Why isn't the Freedom Plate DIR compliant?

[Akimbo]

…No, just thread a three pounder on each side on the waist straps and push them all the way back as far as they will go out of the way. You won't even know they're there.

Another option is to put weights on the cam bands. Use the top and/or bottom bands to optimize your trim. Using weight pockets instead of stringing weights on webbing is worth considering if your gear configuration changes often or you travel.

 

[RJP]

---------- Post added November 4th, 2013 at 01:35 PM ----------


No, just thread a three pounder on each side on the waist straps and push them all the way back as far as they will go out of the way. You won't even know they're there.

Will move where my can light is on one side. Plus will need to be more than two three-pounders, since I will need to account for the lighter plate as well. So, I will have effectively moved 8lbs "further south" thus changing my trim. Though, I suppose I could ditch my SP Jets in favor of lighter fins to help fix that.

So, in order to adopt a Freedom Plate I would need to...

- Spend ~$200on a freedom plate
- Spend ~$50 on webbing, d-rings, buckle, knife sheath
- Take a hot knife to cut up my current wing
- Spend ~$50 on a couple of weight pockets
- Spend $100 on a new pair of (lesser) fins than my current fins
- Spend the time to get it all configured
- Spend the time to get my weighting and trim re-sorted out

So you're asking me to spend almost $500 and a fair bit of time acquiring and configuring a bunch of gear... in order to solve a problem I don't have?

Not saying Freedom plate isn't a good product, but rather pointing out why people like me aren't a good customer.

---------- Post added November 4th, 2013 at 03:22 PM ----------

Another option is to put weights on the cam bands. Use the top and/or bottom bands to optimize your trim. Using weight pockets instead of stringing weights on webbing is worth considering if your gear configuration changes often or you travel.

Not quite so easy, since I've already got pockets on my cam bands for a little lead even with the STA.

 

[TSandM]

Well, Eric, if you ever decide to do a road trip up here, plan it so you can be here over a Wednesday afternoon/evening, and you'll get to show the plate around to a bunch of plate users!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Will move where my can light is on one side. Plus will need to be more than two three-pounders, since I will need to account for the lighter plate as well. So, I will have effectively moved 8lbs "further south" thus changing my trim. Though, I suppose I could ditch my SP Jets in favor of lighter fins to help fix that.

So, in order to adopt a Freedom Plate I would need to...

- Spend ~$200on a freedom plate
- Spend ~$50 on webbing, d-rings, buckle, knife sheath
- Take a hot knife to cut up my current wing
- Spend ~$50 on a couple of weight pockets
- Spend $100 on a new pair of (lesser) fins than my current fins
- Spend the time to get it all configured
- Spend the time to get my weighting and trim re-sorted out

So you're asking me to spend almost $500 and a fair bit of time acquiring and configuring a bunch of gear... in order to solve a problem I don't have?

Not saying Freedom plate isn't a good product, but rather pointing out why people like me aren't a good customer.

Well I don't know what to tell you.
I have a bunch of customers here who dive dry and use a 4 lb FP.
They make it work and are happy as hell.
I dive wet in thick suits and can make anything work, even some of my lightest plates because I have to test them and I'm sure as hell not going to wear a 3 mil in 47 degree water.
The product is probably best suited for someone getting into a singles plate for the first time who has no inclination of ever going to doubles who has a taste for nice things.
And if they did want to eventually do doubles all they would have to get extra would be a cheap $99 standard plate and a harness kit for $45.

I sent you a plate two or three years ago, what did you do with it?

 

[RJP]

The product is probably best suited for someone getting into a singles plate for the first time who has no inclination of ever going to doubles who has a taste for nice things.

Yup, which by definition is not someone like myself or Lynn or other GUE/DIR-type trained diver or a diver who otherwise already owns a BP/W rig.

I sent you a plate two or three years ago, what did you do with it?

You know, I just recalled that a 1/2hr or so ago. It was right around the time that I had a lot going on at work/personally, put it aside, and hadn't thought about it until just today.

You'd think engaging in this thread the last few days would have keyed me to recall, but apparently not. Plus, I think you went by a different screen name then? So I was even less able to put 2 and 2 together.

Will look in my basement when I get home...

 

[danvolker]

Because there is nothing to argue about, you were wrong. There rest of your post had nothing to do with the question but was a rationalization of not using double tanks. I don't dive doubles but after diving I do break apart the entire rig and soak it. So to store it disassembled and reassemble it for a doubles dive or a singles dive would cause no additional effort.

Apparently you did not read much of my post...like the part where I explained that to wear doubles is to wear a dry suit and end up with a very different fit than a wet suit...meaning it is not a few seconds as you suggest, but more like 15 minutes or more with tweaking the perfect fit that I would really rather not have to keep trying to get again, over and over again.

 

[TSandM]

I'll side with Dan. I own a single tank cold water plate, a single tank/doubles warm water plate (same exposure protection, same harness adjustment) and a cold water doubles plate (aluminum, so I can move more lead down low to balance head-heavy tanks). I'm lazy; I didn't want to keep adjusting my harness. And I'm a perfectionist, and spent a lot of time getting each of these set up JUST right, so I don't want to screw around with readjusting them.

 

[RJP]

Apparently you did not read much of my post...like the part where I explained that to wear doubles is to wear a dry suit and end up with a very different fit than a wet suit...meaning it is not a few seconds as you suggest, but more like 15 minutes or more with tweaking the perfect fit that I would really rather not have to keep trying to get again, over and over again.

Yeah, I solved for the "over and over again" difficulty with a silver Sharpie the very first time I made the swap, by marking where the webbing should pass through the plate for singles rig. The doubles rig spot is very obvious based on wear/creasing; the singles spot became quickly obvious after one liveaboard trip.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Yup, which by definition is not someone like myself or Lynn or other GUE/DIR-type trained diver or a diver who otherwise already owns a BP/W rig.

I already owned a Halcyon plate before Eric gave me a demo to show around SoCal. When he came back down to Redondo Beach I bought one for my fiancee. She surprised me by already buying one for me a few minutes earlier.
I use my Halcyon kit for doubles. My Freedom plate gets used for most of my dives at home in a drysuit and in warm water with a T-Shirt.

 

[RJP]

I sent you a plate two or three years ago, what did you do with it?

It appears I am indeed in possession of a Freedom Plate! Number 115, to be specific. Based on what it was in front of and behind in my basement I'm guessing it was more like 4-5 years ago.

As luck would have it, I'm heading off on a one-week liveaboard trip in a few weeks. If my United Premier status gets me a space-confirmed 1st class upgrade I'll be able to bring three 75lb bags, so could web up the Freedom plate and bring that along with my usual Halcyon rig fir a week's worth of compare and contrast diving... if you're interested.