Taking the Plunge (SCUBA gear setup questions)

[Knuckles]

I've been diving for the last few years in Florida, Costa Rica, and Mexico on rental equipment because I never wanted to buy my own gear. If I had purchased gear it would have paid for itself by now due to all the rental fees. I'm new here so I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section or if I'm asking the wrong questions or too many questions for one thread.

The following gear will be used for spearfishing in Louisiana and Florida. I've been searching around based on my needs and based on reviews from other divers. I already own the fins, mask, snorkel, belt/weights, knife, mako wetsuit (3.5 mm), etc. from freediving/hunting.

The following is the list of gear I plan to use (assuming correct fit). Please advise on any mistakes I may be making.

I'm 6' tall and 150 lb.'s.

1. Zeagle Stiletto BCD $522
I've also looked at the Zeagle Scout ($369) but the reviews for the Stiletto have been very encouraging. Any reason why I shouldn't save a good chunk of money and buy the Scout? Will I need the extra lift for cold weather diving? I don't want extra bulk and I only need 2 small pockets. Last time I dove in my wetsuit in the fall in the Gulf I had 12 pounds on the belt; is that too much to put in the Scout's rear pockets?

2. Octo-Z Alternate Air Source $230
Sold on the idea of not having an extra hose. Any reason I shouldn't?

3. 45 Inch Dive Signal Tube (orange safety sausage) and whistle

4. Dive-Rite 1' (2.5 cm) Crotch Strap with Circular Ring

5. Genesis CG5336 200ft. In-Line Console $145
(Depth gauge, pressure gauge, compass, hose and rubber boot) I'll be using a dive computer and I'd like a cheap, proven back-up that doesn't require batteries. Any better one for the price?

6. Computer and Transmitter
-Needs alarm, backlight, usb/PC availability, and needs to be showing the following during the dive without requiring any button pushing (PSI, Dive Time, Feet/Depth, and No Deco time)

I've never used a dive computer before and don't know much. Looking at an Oceanic VT3 (preferred) and an Aeris Elite.

7. Lastly, the regulator. Never had a preference when renting or could honestly tell that much of a difference. Based on reviews the following are on my radar:
Sherwood SR1
Oceanic Delta 4 FDX10
Genesis GS2000
Zeagle ZX Flathead 7

If you've read this much; thank you. Any tips would be great based on the item being sturdy, light, and streamlined. 'Preciate it.

 

[JohnN]

. Any tips would be great based on the item being sturdy, light, and streamlined. 'Preciate it.

If you're looking for sturdy, light and streamlined, its hard to beat a BP/W and a Hogarthian long hose and a bungee'd backup.

If you're staying in warm water, a 17 lb wing should be more than enough, if you want to plan for cold water, go to 30 lbs. The key bit here is that you only need to change the wing if you don't like your initial choice. If you want really lightweight, go for an aluminum BP, otherwise with a stainless BP, you most likely won't need much/any extra weight (part of the 12 lbs you're carrying is to sink your BC)

If you've never tried a BP/W, try before you buy. But if you want streamlined, there is nothing like it.

I personally hate Air-2 / Alternate Air setups, that is purely personal, but IMHO you pay a premium price for an inferior solution. Again a quality bungeed secondary is more streamlined, is easier to locate in an emergency and just a better way to roll (again, IMHO)

I'm a HUGE HOG gear fan, quality is superb and an excellent value, if you go that route, you'll find quite a bit of 'extra' money left over to do more diving

 

[Knuckles]

Thanks for the response. Spent the last few hours looking at wings. I've never seen one before in the wild and would have to try one on, but they seem great for what I'm looking for.
Questions:
I pick out a wing without much lift, I choose a backplate, harness/straps, and put a pouch or two on it for knife/light/whistle/etc...
Why would I choose a stainless backplate over an aluminum if it weighs 3 times as much as the aluminum?
What about the soft, travel back plates?
Because there aren't weight pouches on the harness, do I have to wear a weight belt or do I put accessory weight pouches on the harness since the BC's do not come with pouches?
Is the Scubapro Donut Wing 30 pound a good product? I'm assuming that a Hog 23 with an aluminum or soft back plate would be much lighter and therefore require less carried weight?
When researching the hogarthian setup I noticed that many divers did not have an analog pressure/depth gauge; is this because they use a computer and find the analog to be unnecessary?
Thanks a ton for bearing with me and all my inexperienced questions.

 

[TSandM]

You have a lot of weight options with a backplate, but you do have to buy something. You can use a weight belt, weight pouches on the waist, or a weight harness. A lot depends on how easily you want your weight to be ditchable.

Whether you use an aluminum or steel backplate depends in part on how much weight you need to carry. If you carry significantly more than five pounds, then the steel backplate becomes five pounds of your ballast, reducing the amount you need to put on a belt or in pouches.

How much lift you need in a wing depends on how much lift your exposure protection can lose, and how much of your weight you have attached to your rig. If, for example, you are diving an Al80 with a steel backplate, and a 3 mil suit, your rig is at worst about 6 or 8 pounds negative, and your suit can't even lose that much, so a very small wing is all you need (maybe as little as 17 lbs or so). On the other hand, if you are diving 5 or 7 mils of neoprene AND putting your weights on your cambands or waist straps, you're going to need a good deal more lift.

Even in cold water, most people don't need more than 30 lbs or so of lift for a single tank.

In the Hogarthian setup, an analog pressure gauge is used, and clipped off to the left hip d-ring. The depth gauge/timer is worn on the right wrist. Whether that is a computer or not is up to the individual diver, but wrist gauges are used because they're conveniently visible at all times while diving.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

You don't necessarily need pockets but they are nice to have. On the thighs. Either on your suit or via a pocket that attaches to the waist strap and with some type of elastic around the thigh. You can also choose to wear shorts that have pockets on them. If you send me your email I can send an article I wrote (unedited) on use and set up of BPW's. You can also find an edited version here on the SEI diving website. It's titled "Tech Gear? No just another option for new divers and students."
http://www.seidiving.org/clientuploads/Currents%20Oct%202012.pdf

It's the last article in the journal. The full version without pics can be found on my blog. It's a three parter. Just click on the title to expand the article. Link is in my sig line.

 

[Knuckles]

Thank you everyone for the help, info., and links.

Living on the Gulf I am wearing just a swimsuit when warm and a 3.5 mm wetsuit when "cold".

If I were to build a wing type set up that consisted of a HOG 23lb single tank wing and I then added a steel back plate, I wouldn't have to carry as much weight on my person; correct? I'm not worried about the weight of the backplate for traveling as much as I'm tired of the heavy weightbelts on my hips. Will the backplate be able to be paired with harnesses and accessories from other companies; such as the Dive Rite Deluxe Harness, weight pouches or accessory pouches? I can then add a crotch strap, back plate pad for comfort, and small waist pouches to hold small gear to complete my BC setup. Also, I'm assuming I could change out the original equipment so that I could still use an Octo-Z Alternate Air Source?

 

[JohnN]

Thank you everyone for the help, info., and links.

Living on the Gulf I am wearing just a swimsuit when warm and a 3.5 mm wetsuit when "cold".

If I were to build a wing type set up that consisted of a HOG 23lb single tank wing and I then added a steel back plate, I wouldn't have to carry as much weight on my person; correct? I'm not worried about the weight of the backplate for traveling as much as I'm tired of the heavy weightbelts on my hips. Will the backplate be able to be paired with harnesses and accessories from other companies; such as the Dive Rite Deluxe Harness, weight pouches or accessory pouches? I can then add a crotch strap, back plate pad for comfort, and small waist pouches to hold small gear to complete my BC setup. Also, I'm assuming I could change out the original equipment so that I could still use an Octo-Z Alternate Air Source?

You're on the right track. With the steel backplate, you most likely would not need to add much additional weight.

Keep it simple, a continuous harness of 2" webbing with "D" rings works very well as your harness, with an AL80 in warm water I put a single 2 lb ankle weight on the tank neck and that is all the "additional" weight I need (and I have more biomass than you)

The back plate pad is a waste of your money (IMHO), you just don't need it. As Jim says, thigh pouches are the way to go. OMS makes a strap-on variant that is quite nice. Unless you're blessed with having too much money, ScubaPro is way overpriced for the wing and/or backplate.

I already told you what I think of the Octo-Z. . .

 

[Bigd2722]

Another option is to put weight pockets on your backplate. The only ones that I'm aware of are made by Zeagle. I have them, but I use them in lieu of thigh pockets for all my emergency kit stuff. With a SS plate and a 3 mm wet suit I only need 4 lbs. and that is a very nice advantage of the SS plate

 

[Nemrod]

Another option is to put weight pockets on your backplate. The only ones that I'm aware of are made by Zeagle. I have them, but I use them in lieu of thigh pockets for all my emergency kit stuff. With a SS plate and a 3 mm wet suit I only need 4 lbs. and that is a very nice advantage of the SS plate

DiveRite makes weight pockets and XS Scuba makes some that come to mind (WB101QR), several companies have a variety of weight pockets. The XS pockets are quick dump via a velcro tab and can each hold about 5 pounds each. Not very much but perfect for pairing with a small wing. The DiveRite pockets can hold I think about 16/32 pounds depending upon which version you purchase.

Most people use a weight belt with a BP/wing.

N

 

[Knuckles]

Is the backplate uncomfortable for someone not wearing a wetsuit?