I have to agree with the other posters. Seriously consider a bp/wing. I have gone through a lot of gear in nearly 25 years.
I have a Seaquest Black Diamond that is gathering dust because my LDS no longer carries that brand and would prefer that I teach in one of the lines they carry.
On my personal trips diving in warm water I wear a Dive Rite plastic bp and a 35 lb. wing along with a dive reel on my left hip and a lift back rolled up and tucked at my back. This is an idea balance as I use no weight diving in a 3mm wetsuit.
On the third day of diving in Cozumel just last week, the divemaster asked if he could try my rig since his Seaquest jacket was way passed being worn out. We swaped underwater and I immediatley noticed that the jacket rolled left and right much more than with my wing. We were diving low pressure steel 120's which are about twice as heavy as an alum. 80. He liked the way it balanced and will probably get one soon.
When I'm diving in cold water I have a 6 pound SS backplate and wear 8 lbs on my weight belt to counteract my 7mm drysiut.
As far as the computers go the Oceanic line is a little more liberal than say the Suunto line. I have three Oceanic Data Max Pro Plus air integrated computers and a Suunto Vyper. The Vyper goes from green into deco while the Oceanic has two bars in the caution first.
Buy a good quality regulator from whatever source you want but make sure that you can have it serviced locally. If there is a problem it's much easier to cure in person than over the phone and through UPS.
If you decide to go with a backplate and wing you don't have to go over to the long hose 5' or 7' setup if you don't like it. Although I would say that most of the folks that that have gone with the bp/w probably use it.
Jim
Louisiana
Ambrose:
Hi all, I am trying to set up my first set and I'd like some advise on this please...
BC: either SeaQuest Pro QD+ or TUSA Evolution Plantina
Reg: Atomic B2
Octopus:Atomic SS1
Computer: either Oceanic VT Pro, Atom1.0, or Sherwood Wisdom
I've already got all of the other things that I need. I also thought about getting a safe air pony bottle, but was not sure about the space it would take up.
