For Sale Official Freedom Plate List: Please respond here.

[Eric Sedletzky]

a side question.
Is this the satin finish or the polished finish? This looks quite nice!

Will snap a picture w/ measurements later today when I got home! thanks so much for looking into this.

That’s the satin version.
The polished version is like a mirror, it will blind you, borderline absurd.
I tell the guys they should just buy a polished plate for their wives/girlfriends for St. Valentine’s Day because it’s like jewelry (better that jewelry).

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Yeah looks like slots were 11 inch apart so it fits.

That one doesn’t have cam band slots that I can see only grommet holes.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Like this...Peek a boo.
Those are the “slots” that the cam bands go through which go through the plate and around the tank. No STA needed with this system.
Don’t mind the beat up old Oxycheq, that thing has more miles on it than a ‘46 Ford.

 

[SaltyFrog]

That’s the satin version.
The polished version is like a mirror, it will blind you, borderline absurd.
I tell the guys they should just buy a polished plate for their wives/girlfriends for St. Valentine’s Day because it’s like jewelry (better that jewelry).

Yup i agree with you.

Please change mine to be Satin if not too late! Thanks.

 

[SaltyFrog]

Like this...Peek a boo.
Those are the “slots” that the cam bands go through which go through the plate and around the tank. No STA needed with this system.
Don’t mind the beat up old Oxycheq, that thing has more miles on it than a ‘46 Ford.
View attachment 651781

Yeah I'm aware.

I guess I like STA because I feel it's easier to take off for travel packing.

 

[sethw]

Hi Eric,

Please add me to the list for a medium SS satin finish and standard wedge.

Thank you!

Seth

 

[stuartv]

First, I just want to say that I LOVE the finish on my polished SS Freedom plate. I know it's silly and it's just cosmetic, but it just looks ... sexy! It is a thing of beauty. If you are the type that enjoys having someone notice your gear and say "hey, that looks really cool. What is that?" then you definitely should get the polished version.

But, if you're the type to buy a Ferrari and have it delivered in primer, then by all means, get the matte Freedom plate....

And about this:

If you are using a VDH, Oxycheq, or DGX gears single tank wing you do not need a wedge if you don’t want to use it. However the wedge is a nice accessory to use since it changes the angle of the tank and lines it up better with the straight axis of your body (helps keep the tank off your butt).

I just wanted to throw in a thought based on my personal experience.

I got my plate with the old rail. It worked fine, but I decided I wanted to try it with the tank closer to my body, so I took the rail off and did a whole week of diving on a Blackbeard's cruise with the plate, 18# VDH wing, and no rail (or wedge). It was great! But, I eventually realized that, while it felt fine, it was not AS stable as it could be because the bottom of the tank was actually resting on my butt. Gluteal Roll Control? Anyone? Beuller? But I digress...

The point is, the lower part of the Freedom plate was not actually touching my back at all. A buddy touch a picture and you could see a clear gap between my lower back and the bottom portion of the plate. The bottom of the tank resting on my butt was holding the plate up away from my back.

I got a regular wedge from Eric before I went to Cozumel for a week this past Christmas. That is The Ticket. You can look at it as holding the tank up off your butt. OR, you can look at it as pushing the bottom part of the plate into the small of your back. That is how it works for me and it finally made the Freedom plate a perfect fit for me.

I think this issue is likely to be the case for anyone with anything more than Noassatol. And even for those that have Posterior Kansas Disorder, if you're diving in flat trim and arching your back, you'll probably still find that a wedge will help ensure a solid and stable connection between your body and the plate.

I actually think this is an opportunity for people to really dial in the fit on their Freedom plate to their body. Try it. If your back is sufficiently curved in the lumbar area, the wedge might not be tall enough for you. You might actually get a better fit if you get a longer bolt and stack some fender washers or something under the wedge as a spacer, to create even more height between the plate and the tank. Just a thought there...

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

First, I just want to say that I LOVE the finish on my polished SS Freedom plate. I know it's silly and it's just cosmetic, but it just looks ... sexy! It is a thing of beauty. If you are the type that enjoys having someone notice your gear and say "hey, that looks really cool. What is that?" then you definitely should get the polished version.

But, if you're the type to buy a Ferrari and have it delivered in primer, then by all means, get the matte Freedom plate....

And about this:



I just wanted to throw in a thought based on my personal experience.

I got my plate with the old rail. It worked fine, but I decided I wanted to try it with the tank closer to my body, so I took the rail off and did a whole week of diving on a Blackbeard's cruise with the plate, 18# VDH wing, and no rail (or wedge). It was great! But, I eventually realized that, while it felt fine, it was not AS stable as it could be because the bottom of the tank was actually resting on my butt. Gluteal Roll Control? Anyone? Beuller? But I digress...

The point is, the lower part of the Freedom plate was not actually touching my back at all. A buddy touch a picture and you could see a clear gap between my lower back and the bottom portion of the plate. The bottom of the tank resting on my butt was holding the plate up away from my back.

I got a regular wedge from Eric before I went to Cozumel for a week this past Christmas. That is The Ticket. You can look at it as holding the tank up off your butt. OR, you can look at it as pushing the bottom part of the plate into the small of your back. That is how it works for me and it finally made the Freedom plate a perfect fit for me.

I think this issue is likely to be the case for anyone with anything more than Noassatol. And even for those that have Posterior Kansas Disorder, if you're diving in flat trim and arching your back, you'll probably still find that a wedge will help ensure a solid and stable connection between your body and the plate.

I actually think this is an opportunity for people to really dial in the fit on their Freedom plate to their body. Try it. If your back is sufficiently curved in the lumbar area, the wedge might not be tall enough for you. You might actually get a better fit if you get a longer bolt and stack some fender washers or something under the wedge as a spacer, to create even more height between the plate and the tank. Just a thought there...

There’s also nothing stopping a person from creating their own “super tall” wedge by going to the place that sells stainless and picking up a foot or so of 1/8” or 1/4” 2” square tube and cutting their own. After buying the foot, paying for the cut charge, figuring out the correct angle, cutting it, smoothing off the cuts and clean up, drilling it, buying the edge guards, you might realize that $35 or $45 for the heavy is actually a pretty good deal.
For those that dive with an exaggerated arch to their lower back hovering in the DIR skydiver position, considered perfect trim and textbook form, this would be a good solution.
However, I have to think of all scenarios and there are a larger population of divers who just cruise along horizontally doing a standard flutter kick with their legs straight back and their backs do not have this exaggerated curve.
There are also the old geezer divers who have lost their ass long ago or those that never had much of a posterior and a taller wedge would feel like the plate is being driven down into their lower backs. Some people use very large tanks and this feeling could be enhanced with a big heavy negatively buoyant tank.
So through all my experimentation I have concluded that the current configuration and hight of the wedge is about right as an average for most circumstances.
For myself, my dives tend to be more working and exploring dives in an environment that is unpredictable with constantly moving water with waves and surge, rocks, walls, swim throughs, etc. My body is in constant motion compensating, looking under things, wiggling my way through channels and cracks, hunting and gathering. My back is in constant motion and never static, always dynamic.
This is the criteria that I went by when I figured out the best angle to cut the wedge.

 

[stuartv]

There’s also nothing stopping a person from creating their own “super tall” wedge by going to the place that sells stainless and picking up a foot or so of 1/8” or 1/4” 2” square tube and cutting their own. After buying the foot, paying for the cut charge, figuring out the correct angle, cutting it, smoothing off the cuts and clean up, drilling it, buying the edge guards, you might realize that $35 or $45 for the heavy is actually a pretty good deal.

Definitely a good deal! But, are you saying it is taller than the standard wedge? I thought it was just thicker/heavier?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Definitely a good deal! But, are you saying it is taller than the standard wedge? I thought it was just thicker/heavier?

The heavy is the exact same shape as the standard wedge just twice as thick.