Transpac or bp/w

[RJP]

So... it seems the consensus is transpac bad, back plate good. So... how about this diverite transplate?

BP with TransPlate harness:

BP with standard "one piece" harness:

One of them just has a lot more crap than you need.

 

[DennisS]

I have a Transpac and a BP/W, I like them both. I use the Transpac for single 80's and my back plate for my single 130s. The Transpac with the travel wing and trim weights is a sweet set up. I feel locked in with my trim much better with the Transpac

 

[bill22]

So... it seems the consensus is transpac bad, back plate good. So... how about this diverite transplate?

No I think the consensus (except for a vocal few) is that there is nothing wrong with a transpac. There is a place for that, just like there is a place for bp/w.

 

[pensacolaracer]

I was looking hard at the Transplate but decided to go with the BP/Wing. My 2 main reasons were the plastic clips on the Transplate were what I consider a failure point AND the Transplate comes in sizes... You have to pick a size. When I was diving my Scubapro Knighthawk, an XL was just a little too big for me, but a large was just a bit too small. It felt like I could never get the thing tightened exactly the way I wanted it on me.

That problem does not exist with a harness. It is completely adjustable to fit YOU.

 

[Scott L]

I dove a transpac for 8 years then switched to a bp/wing and there is no contest what so ever. Bp/wings is far superior in every respect. Although I have a Halcyon single tank rig I would recomend Deep Sea Supply as l was extremely immpressed when I recently acquired a doubles rig, both with quality, price and customer service.



https://www.deepseasupply.com/

 

[bill22]

.... the plastic clips on the Transplate were what I consider a failure point AND the Transplate comes in sizes... You have to pick a size. When I was diving my Scubapro Knighthawk, an XL was just a little too big for me, but a large was just a bit too small. It felt like I could never get the thing tightened exactly the way I wanted it on me.

That problem does not exist with a harness. It is completely adjustable to fit YOU.

I see the statement that plastic clips are a failure point quite a bit. Does anyone here actually know of a clip failing? I've never seen it. Plastic does not neccesarily equal bad.

I remember a discussion about this once amongst friends and none of us had ever seen it. Collectively that group had several thousand dives. I just don't see it as an issue unless you're doing something like advanced wreck diving or cave diving (which the majority don't). Then "maybe" the remote chance of a failure would override the convience of clips.

As far as fit, I think it's going to depend on the individual. Some people do have a hard time getting fitted, no doubt about that. I had no issues with the fit of my Tusa Passage BCJ. There was plenty of adjustment and it fit me fine. I'm not quite following on transplate size??? This is a BP, right? Just a BP that comes in different sizes taking into account that people are different sizes?

You are correct about a hog harness being totally adjustable to you. That is my own experience as well. It was just a pain in the butt adjusting it A bcd with buckles is still going to be easier to get out of than a bp/w.

I'm not slamming bp/w's. I dive one myself. I just don't agree that it is the end all, be all. Nothing wrong with diving a bcj (or a transpac if that's what a person likes) IMHO.

Bottom line, is that this is really going to be personal preference. There are people who have posted here who like the transpac and those who didn't. My advice to the OP is to try before you buy if possible and base your final decision on that.

Just my two yens worth As I've said before no one has to agree and I might even change my mind eventually... not likely though

 

[cmburch]

The plastic clips on the TransPlate and TransPac have an adjusting strap. If the clip did fail, one can just loop the adjusting strap through the D-ring and continue diving.

I have a TransPac and a TransPlate. They are engineered for my type of diving, hiking cliffs to dive spots.

There are many BP harnesses available. A person can custom design their own to fit their needs.

I personally like a left shoulder release, a padded hip belt, and the chest strap for locating the shoulder straps in the correct hiking position. The padded shoulder straps are also nice. D-rings can be installed where needed. I prefer the TransPlate with SS BP and STA because of the extra weight and the way it solidly locks my tank in place for hiking.

 

[peterbj7]

I've never had a plastic clip fail in many years of diving, other than rental ones that people dropped tanks on. And I've never had a DiveRite clip (or hose) fail, period. I have however had the springs in various types of SS or brass clips corrode and break. I currently have two bolt clips and one suicide clip with the problem.

 

[RJP]

I see the statement that plastic clips are a failure point quite a bit. Does anyone here actually know of a clip failing? I've never seen it. Plastic does not neccesarily equal bad.

I remember a discussion about this once amongst friends and none of us had ever seen it. Collectively that group had several thousand dives. I just don't see it as an issue unless you're doing something like advanced wreck diving or cave diving (which the majority don't). Then "maybe" the remote chance of a failure would override the convience of clips.

I work on a dive boat on the weekends here in NJ and I have seen them fail with some degree of regularity. Not usually some catastrophic failure at depth, but typically on the way to - or on - the boat. They get caught in a car door, slammed in the tailgate of a pickup, someone puts/drops a tank on one,

These failures won't kill you - assuming you notice them before entering the water - but they are a super PITA that will cost you a day of diving after paying the $125, getting up a 6am, driving to the boat, setting your gear up, and taking a bumpy boat ride out to the dive site.

When I have seen them "fail under strain" it's usually from someone lifting gear on dry land. Some of those little clips and buckles are not strong enough to hold the weight of a full rig and can break or come undone under such strain. User error comes into play as well - can't tell you how many times someone doesn't have them clipped in all the way, or maybe has a strap threaded into a buckle the wrong way, etc and loses their gear upon simply standing up.

As to the "convenience" of clips...

That's something I really HAVEN'T seen. Not personally when I dove a "delux" harness with clips and buckles and straps aplenty. Those things always seemed to be in the wrong spot no matter how much I adjusted them. When helping others get geared up that same stuff snagged, pull on hoses, cause gear to get fouled if not rigged "just so" etc. Those problems just don't happen with a hog harness.

Transpac's and transplate's are great if you have some sort of diminished mobility, but for the vast majority of people a simple hog harness is probably the way to go. At a minimum it should be tried first, instead of being dismissed out of hand based on the suggestion that something else (that hasn't been tried) seems "convenient."

PS - a hog harness is certainly much less expensive. Another good reason to give it a try first!

 

[bill22]

I work on a dive boat on the weekends here in NJ and I have seen them fail with some degree of regularity. Not usually some catastrophic failure at depth, but typically on the way to - or on - the boat. They get caught in a car door, slammed in the tailgate of a pickup, someone puts/drops a tank on one,

These failures won't kill you - assuming you notice them before entering the water - but they are a super PITA that will cost you a day of diving after paying the $125, getting up a 6am, driving to the boat, setting your gear up, and taking a bumpy boat ride out to the dive site.

When I have seen them "fail under strain" it's usually from someone lifting gear on dry land. Some of those little clips and buckles are not strong enough to hold the weight of a full rig and can break or come undone under such strain. User error comes into play as well - can't tell you how many times someone doesn't have them clipped in all the way, or maybe has a strap threaded into a buckle the wrong way, etc and loses their gear upon simply standing up.

As to the "convenience" of clips...

That's something I really HAVEN'T seen. Not personally when I dove a "delux" harness with clips and buckles and straps aplenty. Those things always seemed to be in the wrong spot no matter how much I adjusted them. When helping others get geared up that same stuff snagged, pull on hoses, cause gear to get fouled if not rigged "just so" etc. Those problems just don't happen with a hog harness.

Transpac's and transplate's are great if you have some sort of diminished mobility, but for the vast majority of people a simple hog harness is probably the way to go. At a minimum it should be tried first, instead of being dismissed out of hand based on the suggestion that something else (that hasn't been tried) seems "convenient."

PS - a hog harness is certainly much less expensive. Another good reason to give it a try first!

I don't think anyone has "dimissed out of hand" a hog harness. I dive one now as I've said more than once. The people who are suggesting that there is nothing wrong with both aren't bashing the hog harness, but for some reason the people who believe the hog harness is better seem to feel the need to bash anything that isn't a hog harness. Honestly I've never understood that.

Read the above posts.... all these clips you see, that can't seem to hold the weight of the gear they're supposedly designed to hold must be on some really cheap bc's

Sorry you had issues with your deluxe harness. The harness on my bc is quite easy to adjust. Everyone's different, that's why they have different types of gear. I still believe it's a non-issue if you're buying quality dive gear.

I also have to wonder who does things like slam car doors, or tailgates on their dive gear? I've never done this. Given that it seems to happen a lot in your area, I'm surprised people don't pay more attention

Experienced divers generally check their gear thoroughly, make sure buckles are snapped and straps are threaded properly These guys aren't checking themselves and their buddies before they get in the water?

Perhaps you could tell us the brand names of that gear that seems to break so easily, so those of us who might still like to dive a bc occasionally will be sure not to buy that brand

Have you ever had to hike anywhere with all your gear on your back? The only time I dive from a boat is when I'm on vacation. The rest of the time, I'm shore diving.

I can tell you there are dive sites where I would rather have the padded straps with the buckles that have never broke, despite the walk down the street from where the gear is staged (because we can't park anywhere near the dive site)to the stairs, to the beach, across the rocks, to the water.... and back Point is that there are circumstances (besides the ones you mentioned) where a hog harness may not be the best choice.

My advice to the OP remains the same, try BOTH and see what you like. Obviously from the thread, different people have different experiences