The new Freedom Contour - The Rolex of backplates.

[Eric Sedletzky]

Too specialized and gimmicky for my taste.

And you're a rebreather diver?

---------- Post added June 13th, 2013 at 11:09 PM ----------

That's fair. I've said before that I don't own any single tanks that aren't set up for stages. I do contest that you need several plates though. You can pull excess shoulder strapping through to the waist band and have the webbing marred with something hot to notate where D-rings go on that harness. I travel more than most and my stainless plate goes with me if I'm diving open circuit. It takes mere seconds to adapt from drysuit diving to rashguard diving (and presumably from single tank to double tank as well).

I don't believe you can incorporate expense as a dimension when it comes to diving. You simply have to have what you have to have and it costs what it costs. I'm just not such a big fan of collecting up gear that sometimes gets used and most of the time acts as your own personal dive museum. To that end, I've seriously contemplated ridding myself of all of my open circuit gear entirely as I am not using it so much these days. I suppose then I'd have no plates and be perfectly suited for any type of diving

Don't get me wrong, this looks like a nicely worked piece of equipment, I'm just not sure why anyone needs it. Seems it reduces options rather than creating opportunities.

You don't use single tanks except for stages, you're a rebreather or doubles diver, and you're thinking of getting rid of all your OC gear,
why are you here?

---------- Post added June 13th, 2013 at 11:13 PM ----------

I'm just not sure why anyone needs it.

Yeah, I don 't know why either, maybe they're all crazy.
I thought I was the only crazy one, but I guess diving must attract a certain group that are pretty weird.

 

[ams511]

I thought I was the only crazy one, but I guess diving must attract a certain group that are pretty weird.

It does, just hang out in the pub for a while

 

[mathauck0814]

I don't agree that it reduces options because no matter what plate I use if I want to dive doubles I will need a different wing.

Agreed, but not a different plate.

I will need bands and manifolds for the tanks plus additional tanks if I want to continue to dive singles.

I thought we were discussing the need for multiple plates?

I may need a drysuit for redundant lift, etc.

Plate?

Not to mention the training.

Now we're really off track.

I can't just bolt up a set of steel doubles to my plate

If you have them you can

and singles wing and go diving.

Who said you wouldn't need a separate wing. Tanks and wings don't impact fit. They also don't impact location of equipment.

So in the greater scheme of things what is $100 for a new plate and webbing?

Never a question of cost. Trouble comes in when you dive one plate/harness more frequently than the next, and suddenly a harness that was custom fitted to you suddenly isn't on account of ... changes? $100 is nothing. Storing and managing extraneous equipment... see above.

And you're a rebreather diver?

You've got me there. Why would I want a piece of equipment that does equally well in 30fsw as 300fsw...

You don't use single tanks except for stages, you're a rebreather or doubles diver, and you're thinking of getting rid of all your OC gear,
why are you here?

I might ask you the same question - is there not a manufacturer's forum to sell your wares? I apologize if I missed the T&C on asking questions and forming an opinion on equipment. A thousand sorries for discussing your product here on the Buoyancy Compensator's forum.

Yeah, I don 't know why either, maybe they're all crazy.
I thought I was the only crazy one, but I guess diving must attract a certain group that are pretty weird.

Nah, we're all crazy. Some of us just organize our insanity better than others Best of luck with your plate.

 

[ams511]

Now we're really off track.

No you are just wrong and don't want to admit it. Your point is that having a singles backplate will constrain me from diving doubles. My point is that because of the reasons you dissected above it does not. To dive doubles I would need to make a significant commitment in time and money for the training and equipment needed to do it safely. These are the real constraints, not the back plate.

Your point about storage is silly because the room needed to store a back plate is insignificant. It takes less than an inch in my closet. If I don't want to store it I can sell it in the SB classifieds, Craigslist, or eBay.

Now you bring up fit again. A point I already acknowledged as valid but that you are overdramatizing. If my shoulder D-rings are an 1/8" off I would not call that a life threatening situation. If it bothered me, I would correct it after the dive for future dives. If you have reports about accidents caused by out of place D-rings please share them with us.

Back to plates. Talk to any engineer and they will tell you anything that is built is a compromise. You can buy a car that goes 200 mph, you can buy a car that gets 50 mpg, you cannot get both in the same car. Add more factors you make more compromises. The original back plates were designed for doubles diving and adapted later for singles. Eric makes a plate for singles without compromises for doubles, which suits the majority of the diving population. Not everyone dreams of diving the Doria.

Please feel free to take everything I write out of context like you did above.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

You've got me there. Why would I want a piece of equipment that does equally well in 30fsw as 300fsw...

Because I have no interest in diving to 300 feet, I also have no interest in spending that kind of money on a RB, and I don't want to spend that kind of time maintaining it for the type of diving I do, which is moderate to shallow single tank fun dives.
It's pointless for me to own a RB just as it is pointless for you to own a single tank plate.

is there not a manufacturer's forum to sell your wares?

There is, but I haven't asked for access yet.

I apologize if I missed the T&C on asking questions and forming an opinion on equipment. A thousand sorries for discussing your product here on the Buoyancy Compensator's forum.

That would be like me going into the Cozumel forum and proclaiming that Cozumel is "over rated, too gimmicky and specialized for my taste, and I don't know why anybody would want to go there", when I have no intention of going there and have never even been there to know anything about it.
See my point? Why would I be in that forum to start with?
I seems like a waste of time for a person of your obvious high stature and expertise to be in a thread about a single tank plates slapping around us know-nothings just for fun.

But, it is a free forum so do whatever turns you on.

It's not my first rodeo.

 

[buddhasummer]

And round and round we go. Justifying this product, I'm sure, was not the purpose of this thread and in my opinion is not necessary, you want one or you don't. The same question/s have been asked and answered several times. It's now deteriorating into the personal. Lets move on.

Eric, a few pages ago I asked a couple of questions, unlike mathauck0814, I want to buy one of your plates, so a reply would be appreciated. Cheers.

 

[shimbob]

I want one! But I already have an older design FP and it served me incredibly well in Roatan last year. I'm desperately trying to justify buying a second one.

 

[buddhasummer]

I want one! But I already have an older design FP and it served me incredibly well in Roatan last year. I'm desperately trying to justify buying a second one.

Easy, you only live once but you dive many times

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

And round and round we go. Justifying this product, I'm sure, was not the purpose of this thread and in my opinion is not necessary, you want one or you don't. The same question/s have been asked and answered several times. It's now deteriorating into the personal. Lets move on.

Eric, a few pages ago I asked a couple of questions, unlike mathauck0814, I want to buy one of your plates, so a reply would be appreciated. Cheers.

PM sent

 

[parzdiver]

I got the plate and it looks great. I am putting the webbing on the plate and was wondering about the waist slots. Do you generally put a tri-glide behind the plate to keep the webbing from moving or leave it loose for adjustments? It seems fairly well held in place, but that could change as the webbing gets softer or wet.