Review: DRIS 28lb BP/W System

[Deep South Divers]

Nice trim in pic #6! You look good.

Twin thumbs is a command - "End the dive," and an absolute. I'm sure you were saying, "This rocks," but just so you know some might be confused by that signal.

Ditto the info about the SPG location. It's too low when you're horizontal. Also, take the tank cam bands and rotate them as far as you can to your right side. This will help to "bury" the buckles close to the wing and avoid an otherwise nasty little entanglement hazard provided by the cam band buckle.

I find that diving without any wetsuit at all sucks... Even in 90* water, I stlll like the protection that a 3 mil provides from waterborne creatures. It also serves nicely as padding against the backplate, and generally makes the dive a whole lot more comfortable. They're cheap, too, and Rule 6 compliant... They just look cool.

 

[Sik_Z33]

Yea I didn't notice the d ring was too forward, I'll move it back a few inches and try it out there... I'll rotate the bands as you mentioned, luckily I've never been entagled in anything and I would like to keep it that way!

As far as protection goes I always carry my 3 mil wetsuit with me but only wear it when i have to (when its colder than 80 degrees)I like the protection it provides against abrasions and harmful sea creatures but I hate the way they feel.

Also I've opted to wait on retrofitting my hoses till I buy a newer reg set. I'm currently using an Aqualung micra adjustable... It works great and I have no real complaints but I know there are better breathing regs out there.

 

[Midge907]

Do you feel overweighted at all with your kit diving with no expousure suit? How about when you do have your wetsuit on, do you have to add weight? How much weight did you carry when you wore a standard BCD?

 

[Sik_Z33]

Yes I do feel over weighted with no suit/boots/gloves on, with my suit on I'm closer to where I should be weight wise. With my wetsuit on I don't need to carry any additional weight, on the contrary I think I'm a pound or two overweight still... I carried 8 lbs of lead when I wore my jacket bc. One mistake I made was I hadn't factored in the weight of the sta which is like 2 lbs negative I think...

 

[Splitlip]

Yes I do feel over weighted with no suit/boots/gloves on, with my suit on I'm closer to where I should be weight wise. With my wetsuit on I don't need to carry any additional weight, on the contrary I think I'm a pound or two overweight still... I carried 8 lbs of lead when I wore my jacket bc. One mistake I made was I hadn't factored in the weight of the sta which is like 2 lbs negative I think...

Gotta remember when you're switching to a bpw, there's a lot of inherent buoyancy associated with conventional bc's. Even your old DiveRite rig. So that as another 1 to 5 pounds to factor into your calcs. Best to do a proper weight check.
The STA in the pic is maybe 1/2 pound.

 

[Midge907]

Yes I do feel over weighted with no suit/boots/gloves on, with my suit on I'm closer to where I should be weight wise. With my wetsuit on I don't need to carry any additional weight, on the contrary I think I'm a pound or two overweight still... I carried 8 lbs of lead when I wore my jacket bc. One mistake I made was I hadn't factored in the weight of the sta which is like 2 lbs negative I think...

I figured that was the case. I agree that the STA is almost 2lbs, and the plate is suppose to be 6lbs. The total weight of the BP/W I believe came out to 10.2 lbs on the scale. My knight hawk was 9.6lbs, but took 4.5lbs to make neutral in the hot tub. I think I will end up being about 2-4lbs over weighted, but should be comfortable either way. Once I get back from my trip to Hawaii, I will be switching it over to working with my drysuit. I plan to build plates (water jet 3/8"s.s.) and attach them to the back plate.

 

[buddhasummer]

Your STA will more likely be closer to 1lb than 2lb.

 

[Splitlip]

Your STA will more likely be closer to 1lb than 2lb.

Right. My lightweight oxy sta ( similar to the DiveRite with the hour glass shape) is 12 ounces.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[chrpai]

I find that diving without any wetsuit at all sucks... Even in 90* water, I stlll like the protection that a 3 mil provides from waterborne creatures. It also serves nicely as padding against the backplate, and generally makes the dive a whole lot more comfortable.

I was diving my DRIS BP/W in the pool the other day with nothing but swimming trunks and the backplate felt perfectly comfortable to me. Also I prefer to have the least amount of neoprene needed for a dive due so that I wear less weight and have a smaller buoyancy shift at depth.

---------- Post Merged at 08:33 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:23 AM ----------

Yes I do feel over weighted with no suit/boots/gloves on, with my suit on I'm closer to where I should be weight wise. With my wetsuit on I don't need to carry any additional weight, on the contrary I think I'm a pound or two overweight still... I carried 8 lbs of lead when I wore my jacket bc. One mistake I made was I hadn't factored in the weight of the sta which is like 2 lbs negative I think...

How often do you go diving with just a t-shirt like this? If it's a lot, I feel that this probably isn't the perfectly right rig for you.

For me, well, I have a much higher BMI then you do. 90% of my diving will be fresh water weights where exposure protection is required year round. In this configuration I wear about 3lbs of lead in a cam strap trim pocket. Another 5% of my diving is practicing skills in the pool. I wear swim trunks for this so I don't abuse my wetsuit with clorine and in this configuration I'm clearly overweighted by a few lbs. The final 5% of my diving will be in warm blue water. In this config I expect I'll be either bare skin or just my 5/3 hooded vest if it's a week of diving. I'll probably need between 4-8 pounds of weight. So for me this is a good rig 95% of the time.

But if I was overweight on 90% of my dives I think I'd be getting an AL or ABS backplate (Zeagle Express Tech). Eitherway, I really do like my DRIS BP/W. What a good product and an all around great value.

 

[chrpai]

View attachment 124567

Ok, so this is an old picture but I wanted to bring it up as an illustration. DRIS sent me another strap and I've dove the rig about 10 times now. Today when setting up the tank the jagged roll-ed over piece you see sheared right off and the pin fell out.

Someone else replied earler that there just isn't much "meat" on that rivet and they are right. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have a good dive buddy (Sixx2Life) who's more DIY then I am and he's offered to try to drill out one of the holes to match the diamer on the other side and then come up with a pin for the latch. Anyone have any suggestions?

Otherwise I don't think there's much point in asking for another replacement of the same kind. It seems likely to just break again.

---------- Post Merged on June 28th, 2012 at 07:39 AM ---------- Previous Post was on June 27th, 2012 at 11:23 PM ----------

Update: Mike says they have only 3 reported instances. My two and a third. He also said they switched to highland straps due to supply issues and he's offered to send replacements to me. DRIS rocks.