Plate/STA selection??

[scubazach]

Hello -

I am getting backplate/sta. I dive in the chilly Northeast. I am not sure to get all heavy for a total of 11lbs or mix/match plate and STA. (heavy plate, light 2 piece http://www.scubaboard.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=18#sta etc). From the board I have read that many take weight off when going to a plate/wing. So I am not sure don't want to be overweighted. I am striving for a "balanced rig" When going tropical I will use aluminum STA and plate.

Looking at hammerhead plate and sta as well as Fred T
For now I dive single tanks. I am 5'9" and weight about 160
In drysuit with steel 80 in fw I use approx 14lbs of lead.

Thanks for the advice.

:06: :06:

 

[cool_hardware52]

Hello -

I am getting backplate/sta. I dive in the chilly Northeast. I am not sure to get all heavy for a total of 11lbs or mix/match plate and STA. (heavy plate, light 2 piece http://www.scubaboard.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=18#sta etc). From the board I have read that many take weight off when going to a plate/wing. So I am not sure don't want to be overweighted. I am striving for a "balanced rig" When going tropical I will use aluminum STA and plate.

Looking at hammerhead plate and sta as well as Fred T
For now I dive single tanks. I am 5'9" and weight about 160
In drysuit with steel 80 in fw I use approx 14lbs of lead.

Thanks for the advice.

:06: :06:

Hi Zach,

We make a SS plate that weighs 5 lbs (medium size) and we make weights that can be bolted onto the plate for an additional 5lbs or 8 lbs.

See http://deepseasupply.com/page7.html

and http://deepseasupply.com/page8.html


This allows you to tailor the weight to your needs.

You are probably correct to assume that your current bc is positive, even when the bladder is empty. Try this: empty all the air from your current bc and see how much lead you need just to sink the empty bc.

This will give you a good idea of how much lead you might still need with a given weight of plate.

You very likely might find that having some weight on a belt is a good thing for trim.


Regards,


Tobin George

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hello -

I am getting backplate/sta. I dive in the chilly Northeast. I am not sure to get all heavy for a total of 11lbs or mix/match plate and STA. (heavy plate, light 2 piece http://www.scubaboard.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=18#sta etc). From the board I have read that many take weight off when going to a plate/wing. So I am not sure don't want to be overweighted. I am striving for a "balanced rig" When going tropical I will use aluminum STA and plate.

Looking at hammerhead plate and sta as well as Fred T
For now I dive single tanks. I am 5'9" and weight about 160
In drysuit with steel 80 in fw I use approx 14lbs of lead.

Thanks for the advice.

:06: :06:

I have no experience with the Hammerhead ... but the FredT plate is high quality.

I currently dive one of Tobin's (DeepSeaSupply) plates, with the 5-lb plate weights and it's an excellent system for singles. The other thing that's very nice about his plate is the rubber grommets in the strap slots. I've put about 30 dives on the system in the past few weeks, and the harness straps still look brand new. That's not the case with other plates, where the straps rub against the metal slots and start to show wear in as little as a dozen or so dives.

I've also dived the DeepSeaSupply 30-lb singles wing, and it's an excellent performer. Because of the way it's built, it does not require an STA.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)