You backplate guys have got me.

[DivingCRNA]

Desciples of the backplate and wing faith,

I have been shopping for a new BC for 2 weeks now. Driving my wife nuts. I am replacing a 10 year old Mares Northern Exposure (in good shape, I am too fat for it now-if there are any buyers...).

I have looked at the Seaquest black Diamond, Scubapro Knight Hawk, the Oceanic Chute 3, and the various Zeagles. They all seem the have pros and cons, and are all around $600, give or take $100. They are much cheaper online without the warranty, but what if something needs to be fixed.....

Then I read everthing you all had to say about the backplates and wings that you love and I looked at the Dive Rite website. A nice harness and backplate (transplate), a wing of you choice, and weight integration pockets plus your tank strap, etc... for $600!!!!!

Am I getting this wrong and it is too good to be true, or is this a great hidden scuba secret?

So-I am PADI AOW, looking to do master diver over the next year or two (I have 2 small kids and a job that puts me on the road some, so time can be a issue for classes). We (my PADI OW wife and I) also travel once a year to warm water. I may get into teaching at some point, but not real soon. Home diving is Army corps of engineers lakes in MO. I know some guys that do some tech here. Caves are forbidden by the wife, but she is OK with wrecks (???). Deep seems to be OK with her too (for me, she is happy at OW limits). She just does not approve of solid rock over my head.

What wing, harness, options would all of you who love the wings suggest?

You have probably made a convert. Can you help me down the path to enlightenment?

Thanks,

Don

 

[SeanQ]

I just switched over to an Oxycheq BP/W system and am loving it. I use a standard one piece harness and find it very comfortable; it fits like a good hiking backpack. I wear thick exposure protection, so extra padding is not needed.

I'm sure NWGratefulDiver (Bob) will reply soon; he has tried many different systems and will no doubt have some recommendations.

 

[H2Andy]

Am I getting this wrong and it is too good to be true, or is this a great hidden scuba secret?

it is indeed a great secret. there's not much profit margin on the bp/wings, so
most dive shops don't push them.

were are you going to do most of your diving? in florida springs, all i need is a 36lb wing and an aluminum plate.

if i do ocean diving, a steel plate is great (don't have to use any weights)

i would reccomend a Dive Rite wing and plate set. good equipment, and very reasonable. my first wing was a Dive Rite, and i loved it (the only problem was the
location of the dump, which was annoying. other people love it)

this is a nice single-tank set up:

1. DR Venture wing
2. DR aluminum bp (or steel if you need the weight)
3. regular harness (no shoulder pads, no quick disconnect) made out of a single
piece of webbing.
4. crotch strap
5. single-tank adaptor

and you're set

 

[Jonny_Rocket]

You can get a Dive Rite wing/bp setup for about 400 bucks with cambands.

 

[DennisS]

Check e-bay for a backplate (not much can go wrong with them), STA (single tank adapter) and check COVCI for an OxyCheq wing.

 

[mxracer19]

leisurepro.com sells dive-rite wings for 225. coupled with a hammerhead steel bp/STA for 99, and the transplate harness for 109.

$434

Do check out the hammerhead plates...theyre real sweet.
www.hammerheadscuba.com

 

[kidspot]

The package from Diveritexpress.com (which is where I assume you were pricing yours) includes the transplate harness, you can cut the cost by going with the standard harness, and it does not include a single tank adapter (not a necessity, but really nice - or make one yourself) you may want to check Scubatoys.com (give them a call and ask about a package deal) I was able to put together my rig in a package deal with a vendor for $400 so shopping around can save quite a bit, but you'll probably have to call as a lot of times package deals are unavailable on the net.

Hope you enjoy it. I've found that larger guys like us tend to fit well in BP/Wing too - Have fun!

Aloha, Tim

 

[Mverick]

Personally I prefer Oxycheq, Halcyon, And FredT.

But these guys are great to deal with. And have a great price on Dive rite if that's how you want to go... I also like the HOG harness....

http://www.northeastscubasupply.com/specials/bp_famous_specials.html

Be carefull though. They can take your whole months paycheck....LOL

 

[Doc Intrepid]

What wing, harness, options would all of you who love the wings suggest? You have probably made a convert. Can you help me down the path to enlightenment?

Of all the stuff out there, I like Tobin's plates right now (coolhardware52 on this board). FredT (also on this board) also makes real sweet plates, especially if you need a heavier plate.

Tobin's site:
http://www.deepseasupply.com

You can't go wrong with either plate. Plus, as some of these guys have mentioned, ebay is your friend for wings. I prefer Halcyon or Oxycheq, as I've more experience with these.

Also, suggest you start off with a simple harness, hogarthian one piece...you don't need all the rest of it that many manufacturers seem to want to sell.

FWIW. YMMV.

 

[iflylow]

I have a halcyon steel BP with 27 lb wing (for singles) and a 40 lb wing (for doubles). I love the set up - extremely comfortable and balanced in the water. I used to dive a Knighthawk, and tho it is a nice BC, is no where near as good in the water as the BP/wing. Not sure about where to get them in the US (I bought mine on base over here in Japan) but it shouldn't be too hard to get.