Transpac or back plate?

[bap]

I'm not sure I would personally invest in expensive gear for your first tech class. Basic functional gear (standard generic plate and harness) will help narrow your focus on the course itself and let you concentrate on learning and applying skills.

As you dive more you'll be able to see what things you want to change or improve from the basic setup and then you can invest money on those options.

 

[eelnoraa]

I think H is of good quality, no doubt. But if I have to pick one item from H, it will be their wing, not their backplate. Since you have key man with H, if I were you, I will go with H Eclipse double setup and call it end of the day. I will also suggest against DR transplate kind of harness. Go with simple harness first. If you really miss the padding, switching out the simple harness doesn't waste much money.

 

[Superlyte27]

A BP/W will be more stable. That's undeniable.
A transpac can easily be transformed (albeit not perfectly) to sidemount, singles or doubles.

I dove a transpac for more than a decade. Then I climbed into someone's plate. I'll NEVER go back.

 

[Tom Winters]

I have a couple of the old Abyss version of the Transpacs. I used them for years on-and-off with a steel plate shoved inside. I loved the comfort, and with even in a drysuit, I only needed a 4-pound weightbelt because of steel tanks and the enclosed backplate. My rig started getting old and looking a little decrepit.
I just used a Transplate now while my wife still uses her Abyss rig. Both are way more comfortable than a Hogarthian-rigged backplate.
Play around with your options, and try to buy just once.

 

[gekodivebali]

Standard backplate anytime! Much more versatile. No rubbish rings that are useless. More simple/less failure point. Make sure you get a one piece hogarthian harness with that. Less is more!

 

[Colliam7]

I am in between the Dive Rite Transpac (with a single double wing), Trans Plate Harnes/backplate and wing and a Halcyon Backplate, wing, set up.

I'll also send a PM on this one. I would go SS BP. Notwithstanding our esteemed colleague's fondness for H, I can't say it is necessarily a better choice, although I am now a convert on the cinch harness - it really is nice. Don't bother with the Transplate for what you are doing. If you just want a quick release in one shoulder (a nice feature, particularly when diving dry) there are ways to do it, with and without stitching one into the harness. I encouraged your classmate to go TransPac, but for very specific reasons of versatility, based on what he wanted to do going forward. I have dove both hard plate and soft plate with various BM doubles (80s up to 130s), and while I personally favor a hard BP, I have been surprised at how well the soft BP (Transpac) works.

The Transpac is limited to using Dive Rite wings.

Why is that?

 

[ronscuba]

The tank band slots on Transpac do not line up with non DiveRite wings.

The Transpac connects to the tank bands through two pieces of widely spaced webbing that is sewn on the soft plate. Wings from Oxycheg, DeepSeaSupply, Hollis, Hog, etc. have narrow spaced tank band slots which line up with typical slot locations on hard plates.

DiveRite wings are very wide and open in between the left and right side of the bladder.

I dive single tank only.

 

[chrpai]

If keyman pricing is good enough that you could later sell it used at a profit, I'd know what I'd do.