Vintage style backpack for double hose?

[Eric Sedletzky]

Eric; that's a fantastic looking plate. I'd love to have one and will buy one in a heartbeat. I'll shoot you a PM.

I'm guessing it'll work with the Mach V wings like your SS version?

Henrik

Oh yeah, it'll work with a Mach V.
I sent you a PM.

 

[herman]

snip........................Another thing I did if you look at the pics was I eliminated the rail. I'm going to try it without it. This will cut down on welding and labor. The tank will sit absolutely flat on your back but this might not be a bad thing. The only issue I could see is that the top of the plate may hit the can if the can has a Pheonix. I think a delrin block could be fit onto the plate to move the tank away from the plate a bit to accomodate the Pheonix. But then the tank will be sitting further away from the body which cuts down on streamlining. I need to get together with someone locally around here that has a Pheonix and see if it'll work the way it is.
Anybody?

For a double hose reg, the closer it sits to the back the better. Adding a spacer would add distance between the divers back and the reg, increasing the breathing resistance of the reg which is of much more concern than s little streamlining loss. A bend in the plate or shortening it to accomidate the reg would be better from a DH diving standpoint.

 

[Nemrod]

Thing is that with a Phoenix conversion the can sticks out/down another 3/4 inches. This means it runs in to many plates and thus the possible need for a spacer in some applications to maintain the correct position, I have found usually more elegant solutions including having at my disposal my very own Freedom Plate, nah, nah, nah.

N

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I need to get together with someone locally around here that has a Pheonix and see if it'll work the way it is.
Anybody?

Let me know if you can't find someone locally - I could ship you one of mine.

 

[halocline]

Leaving the plate flat is probably a good idea for doublehose use. My flat jet harness plate actually works fairly well for my doublehose. Looking at your plate I think you'd want to allow cans on the phoenix to "hang over" the top of the plate so they could be closer to your back. This might mean designing the top so that the shoulder harness slots are further apart with a scoop in the middle, rather than the traditional center slots that it now has. I don't know if there's enough of a doublehose market to make a model especially for that, but if you do I'd definitely support the project by buying one. I also really like the AL idea; much better than a plastic plate but still excellent for a steel tank in warm water.

The ideal scenario might be if it allows for good low placement of the phoenix on a LP72; which means cans that stick out pretty far on a small diameter tank. If that works you can pretty much bet that other reg/tank combos should work well.

 

[HenrikBP]

I pulled one of the pictures and did some measuring/approximations; I would estimate that the plate is about 13.5" tall. If I place the center of the waist strap at my belly button, the top of the plate is going to be 11.5" above that level.

On me, that would put the top of the plate 2-4" (tough to measure on myself) below the prominent vertebra that marks the transition from neck to thorax. So that in turn would put the can of a DH between the top of my shoulder blades.

If I'm close in my measurements and approximations, wouldn't that be a pretty good fit for a DH?

All that said, Nemrod clearly prefers the Freedom Plate for using a wing with DH and Eric's aluminum plate looks identical to his SS plates, so chances are good it'll be a perfect fit

Henrik

 

[TN Traveler]

Here are a couple of pictures of my PRAM on my Freedom Plate.

Like they were made for each other.

I like the way that the rails tilt the PRAM closer to the back.

For diving without a wing, the flat plate might be better.

 

[Nemrod]

My Freedom Plate was one Eric experimented with and as far as I know it is a one and only. It is narrow like his newest plates but does not have a rail, instead it has "feet" that the tank sits on. The tank is angled to the plate as is the "rail" type. This angle actually causes the tank to sit more natural and brings the upper tank/valve very close to the body. The higher position of the aft end of the tank allows the plate to sit down into the lumbar when you pull the straps snug without the tank rolling on your--uh--behind. Thus the tank and plate are rock solid, no wobble or roll.

I do not use steel 72s with my Freedom Plate and Oxy wings, I use either an aluminum 80 or any of several 7.25 inch diameter steels I have available running up to nearly 3,500 psi. I don't consider it vintage nor do I care, it is my go to dive rig for single tank diving. My rig sits very snug to my back and the regulator is correctly positioned. I like it very much.

N

 

[HenrikBP]

Here are a couple of pictures of my PRAM on my Freedom Plate.

I like the way that the rails tilt the PRAM closer to the back.

Thanks for the pictures - looks like a great fit.

As for the rails, it might be possible to bolt a shaped spacer to the plate towards the bottom to get a similar tilt?

Henrik

 

[TN Traveler]

Thanks for the pictures - looks like a great fit.

As for the rails, it might be possible to bolt a shaped spacer to the plate towards the bottom to get a similar tilt?

Henrik

I think you could just use one piece of a 2 piece STA set - the Oxycheq set I have is very low profile - one at the bottom would probably give you the proper tilt.

If you try and use it with a wing the only problem might be that the plate is short - and, if I remember correctly, the lower grommet on the wing falls below the plate.