Bought some new gear for the little woman. So far it looks great. Thought some may find this useful.
scenario:
the gear is for a petite woman. 5.0' 110 lbs. She's an OW diver with 25 dives. Since I introduced her to diving she has experienced launching lift bags, and exploring caves (sea caves) using a reel. She is extremely comfortable and competitant in the water, and so far has dove icy quarries with 0 viz, caribbean, and cali. She will definitely move into technical diving. Her first 20 dives have been with rental gear, the last 5 with an SS plate, continuous harness and wing.
The spec was to find a technical set-up that she would be comfortable with. I believe I met the goal successfully.
The gear:
Mares Abyss (MR22) reg. I love this reg and have dove one vigorously for more than a decade. I have Scuba Pro, and new Zeagle flathead ZX1 (Apeks) regs as well (love those too). The Mares IMO, is the most reliable, highest performing non-adjustable reg. I have come across. [For qualifiers, I ice dive and frequently dive below 250' on a variety of mixes].
I bought Cressie's SPG (mini) its small and cute.
The backplate is a hybrid using OMS and Oxycheq components.
The OMS wing is 45lb non-bungie single wing. The quality and durability is excellent. [I also have wings from Dive-Rite and Oxycheq as well]. OMS is nicer than the Dive-Rite and equivalent to the Oxycheq. It has an exremely tough nylon outter shell that looks impenetrable. If I were to be picky, the zipper (substantial as it is) could be given a protective flap (it is exposed). The corrugated hose does not have a built in exhaust where it connect to the bladder (a desireable set-up).
I also grabbed the OMS comfort harness. This took a lot of thought because I wanted to keep the harness as close to a simple continuous webbing as possible but add a touch of comfort. I am extremely pleased with the OMS comfort harness. The broad comfort shoulder padding is perfect. It is not plush at all, only adding some width the 2" webbing. The shoulder pads are pleasingly minimalistic and thin (3mm). They are firm (stiff) enough to keep the webbing in a nice "open" position for donning and aid in distributing weight from the webbing itself. It has nice velcro hose keepers that you can use optionally (I will use one of the two included). Comes with four two inch D-rings.
It also comes with plenty of webbing, lots of plastic three-bar sliders, a plastic buckle, and two plastic quick disconnects below the shoulder D-rings. I have replaced the delrin sliders and buckle with SS components and the disconnects will be replaced with a continuous "lower" webbing. I had looked into the "comfort system" from Dive-Rite as well (the Transplate) but I did not like how the shoulder webbing attached to the waist webbing (not the lower plate directly) via a creative angled slider/connector thing. The Transplate harness also has disconnects but due to the fancy belt-situated slider thing, the disconnects would be more difficult to eliminate. The OMS comfort harness webs through the backplate like conventional webbing. A superior design IMO. A chest strap and "disconnect style" crotch strap with a 2" ss ring completes the picture. Using either of these items is optional as well.
The Backplate is a Koplin via Oxycheq. Koplin makes a small sized plate (13 inches high) and is perfect for small torso's. It has everything a large plate has like perimeter holes for attachment points and a slot for a crotch strap. I bought one previously for my 12yo son and it is pefect. A standard size plate is over 15inches long. The two inches make a world of difference. The small plate weighs 4 lbs excluding bands or ss single adapter, and allows weight to be removed from the belt another goal saught. The only critique on the plate is the rather sharp corners at the webbing slots (webbing is cheap).
Finally, I picked up an Oxycheq thigh pocket (called X-Pocket). I love diving with a thigh pocket. Plenty of secure room and keeps the waist area super clean. Especially for those with tiny waists. The one I have myself is from Dive-Rite. I chose the Oxycheq version this time for one small but important difference. Oxy. has a very effective wide velcro cumberbund type closure that goes around the thigh. the DR uses plastic disconnects on two elastic staps (kinda messes up a great design). If you have large thighs, you would need to extend the thigh closures on either company's pocket. I am lean but weigh 200lbs (thick thighs). and have no problem with either pocket. Though I haven't experienced this, it is reasonable to consider the thigh closure could prevent drysuit air from circulating easily - not a show stopper by any means. The Oxycheq pocket also lays nicer do to the width of the velcro.
So there you have it, all for under $700.00
scenario:
the gear is for a petite woman. 5.0' 110 lbs. She's an OW diver with 25 dives. Since I introduced her to diving she has experienced launching lift bags, and exploring caves (sea caves) using a reel. She is extremely comfortable and competitant in the water, and so far has dove icy quarries with 0 viz, caribbean, and cali. She will definitely move into technical diving. Her first 20 dives have been with rental gear, the last 5 with an SS plate, continuous harness and wing.
The spec was to find a technical set-up that she would be comfortable with. I believe I met the goal successfully.
The gear:
Mares Abyss (MR22) reg. I love this reg and have dove one vigorously for more than a decade. I have Scuba Pro, and new Zeagle flathead ZX1 (Apeks) regs as well (love those too). The Mares IMO, is the most reliable, highest performing non-adjustable reg. I have come across. [For qualifiers, I ice dive and frequently dive below 250' on a variety of mixes].
I bought Cressie's SPG (mini) its small and cute.
The backplate is a hybrid using OMS and Oxycheq components.
The OMS wing is 45lb non-bungie single wing. The quality and durability is excellent. [I also have wings from Dive-Rite and Oxycheq as well]. OMS is nicer than the Dive-Rite and equivalent to the Oxycheq. It has an exremely tough nylon outter shell that looks impenetrable. If I were to be picky, the zipper (substantial as it is) could be given a protective flap (it is exposed). The corrugated hose does not have a built in exhaust where it connect to the bladder (a desireable set-up).
I also grabbed the OMS comfort harness. This took a lot of thought because I wanted to keep the harness as close to a simple continuous webbing as possible but add a touch of comfort. I am extremely pleased with the OMS comfort harness. The broad comfort shoulder padding is perfect. It is not plush at all, only adding some width the 2" webbing. The shoulder pads are pleasingly minimalistic and thin (3mm). They are firm (stiff) enough to keep the webbing in a nice "open" position for donning and aid in distributing weight from the webbing itself. It has nice velcro hose keepers that you can use optionally (I will use one of the two included). Comes with four two inch D-rings.
It also comes with plenty of webbing, lots of plastic three-bar sliders, a plastic buckle, and two plastic quick disconnects below the shoulder D-rings. I have replaced the delrin sliders and buckle with SS components and the disconnects will be replaced with a continuous "lower" webbing. I had looked into the "comfort system" from Dive-Rite as well (the Transplate) but I did not like how the shoulder webbing attached to the waist webbing (not the lower plate directly) via a creative angled slider/connector thing. The Transplate harness also has disconnects but due to the fancy belt-situated slider thing, the disconnects would be more difficult to eliminate. The OMS comfort harness webs through the backplate like conventional webbing. A superior design IMO. A chest strap and "disconnect style" crotch strap with a 2" ss ring completes the picture. Using either of these items is optional as well.
The Backplate is a Koplin via Oxycheq. Koplin makes a small sized plate (13 inches high) and is perfect for small torso's. It has everything a large plate has like perimeter holes for attachment points and a slot for a crotch strap. I bought one previously for my 12yo son and it is pefect. A standard size plate is over 15inches long. The two inches make a world of difference. The small plate weighs 4 lbs excluding bands or ss single adapter, and allows weight to be removed from the belt another goal saught. The only critique on the plate is the rather sharp corners at the webbing slots (webbing is cheap).
Finally, I picked up an Oxycheq thigh pocket (called X-Pocket). I love diving with a thigh pocket. Plenty of secure room and keeps the waist area super clean. Especially for those with tiny waists. The one I have myself is from Dive-Rite. I chose the Oxycheq version this time for one small but important difference. Oxy. has a very effective wide velcro cumberbund type closure that goes around the thigh. the DR uses plastic disconnects on two elastic staps (kinda messes up a great design). If you have large thighs, you would need to extend the thigh closures on either company's pocket. I am lean but weigh 200lbs (thick thighs). and have no problem with either pocket. Though I haven't experienced this, it is reasonable to consider the thigh closure could prevent drysuit air from circulating easily - not a show stopper by any means. The Oxycheq pocket also lays nicer do to the width of the velcro.
So there you have it, all for under $700.00
