poseidon

[Irregular]

I am thinking of buying a Poseidon BeaSea W50 or W100. Anyone have any experience, thoughts, or opinions? I plan to dive doubles in the future, but just singles for now. I was thinking of the W50 now and just getting the larger wing later since the 50 would save weight when flying.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

From what I understand, although I have not dove them myself, the Bee Seas's are slightly above average in the water, although the wings tend to be quite large on most models, but have a top of the line comfort level out of the water. So keep that in mind especially if you have long surface walks or hikes prior to the dive.

 

[O.M.O.H.]

Not too long ago there was a pretty heated discussion about the BeSea. here is the link: http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=137914

My LDS sells a few of them and most who i know who dive them love them. Some people hate them, but this mostly due to the fact that it needs to be properly (sometimes professionally) set up. But if it is done right it is one of the most comfortable sstems out there.

 

[inked_diver]

howdy,
I currently dive the Beasea W50, which if you are drysuit diving is more than enough for singles or doubles. I like this BC. It looks GREAT, but I am about to buy a more conventional BPW, and I would urge anyone considering this BC to do the same. Poseidon made a great effort, and maybe future versions of this BC will rock my world the way I wanted this one to, but its not all that. You are better off with a DiveRite Transplate, similiar in comfort, and much more easily customizable. Just my 2 cents

 

[Irregular]

Sorry- I need to learn to use the search function. Thanks for the info.

 

[O.M.O.H.]

Sorry- I need to learn to use the search function. Thanks for the info.

No need to be.. if someone tells you to use search function instead of giving you an answer ignore them.

 

[jeelan]

hi

ive got 2 Besea rigs - one for my single cylinders diving and 1 that is permanently set up for doubles. I use both rigs permanently mounted to the Poseidon s/steel plates which is about 8lbs - this works in my favour because in a traditional Besea i always had 6lbs in the trim pockets in the rear.

I love the way i trim in the water with the Besea - for the single tank setup i use the Poseidon W50 wing and for twins - i only use the Besea harness with a Dive Rite rec wing.

My "normal" BC is a SP Knighthawk i must say the Poseidon is just as comfortable in water if not more, and definately MORE comfortable than most "typical" style BC's out of the water.

the reason i got was that traditionally i've been quite heavily involved in design concepts for the outdoor industry (specifically to do with hiking/trekking equipment) and the idea of a SCUBA harness that actually transfers the weight of the equipment to your hips instead of the shoulders appealed me to a fair bit - i always wondered why harnesses arent made that way to start with.

I've also read many comments on this board about the additional bouyancy that the padding on the Besea gives you - i can tell you now i've not had to add any extra weight to my single rig than what i normally dove with on the Knighthawk. As for the twin rig - i have no weight on there at all besides the weight of the cylinders and plate.

I've attached some pics for you to look at - there are some modifications that i've done at home cos i've got a workshop in my backyard, but you dont really HAVE to do anything like that to mate the BeSea to the backplate.

Here's some pics of the single tank rig (Besea W50)







and this one's of the double rig (advanced harness w/Rec wing.)





hope this helps.

cheers
Jeelan

 

[Irregular]

Thank you for all of the input. I actually just test dove this set up and loved it, so I bought it from my LDS who made a KILLER DEAL on a whole Poseidon kit (BC,Regs, SPG, Octo). Heading to Florida in 2 weeks to try it all out!

 

[O.M.O.H.]

Jeelan,

Do you now if W50 will fit other manufacturers' backplates, i see you have one installed.

Thaks

 

[jeelan]

hi OMOH

The W50 wing is attached to a POseidon backplate - the lateral curve or angle on the plate is specifically shaped so the that BeSea harness sits flush - therefore you wouldnt be able to use a non Poseidon plate.

Also the wing has specific attachment points and the plate/harness has matching holes where the wing bolts on - none of these settings are industry standard.

As such, i dont think you would be able to use a Poseidon wing with anything BUT a Poseidon harness setup, however i dont see why you cant a NON Poseidon wing with the backplate setup.

If you look at the rear pic of the W50 setup that i've got, i use non POseidon Cam buckles - so if you have a wing with cam strap slots cut into it - like a dive rite travel wing or rec wing, there is no reason you cant feed the cam straps through these slots and squeeze the wing in place between the tank and the harness - i'm looking at picking up a travel wing just for this as i find the POseidon W50 is probably overkill for a single tank setup.

i've got some pics but they're on my home PC so i'll attach some to this thread when i get home to give you a better idea of what i'm referring to.

cheers
Jeelan