Sub-Gravity Paragon, DGX BP&W, Deep 6 or others?

[BeerNye]

After some annoying BC issues on a recent dive trip, I’m finally going to pull the trigger on a backplate and wing setup. Been debating between the bare-bones DGX Gears steel plate setup, or possibly spending a little more to get a Sub-Gravity Paragon setup. Would love to get a Deep6 BP&W (got to meet Landon, one of the owners, down on a dive boat in FL and he was a great guy, so would happily support his company) but they don’t have any in stock at the moment.

So at the risk of asking the same question in a different form for the 157,000th time on SB- does anyone have a strong preference for any of these? Is the Sub-Gravity/Deep6 worth the extra money over the DGX?

This setup would be for single tank dives in the Great Lakes/cold waters, along with some infrequent travel to FL/Caribbean. I’m a larger human, and with tons of neoprene I’d almost certainly go steel (even for travel.)

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. And if you wanna tell me to kick rocks, I get that too.
Cheers!

 

[landphil]

We have 3 Subgravity BCs and one pretty cheap HOG/Trianta setup; so, I’m pretty biased towards Subgravity. It’s definitely worth an extra $20 for a Subgravity backplate. They are super well made, with every slot and hole beveled and polished. There’s no comparison between the Subgravity finish and one of the generic backplates. Subgravity wings are like $200 more expensive than the cheap DGX wings; so, unlike their backplate, you may want to save some $ here. And 1 piece harnesses are all kind of the same, as long as you get the webbing stiffness you like.

You certainly won’t be disappointed with a Subgravity Paragon if you choose to get one.

 

[Asheron]

I like the DGX webbing alot more than the Subgravty. The subgravity is very very stiff and thick which is hard to work with.

 

[DiveFlag = Target]

Subgravity offers two weights for their steel plate, I think its 6 and 10lbs. If your in cold water it might be worth it to get the weight off your belt. Other than that all are from great companies.

 

[Badger7]

If you can manage the travel weight (and most can without issue), a 6lb steel plate can work great for both tropical diving in a wetsuit with an aluminum tank, as well as local freshwater diving with a steel tank and drysuit.

Personally, I dive a lighter plate when I travel somewhere warm, not for the travel weight, but because I like to have a few pounds of lead to discard when wearing a wetsuit. I dive a heavy steel plate with single steel tank when diving a drysuit so I don't need any lead since the drysuit provides redundant bouyancy. I wear a lighter plate when diving doubles to maintain a balanced rig with all the extra brass weight required.

The brand of the backplate only matters to you and your taste. Virtually any modern 6lb steel backplate will dive identically. Same with any brand of 2lb aluminum plate, and any modern donut-shaped 30lb wing. Pick a brand / color that gives you a little dopamine hit every time you gear up, but don't expect any slab of steel or sack of gas to dive any different than another. Its all adjustable and interchangeable, thats the best part of a BPW.

 

[BeerNye]

We have 3 Subgravity BCs and one pretty cheap HOG/Trianta setup; so, I’m pretty biased towards Subgravity. It’s definitely worth an extra $20 for a Subgravity backplate. They are super well made, with every slot and hole beveled and polished. There’s no comparison between the Subgravity finish and one of the generic backplates. Subgravity wings are like $200 more expensive than the cheap DGX wings; so, unlike their backplate, you may want to save some $ here. And 1 piece harnesses are all kind of the same, as long as you get the webbing stiffness you like.

You certainly won’t be disappointed with a Subgravity Paragon if you choose to get one.

I think the leading choice for me is what you've mentioned here- Sub-G plate with a less expensive wing. Have some friends that like the DGX wing, it should work for what I need at the moment. Odd question- do any of those Sub-G setups have their adjustable harness? Curious about those as well.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[BeerNye]

I like the DGX webbing alot more than the Subgravty. The subgravity is very very stiff and thick which is hard to work with.

Good to know! It also helps that the DGX webbing is much less expensive too!

 

[BeerNye]

If you can manage the travel weight (and most can without issue), a 6lb steel plate can work great for both tropical diving in a wetsuit with an aluminum tank, as well as local freshwater diving with a steel tank and drysuit.

Personally, I dive a lighter plate when I travel somewhere warm, not for the travel weight, but because I like to have a few pounds of lead to discard when wearing a wetsuit. I dive a heavy steel plate with single steel tank when diving a drysuit so I don't need any lead since the drysuit provides redundant bouyancy. I wear a lighter plate when diving doubles to maintain a balanced rig with all the extra brass weight required.

The brand of the backplate only matters to you and your taste. Virtually any modern 6lb steel backplate will dive identically. Same with any brand of 2lb aluminum plate, and any modern donut-shaped 30lb wing. Pick a brand / color that gives you a little dopamine hit every time you gear up, but don't expect any slab of steel or sack of gas to dive any different than another. Its all adjustable and interchangeable, thats the best part of a BPW.

I think the Sub-G would def give more of a dopamine hit, and anything is gonna be better than the SeaQuest Malibu I've been using. Felt VERY floaty with it, and really struggled to get my trim in order without a LOT of weight (18lbs with a steel tank and only a 5mm wetsuit.) Even an AL plate is gonna help that.

I do like the idea of the heavier 6lb 6mm plate, but that might stick with a 3mm for now, just for the cost. Thanks so much for your help!

 

[landphil]

The brand of the backplate only matters to you and your taste. Virtually any modern 6lb steel backplate will dive identically. Same with any brand of 2lb aluminum plate

I used to think this too. Many plates are functionally identical. But some plates will have different strap slot and hole positions. My wife couldn’t use our HOG backplate; since the shoulder strap slots are around 2” further apart than our Subgravity plates. The straps were constantly sliding off her shoulders.

 

[Badger7]

My wife couldn’t use our HOG backplate; since the shoulder strap slots are around 2” further apart than our Subgravity plates. The straps were constantly sliding off her shoulders.

Fair point, that advice only applies to typical plate dimensions and typically shaped adult males. I was being overly general. Thanks. The other consideration is cam band slot position if not using an STA. Different brands vary their cam band slot position a little, and the same brand of wing will line up. Most of the chinese manufactured wings use longer slots so they line up with just about any backplate cam band position:

Some brands use a specific slot position and the plate and wing need to match:

And some don't use any cam band slots at all, requiring an STA, which will work for any plate/wing combo too:

The grommets are always almost exactly 11" apart though, so you can usually figure out what will line up just by looking at a picture and where the slots land versus the grommets.