario now has excellent visibility for a lot of the areas

 

[Centrals]

A lot of divers in UK are using dry suit.
The warm water of Scapa Flow even in the summer is around 8C.
You are better off buying SS plate to compensate the dead weight you have to carry even diving wet.

 

[Searcaigh]

Just add here that two people I occasionally dive with are not to happy with the position of the X-deep inflator hose into the bladder as it rubs against their neck IIRC.

@hedonist222 care to comment?

 

[ModularHippo]

A lot of divers in UK are using dry suit.
The warm water of Scapa Flow even in the summer is around 8C.
You are better off buying SS plate to compensate the dead weight you have to carry even diving wet.

You are right.... Got one myself (although a bit to fat for it at the moment) and forgot how much lift it adds... Cheers.

 

[ModularHippo]

Just add here that two people I occasionally dive with are not to happy with the position of the X-deep inflator hose into the bladder as it rubs against their neck IIRC.

@hedonist222 care to comment?

Thanks Searcaigh as that info could b a game-changer...

 

[Shabaday]

Just add here that two people I occasionally dive with are not to happy with the position of the X-deep inflator hose into the bladder as it rubs against their neck IIRC.

@hedonist222 care to comment?

I have the XDeep Zen and for me the inflator hose was too short so I added a 22" hose and now it seems perfect. Could use a 19" hose as well. Stock it comes with a 16" hose which is way too short. Mine does not bother my neck now that I have lengthened it....on my XDeep Ghost I went with 19" hose

 

[Matthijs]

I'd skip the Mares and would go for an XDeep or Tecline instead. I wrote down my experiences with the Mares backplate in a different thread some time ago:

- the inflators are badly built, mine failed catastrophically when an o ring slid over a bolt, and my partners slowly leaks
- there are two positions for your hip dump for some reason. Only one of them is an active dump and the other has a screw on blind plug, causing a complete unnecessary failure point
- that failure point ends up mattering as well, because the thread they use for the dump valves is coarse and short, causing the dumps to come undone very easily over time
- in order to save money the inner bladder is the same for all their wing sizes. Since our wings are small, single tank wings, there is a lot of surplus bladder in there that sort of needs to fold in. This causes air pockets and makes it more uncomfortable to dump air than needed