Why isn't there a single tank Backplate?

[debitthis]

It seems from my research, thread searching, and generaly inept web searching that there are a few basic constants when it comes to backplates:
1. The wing you use for single tanks will be different from the wing you use for doubles.
2. The wing is the most expensive part of any BP/W setup. $250-$350 Single, $300-$500+ for double.
3. The backplate and harness is the least expensive part of the setup. Especially if you are using the one peice Hog harness.
Aluminum BP $ 60-$100; SS BP $100-$180 Hog harness $25-$50; deluxe harness $75-$100.
That gives a range of$85-$280 for any BP and harness; and a range of $75-$150 for the (best) BP and Hog Harness.

The Single Tank Adapter ($50-$125) will be optional for this discussion.

If I am already switching out my wing (and generally my STA) when I dive doubles, what's so special about being able to use the same BP and harness? Especially when it costs less than 1 tank?

So getting back to the title of this thread...my question is why can't at least one of these manufacturers stamp out a backplate that is specifically designed to cradle a single tank?

Zeagle, DiveRite, DSS, and probably others say you can use their BP without a STA, but the design is still based on the ability to use the same BP with Singles and Doubles.
Jetharness doesn't count because they deviate from the one-peice Hog setup and they appear to be out of business.

As Dennis Miller used to say, 'I don't mean to get on a rant here'......but I guess thats what this is turning into.:light:

 

[cool_hardware52]

So getting back to the title of this thread...my question is why can't at least one of these manufacturers stamp out a backplate that is specifically designed to cradle a single tank?

Zeagle, DiveRite, DSS, and probably others say you can use their BP without a STA, but the design is still based on the ability to use the same BP with Singles and Doubles.

Have you actually seen the DSS plate and single wing? It does cradle a single tank.

Much of the design of the DSS plate was to optomise our plate for single tank use, but not compromise the ability to mount doubles. This is in contrast with other plates that were originally developed to mount doubles and later adapted to allow use with single tanks.

Jetharness doesn't count because they deviate from the one-peice Hog setup and they appear to be out of business.

Let's see here, the only example you can cite of a "singles only" plate is from a company that's no longer in business. I'm sure there is a lesson buried in there somewhere....................


Tobin

 

[debitthis]

Let's see here, the only example you can cite of a "singles only" plate is from a company that's no longer in business. I'm sure there is a lesson buried in there somewhere....................Tobin

I love the fact that your BPs have a less acute angle coming off the 'ridge' than other typical back plates. I looked hard at the cross section graphic on your website during my research. The DSS BP is definitely the closest to what I am invisioning. If you made one that had an extra V bend in the ridge and a wider ridge then I would have no post to make.
But I think my economic question is still valid...Why not?

 

[ScottB]

http://www.golemgear.com/pc-73-2-low-profile-mark-meadows-backplate.aspx Travel backplate that is designed specifically to take a single

=)

 

[ScottB]

(with the extra v-bend in the middle like you mention

 

[debitthis]

http://www.golemgear.com/pc-73-2-low-profile-mark-meadows-backplate.aspx Travel backplate that is designed specifically to take a single

=)

Do they make one with enough metal to sink my fat *****?

 

[PerroneFord]

But I think my economic question is still valid...Why not?

To what end?

So that someone who dives a single tank would have to buy an ENTIRELY new unit if they EVER decided to try doubles? Why not leave the system as it is? Where the ONLY portion you EVER have to rebuy is a wing if you want to dive one way or the other. The other nice thing is that the wing is brand independent. So you can buy off ebay, borrow from a friend, use the classifieds at SB or other places. And that wing will fit.

Seems pretty nice to me.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I love the fact that your BPs have a less acute angle coming off the 'ridge' than other typical back plates. I looked hard at the cross section graphic on your website during my research. The DSS BP is definitely the closest to what I am invisioning. If you made one that had an extra V bend in the ridge and a wider ridge then I would have no post to make.
But I think my economic question is still valid...Why not?

Our plates move a single tank close the divers body, and mounts it very securely.

What is to be gained by extra bends?

We already make 8 different backplates, soon to be 9 or 10.

If there is no performance benefit to your approach, why should DSS or any other manufacturer incurr the expense of tooling, inventory and marketing to sell a singles only plate, with a more limited potential market? Doesn't make economic sense.

Tobin

 

[PerroneFord]

It seems from my research, thread searching, and generaly inept web searching that there are a few basic constants when it comes to backplates:
1. The wing you use for single tanks will be different from the wing you use for doubles.

Yes.

2. The wing is the most expensive part of any BP/W setup. $250-$350 Single, $300-$500+ for double.

Yes, this is often the case, but not always.

3. The backplate and harness is the least expensive part of the setup. Especially if you are using the one peice Hog harness.
Aluminum BP $ 60-$100; SS BP $100-$180 Hog harness $25-$50; deluxe harness $75-$100.

Again, not always, but usually true.

If I am already switching out my wing (and generally my STA) when I dive doubles, what's so special about being able to use the same BP and harness? Especially when it costs less than 1 tank?

Because you can go back and forth on-site, and at will, in under 2 minutes. However, many people have multiple plates since they don't cost a lot. So how many BCs can you dive with that let you go from an AL80 to twin 104s with less effort and equal aplomb?

So getting back to the title of this thread...my question is why can't at least one of these manufacturers stamp out a backplate that is specifically designed to cradle a single tank?

Because it's totally unnecessary and counterproductive.

 

[TSandM]

You got it from Tobin . . . The market for BP/W setups is a tiny portion of the whole scuba population. And a lot of us, even if we don't envision it at the beginning, eventually start thinking about the what ifs . . . What if I'd like to try cave diving? What if I'd like to do some deeper wrecks? What if I just want redundancy? What's it like to dive a set of doubles . . . because I can, without much difficulty, since I have the basic part of the gear . . .

Get my drift? Having just gone through the sequence, I'm very familiar with it.

It makes no sense to build a BP that would limit someone to a single tank. Tobin's STA-less solution is lovely. I have the first iteration of it, which works fine, but the new wings are much more elegant in the way they solve the problem. Change the wing, and you change the way the tank is secured. I can switch from a single tank to doubles in about ten minutes, and it would be faster if I were just more used to doing it. On the other hand, I'll probably end up buying a second backplate out of sheer laziness.