yet another 'which bp/w setup' advise...

[happy-diver]

Is adjusting or threading stiff single-piece webbing, a common thing, like a pastime
that will adversely affect the benefit of the stiff webbing over its 5-20yr year lifetime

 

[RobPNW]

I got the basic DGX stainless setup and it works fine. No extra frills, no extra costs, less weight needed.

 

[MidOH]

Stiffer webbing is easier to doff or don in the water, or on land. May be more comfortable because it twists less.

But harder to setup, harder to adjust. So if you're adding and removing things, it can be a pita.

I use medium.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I've always preferred the stiffer webbing. Over the last 12 years, I've built around 100 BPW systems, and the stiffer webbing for me is no harder to set up.
There are little tricks I've picked up over that time, and using triglides that are made for double-thickness webbing is one that greatly helps with setup.

2" Wide Tri-Glide Slider w/ NO Teeth!

These are our wide slot slider with no teeth for 2" inch webbing Made to fit 2" / 50mm webbing You can fit either 1 or 2 pieces of webbing through this slot 2 1/4" inch Long 1" inch Wide 1/8" Thick for strength and durability Made out of marine grade 304 stainless We tumble these for 48 hours...

www.piranhadivemfg.com

Once they are on there they are just as secure and lay as flat as standard ones. The stiffer webbing also makes donning and doffing easier in and out of the water because it doesn't flop around like a wet noodle.
Also, having a good set of pliers on hand and trimming the ends just a tad to make them rounded or triangle-shaped works well.
After trimming any webbing, a lighter or mini torch is essential to singe the ends immediately.
I learned a lot in the beginning, setting up the old DSS plates with the inserts in the webbing slots.
Then even more when I started to do custom setups with different color webbing and hardware that I made for people who were oddly shaped and the basic harness was just not as comfortable for them as an "H" style with a chest strap. Some of that hardware was modified and is used on the HOG TBCS harness when I was helping with the design of that.
Piranha has a lot of options to customize a harness. Including webbing in different colors and hardware to get it exactly the way you want it.

 

[happy-diver]

Ain't no wet noodles on this guy leadbetter



Who are the people wriggling around the bottom on the right

Be there or be round!

 

[Sebs]

I see no reason NOT to use the softer straps from Tecline. It's all the same except a softer material to feel a little less stiff. Yes I'll be diving single tank with a wetsuit (tho on rare occasion w/o a suit if it's really warm.

I can provide some feedback on this since I dive a Tecline Travel rig (Al plate, 15L wing, soft webbing). The soft webbing is too soft (for me). I think they have three stiffness levels and if I was to do it again, I'd go for either medium or stiff webbing. The reason is that the webbing folds over itself VERY easily. The best example of this is when when attaching a backup light in the DIR position and securing it with inner tube. I also have issues with my long hose retainer because there's just so much flex in the webbing that the retainer gets pushed laterally and the hose slips out. Lastly, I'm around 150 dives into the harness and it's starting to fray where it's looped around the top of the plate.

OTHER than that, I love my Tecline gear. Solid, good quality products and considerably cheaper than XDeep/Halcyon/OMS.

Any other questions, just fire away. Happy to weigh parts of the kit too if you need it. From memory the entire rig - Al plate, harness, buckles, D-rings and wing weighs 4.2kg.

 

[jeremyl]

Thanks Sebs!
It is great feedback to hear. Perhaps I will seek out a mid-stiffness harness. I DO like the Peanut wing and having read more reviews of it I may try to pick one up - unfortunatly they are harder to find (esp at a good price) where I am travelling.

 

[Wallowa]

Helium Ti
Halcyon

It's just a backplate. Any decent plate will do. Its a flat inanimate plate. The plate needs to be short enough so that there's room for a weight belt. Plates harness goes on my waist. Weight belt lower by my hips. If both belts fit, you might not need a shorter plate.

My local use, single tank rig, uses a heavy ss plate, and ss STA. It's a long plate, since I use no weight belt with it.

Wing is the key component. Modern skinny 30# doughnuts with shoulder inflator are where it's at. (Use the DGX wing shape for reference) Mares, and Oxychek have similar wings.

Question: With the XDeep double crotch strap trying to put on and secure a weight belt is a bugger! Any tips? With a SS 8+lb plate and single 80 adding weight to the rig is not an options as it would be too heavy to don or doff. I need 18.75 lbs [7mm wet suit] in FW and 24 lbs in SW [weight belt]. Putting that much in pouches on the harness would make it not only a back breaker but unstable getting into and out of it.

Thanks for any suggestions. Forgot, I am old school: Last on-first off; weight belt over harness straps. Wt belt right hand release, harness left hand release.