Optimal Back-Plate and Wing

I recently posted a thread where I discussed back inflates v.s. bp/w. I have come to a conclusion that bp/w may be the right way to go, but theres an issue. ALL the units that i have found are either way to expensive, to minimalist(in my opinion), or just not my style. I am looking for some RECOMMENDATIONS.
Please fill this thread with your bp/w's

 

Aluminum plate, 2 inch webbing, some d rings and a wing. Not much to it.

Grab one of Dive Gear Express' singles packages. They are inexpensive and you can adjust it as your needs change.

 

Well two of those look closer to a Back Inflate BCD than what most call a back plate and wing.

So first big question - do you want weight pockets as part of your BP/W?

The answer should help to narrow the selection.

 

I voted for Dive Gear Express as it was the least expensive and minimalist. Not sure what is wrong with a minimalist set up. Depending on the dive I might go even more minimal and skip the wing. Why take more than you need? Aluminum plate, 2 inch webbing, some d rings and a wing. Not much to it.

 

Minimalist isn't bad. I'm not a DIR fanatic, sometimes shoulder strap clips are nice, I love extra d-rings and sometimes pockets. But seriously a lot of the superfluous "deluxe" features aren't helpful underwater and just end up adding failure points, drag, slow-drying smellyness, and extra profit for the seller. Eventually you will drop a tank on one of the fancy sewn-in plastic buckles and it will suck to fix. There's a reason the super-experienced cave/wreck people dive minimalist rigs and it's not just masochism.

The Zeagle setup is nice.

Regarding aluminum vs. steel plates - do you usually dive aluminum or steel tanks? Wetsuit or drysuit? Do you normally carry much weight on the weight belt? Do you plan to travel a lot with the plate?

 

(e) none of the above (but DGX is a close second)

 

I’ll suggest a steel backplate instead of Aluminum.......if you are wearing a 3mil full suit and using an AL80, the plate will offset that positive buoyancy and let you only need a few pounds in weights. Gives you the full benefit of a BP/W......simple, uncluttered and free.

 

You could add another option, and that would be the Backplate and Harness from Piranha coupled with VDH Argonaut wing or DGX S1 Wing. Pretty comparable to the DGX Package but with more options on the plate and harness.

 

"Optimal" depends highly upon you and your particular diving. My optimal BP/W system isn't my dive buddy's optimal BP/W system, even when doing the same dives. I have two systems, for different dive conditions, one for tropical and one for cold water.

 

Another vote for the DGX.

I did my OW dives using an Aqua Lung Pro HD rental, which is a jacket BCD. I did not like feeling my waist compressed when I inflated the BCD. I then purchased a Scuba Pro Seahawk 2 which is considered a back-inflate. It felt more comfortable than the AL Pro HD, and it's a great BCD. I still felt like there was too much going on with the Seahawk: excessive padding, shoulder and chest strap adjustments, large pockets which were not easily accessible when the QR weights were inserted, 50# wing with bungee. I am now using the BP/W setup from DGX, and I couldn't be happier.

Also, my diving is in 50°F water, and with all else being equal except for the BCD, I had to use
- 30 lbs of lead with the AL Pro HD,
- 20 lbs of lead with the SP Seahawk 2
- 12 lbs of lead with the DGX BP/W

My 2 cents.