Suggestion for a BP/W setup that can carry me for the future

[Manatee Diver]

I am not sure, I do not have the VDH aluminum plate not rigged but I recall well under a pound.

A standard AL plate is about 2lbs. A lightened AL plate, like from Mares is about 1.5lbs. Ti plates have about the same weight for the same thickness as AL plates. The Halcyon CF plate is 1.1lbs for the standard size. The Chinese knock offs of the XDeep ghost (originally made for an Aussie dive shop) is less than a pound, but they are dog bone, lightened, and made out of a different grade of AL; they are probably the lightest plate you can get made out of metal. I probably wouldn't use it for doubles, but considering that people make plates out of Delrin, cutting boards, and the like it is probably good enough for single tank use.

 

[Nemrod]

A standard AL plate is about 2lbs. A lightened AL plate, like from Mares is about 1.5lbs. Ti plates have about the same weight for the same thickness as AL plates. The Halcyon CF plate is 1.1lbs for the standard size. The Chinese knock offs of the XDeep ghost (originally made for an Aussie dive shop) is less than a pound, but they are dog bone, lightened, and made out of a different grade of AL; they are probably the lightest plate you can get made out of metal. I probably wouldn't use it for doubles, but considering that people make plates out of Delrin, cutting boards, and the like it is probably good enough for single tank use.

Thanks for the info. I have seen a couple of those "China" plates, do you have any info on how they hold up in use?

The VDH plate is much lighter because it is flat and very small. They are well under a pound bare. Back to the China plates, they seem to be anodized, at least the one I saw appeared to be?

I try to support local businesses and democracies wherever they are located whenever possible but if the quality is there I would consider a China made plate.

My VDH plate (lol, the Calypso was replaced with a Core second stage):

Go light or go home, my VDH and Oxy UL:

My wife's VDH plate and her new Oxy Ultra Lite I am rigging for her, every ounce counts if I am carrying it :

James

 

[Manatee Diver]

Thanks for the info. I have seen a couple of those "China" plates, do you have any info on how they hold up in use?

Back to the China plates, they seem to be anodized, at least the one I saw appeared to be?

I try to support local businesses and democracies wherever they are located whenever possible but if the quality is there I would consider a China made plate.

I honestly don't know, I've had it on my wishlist for a while but I've never pulled the trigger. But if you can make a "plate" out of Delrin or a cutting board as long as they aren't using pot metal it will probably be fine for singles.

Now if XDeep made the Ghost plate, that is the inspiration for the knockoff, but with standard webbing slots I would probably pony up the cash to support somewhere other than China. But XDeep insists on their unique webbing setup.

 

[elan]

Thanks for the info. I have seen a couple of those "China" plates, do you have any info on how they hold up in use?

The VDH plate is much lighter because it is flat and very small. They are well under a pound bare. Back to the China plates, they seem to be anodized, at least the one I saw appeared to be?

I try to support local businesses and democracies wherever they are located whenever possible but if the quality is there I would consider a China made plate.

My VDH plate (lol, the Calypso was replaced with a Core second stage):

View attachment 681111

Go light or go home, my VDH and Oxy UL:

View attachment 681113

My wife's VDH plate and her new Oxy Ultra Lite I am rigging for her, every ounce counts if I am carrying it :

View attachment 681112



James

So, James, is VDH plate tailored for a DH diving ? or its just a generic plate. I am going to assemble a set of 72 with the central outlet manifold to dive my RAM and now thinking what plate to use to dive them in 5mm in summer. I want to stay wingless possibly. OP I apologize for hijacking your topic, but DH diving could be considered a progression as well

 

[happy-diver]

A Freedom Plate works with two tanks

 

[Nemrod]

So, James, is VDH plate tailored for a DH diving ? or its just a generic plate. I am going to assemble a set of 72 with the central outlet manifold to dive my RAM and now thinking what plate to use to dive them in 5mm in summer. I want to stay wingless possibly. OP I apologize for hijacking your topic, but DH diving could be considered a progression as well

Elan, it is my understanding that Luis, sorry Luis, not meaning to speak for you, did design the plate to be a universal plate facilitating both the use of double hose regulators and single hose with a single tank. The cut out makes plenty of room for single hose regulators turret down for those with a turret who like it down and since the plate is flat it sets the tank very close to the back which lowers the center of gravity and results in a very stable platform regardless of regulator type. I assure you, my wife will not part with her AL Legend for a double hose regulator yet she loves her VDH plate which she confiscated from me and I have been trying to lure/coax her into the Oxy plate with no success!

The VDH plate as it is now is not fully Hog in that it uses a split webbing rather than a single piece, other than that, functionally it is Hogarthian. I think there is an updated version that might use a single piece of webbing but I cannot say. The tri-glides that lock the harness in place can be turned sideways and the webbing removed without unthreading for replacement or adjustment free of the plate easily.

Yes, there are folks diving twinsets on the VDH plate but I am not one. I too have a Freedom Plate and it is my favorite temperate water singles plate with an Oxy 30# Mach V wing but being stainless steel it got booted from my warm water travel kit. N

 

[LFMarm]

xDeep Zen is great for singles and doubles. The Al version is pretty light and I really like the double D rings on the crotch strap that can used to attach the bottom boltsnap of stages

 

[jborg]

The Chinese knock offs of the XDeep ghost (originally made for an Aussie dive shop) is less than a pound, but they are dog bone, lightened, and made out of a different grade of AL; they are probably the lightest plate you can get made out of metal. I probably wouldn't use it for doubles, but considering that people make plates out of Delrin, cutting boards, and the like it is probably good enough for single tank use.

For what it’s worth, I happen to have one of these plates and yes, it weighs almost nothing, and yet it seems very much solid enough. I’ve used it with steel 12L doubles during summer when it’s warm enough that I don’t need extra weights.

 

[admikar]

I use Apex BP/W and am more than happy with it, although it's simple webing without those weight pockets. One thing OP didn't mention is what kind of exposure protection is going to be used.
On the other hand, I would advise against Tecline set, due to wing shape. If that exact wing is going to be used, it seems it's designed to be dived with alu tanks, which have different buoyancy characteristics compared to steel tanks which are more prevalent in Europe.

 

[halocline]

You can definitely use the same plate switching from single tank to double tanks. Swapping out a wing and threading cambands is a very easy task that any technical (or advanced) diver should have no problem with.

But you might eventually want both a steel and AL plate (with harness on each) for different buoyancy needs. Drysuit? probably better with a steel plate. Doubles in warm water? probably better with AL. For single tanks, I tend to like steel plates for AL tanks and vice versa.

For air travel, the AL plate does save a few pounds, and you put a few weights on the cambands to approximate the ballast of the steel plate. It's not a perfect solution but it does work; I do it frequently.

But.....there is another wrinkle, which is that if I were advising a recreational diver on starting cave training, I'd probably say just learn to dive sidemount and skip the twinset altogether. So when you say 'technical' diving, you probably should try to specify what specific environments you are referring to.