Must not have heard that ScubaPro allows on line sales and leisure pro is an authorized retailer now.
Wow, really? Leisurepro is now an authorized dealer for Scubapro? Scubapro has, for something like 35 years, been the industry leader in the anti-catalog, anti-online, anti-phone sales mentality. Leisurepro, of course, has been the industry leader for the opposite. Seeing the two together is a bit like seeing David and Goliath sitting and having a beer together and telling jokes together. Wow. Maybe Leisurepro is an authorized Scubapro dealer but still unable to sell Scubapro products online or via phone/catalog sales? I just have such a tough time wrapping my mind around that.
Jim, those cam bands are NOT the ones I'm talking about. Scubapro's cam bands are patented, and you will not find the same design in Dive Rite, Highland, or Halcyon. Those designs are all like each other, and while also stainless, are a completely different design than Scubapro's patented cam bands. Only the Scubapros allow you to change a tank out horizontally, and/or with the reg still attached (and thus enabling you to rinse a reg without ever taking the pressure off of it).
Here's a picture os a Scubapro cam band. The come standard on every Scubapro BC that I know of, and are available at Scubapro authorized dealers as a special order part:
http://www.grandio.org/HalcyonRig/Images/CierreCinchaBotella1156.jpg Here's a picture of the "generic" version that is also made by Scubapro, but sold under a different brand name:
http://dipndive.com/media/catalog/p...08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/a/tank_camband_1_1_2.jpg The easiest way to tell the difference is that the "generic" version has the white stripes in the webbing.
There is a slight design difference in the generic and branded cam bands - there was a time when there wasn't. Since then, Scubapro has redesigned the way that the webbing is threaded to the buckle, and the generic did not receive the change. Thus, the generic is the "old" design while the branded is the "new" design... And while very similar, I actually prefer the "old" design. It "captured" the velcro adjustment (yes, there is some, it's just that it's a set-it and forget-it kind of thing) better than the new does, and tightening the strap actually INCREASED the velcro's hold, whereas with the new design, it doesn't.
...But I hate the white stripes so much that I use the branded Scubapro cam bands on all of my singles rigs. The "new" Scubapro cam band design hasn't been problematic at all... I'm just saying that the old design was better. I just can't bring myself to use "stripey" or "H-emblazoned" webbing.
One of the criticisms that these cam bands have received is that they are rather high profile and offer a very nasty little entanglement point - in the worst possible spot on your rig - with the rather tall buckle and "finger bend." To counter this, do NOT thread the cam band onto your rig as you see in this picture... Turn the cam band so that the buckle is all the way to the side and as close to buried into your backplate as possible. This offers, then, a smooth profile and buries the entanglement point in your rig so that it never becomes an issue.
Another advantage with this cam band is that you do NOT have to wet the strap when you rig up... The leverage is simply so intense that it doesn't matter is the strap is wet or not. Watch your fingers.
I agree with TSandM on everything she said... But I prefer to use a STA on all of my singles rigs, even those that are dedicated for singles. I find that using the rig without a STA places the tank TOO close to my back (hey, that's a first), and I bang my head on my tank valve, even thought the rig is adjusted correctly. The problem isn't extreme, it's just that the STA takes care of the issue altogether by giving me another 1/4" or 1/2" of room back there. I also like the fact that when I release the cam bands and take the tank off, the rig stays together better and feels more solid with a STA than it does without.
I think that it's really just a preference thing... You're not wrong doing either.