What is a good set up for a light weight BPW I can use for traveling? I've already got a Hollis Elite 2 Harness (no back plate or wing) but wanted to make it into a light weight travel set up for single tank tropical diving. Are the light weight back plates really much lighter than a typical aluminum?
Travel BPW Setup
- Thread starter G2fspro
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My aluminum plate weight around 800 grams, there are metal plates lighter than that (x shaped or titanium etc) but I do not expect more than 20 percent weight cut. I don’t think it worth to expense when you compare their weight. Even the carbon fiber plates around same weight.
I don’t think you can beat aluminum backplate and one piece webbing harness for travel in terms of weight.
I don’t think you can beat aluminum backplate and one piece webbing harness for travel in terms of weight.
I quote the AL and one piece webbing harness, but I warn you about using, possibly, a lightweigth wing having the integrated STA, to avoid another piece of AL.
Derlin buckles on cam bands are also desiderable.
I exaggerated in the lightweight quest, using also aluminium d-rings and an aluminium buckle for the harness.
Miflex hoses - yes I know: are not part of the BPW, but are lighter than rubber hoses.
Derlin buckles on cam bands are also desiderable.
I exaggerated in the lightweight quest, using also aluminium d-rings and an aluminium buckle for the harness.
Miflex hoses - yes I know: are not part of the BPW, but are lighter than rubber hoses.
Pretty much as light and compact as it comes.
store.getaqui.com
NX Series Ultralight harness Standard
xDeep NX Series Ultralight Backplate Standard Harness is the skeleton backplate and harness from the Ghost BCD which is great for travel and you can fit a wing to it
store.getaqui.com
This wasn't your question, but are you SURE you want a lightweight "travel" plate? Travel has gotten so annoying lately, and lost baggage so common, that I can't criticize people who check no baggage and carry all their scuba gear on. Nevertheless, for tropical diving in a 3 mm suit or thinner, I have long preferred a steel plate, so I don't need to carry so much lead on the dive. With a steel plate and a thin wetsuit, I may carry no lead at all, or at most a couple of pounds in trim pouches attached to my harness, more to help balance myself in horizontal trim than to decrease buoyancy. Lead sucks. If more than a few pounds are needed, its positioning on a belt or off to the sides in weight pockets messes with the goal of being able to comfortably stay horizontal when motionless, as I frequently need to do when I stop to examine something closely on a tropical reef dive. And with lead weights, you have to find the right size weights, put the weights on, take the weights off, carry them around, each dive day. Whether weight belt or pockets, it's still a PITA to me. I would rather have essentially all my weight on my back, in the form of a plate, right there next to my center of buoyancy. I can appreciate that each of us values the pros and cons differently, but I prefer to minimize the amount of lead on my body at the cost of having to deal with all the potential problems of checked baggage. So, my advice is to just be really sure you want a lightweight "travel" plate before going down that route.
I’ve switched to an Aqualung Outlaw, it’s easy to disassemble and pack into nooks and crannies.
6 lbs steel back plate, 22lbs wing, one piece harness, 4 trim pockets, dual tank straps, full reg set, dive computer, flash light, reel/dsmb, mask, and room to spare.
Fins and boots/exposure gear go in my checked bag.
I have an AL plate as well, but the steel plate takes up the same volume, so no need if I'm not checking gear.
I can take a few pictures when I get home from work.
The backpack itself is just some random cheap backpack my wife had laying around. It's nothing special and not very large. Probably sized for a 15" laptop.
I do break down my bp/w for travel as it packs a lot easier with the wing and harness off. The plate slides nicely into the laptop pocket, etc.
The backpack itself is just some random cheap backpack my wife had laying around. It's nothing special and not very large. Probably sized for a 15" laptop.
I do break down my bp/w for travel as it packs a lot easier with the wing and harness off. The plate slides nicely into the laptop pocket, etc.
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