Smallest possible solution for travel?

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Subcooled

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Location
Finland
# of dives
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I need something

- very light, very small, very minimalistic, very reliable
- with one bladder BCD (that works for ice diving as well - no freezing parts)
- with integrated/add-on weight pockets (never again a weight belt)
- single tank compatible

This should be a cheap and SMALL setup for travel, ice dives and cavern dives.

I would take it on a one month travel to Australia. Lots of carrying and traveling around, and my photo- and caving gear already take some place in my luggage. Hence I need something small.
 
I need something

- very light, very small, very minimalistic, very reliable
- with one bladder BCD (that works for ice diving as well - no freezing parts)
- with integrated/add-on weight pockets (never again a weight belt)
- single tank compatible

This should be a cheap and SMALL setup for travel, ice dives and cavern dives.

I would take it on a one month travel to Australia. Lots of carrying and traveling around, and my photo- and caving gear already take some place in my luggage. Hence I need something small.

I don't know about ice diving, but the Aqualung Zuma roles up nice and small and has integrated weight pockets. I tried one once and it felt great and I was able to trim out quickly with a single tank.
 
I bought the 40lb. OxyCheq Mach V Extreme for use in the Great Lakes and ice diving while using a wetsuit.
I started wanting the perfect travel rig, and ended up buying two complete rigs, because there is no reason to use a 40lb. wing in warm saltwater when I only need 18.
Good luck on your quest.
 
you are gonna need a ss backplate for ice to sink your drysuit, you are basically asking for something that drives a square peg into a round hole.
 
Ice diving is going to require a technical rig with redundant air and a very bulky dry suit with a lot of weight to sink. Fewer than 50 dives and you're already thinking about this?
 
Ice diving is going to require a technical rig with redundant air and a very bulky dry suit with a lot of weight to sink. Fewer than 50 dives and you're already thinking about this?

I did my first ice dive around #30, but I was thinking about ice diving before I was ever certified.


Subcooled, you really should consider two separate rigs. I don't think you are going to find the answer you want.
Research what gear divers take to tropical sites and cold water/ice diving and I think you will realize the difference in equipment. Just because you can ice dive with a Ranger LTD doesn't mean you will want lug it all they way to Australia.
 
I'm not exactly an old hat at this having less than a dozen dives, but I plan on picking up the oxycheq soft backplate with the 17# wing for me and the wife for tropical dive vacations. anything that requires more than that, I have my SS bp/w and harness, along with a hog wing.
 
I don't know about ice diving, but the Aqualung Zuma roles up nice and small and has integrated weight pockets. I tried one once and it felt great and I was able to trim out quickly with a single tank.
@Subcooled: Be careful about some BCDs that are marketed for warm water travel diving. The XXS/XS and S/M sizes of the Zuma only offer 22 lbs. of lift. That will almost certainly not be enough lift for ice diving considering the thick exposure protection (thick neoprene wetsuit or drysuit with warm undergarment). On the other hand, the ML/L and XL/XXL Zuma sizes have approx. 34 lbs. of lift which might be enough for you.

Given your parameters, I think a BP/W could work for you. The BP/W packs down small, dries quickly, and, depending on the backplate material used, can minimize dry packing weight. Get a wing with at least 30 lbs. of lift. If you plan to attach all of your ballast to the harness of your BP/W (you said that you disliked weightbelts), you might want to consider getting a wing with 40 lbs. of lift. The wing needs to have enough lift to do the greater of the following: (1) compensate for complete loss of buoyancy of your exposure protection or (2) float your BP/W rig at the surface without you in it.

That being said, one doesn't need to use a stainless steel backplate with a drysuit in order to be trimmed out properly...although that gear-choice does seem to work for a fair number of people. Centering weight above your lungs and along the spine can be helpful. Please understand that, with patience and properly positioned weight pockets, one can trim out well in almost any BCD.

FYI, many novice divers develop a dislike for weightbelts because they were certified in colder water temps, necessitating more ballast, and too much of that ballast was loaded onto a weightbelt. (Here in Southern California, I've seen some local divers wearing 20-25 lb. on a weightbelt. Yikes!) 6-8 lbs. on a weightbelt can be worn quite comfortably...and gives a convenient amount of ditchable weight (approximately equal to the weight of gas in a single tank). The rest of required ballast can be distributed in weight pockets mounted on tank cambands and the waist strap of the harness. Another very workable option is a weight harness such as the DUI Weight & Trim. Very comfortable IMO.
 

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