Any disadvantages of a light BCD/Wing (XDEEP GHOST)?

[MrTW]

I second TBone's referal to DSS.
Pretty hard to beat his deals and quality.
If I had any freedom plates I would offer you one of those in aluminum, but I dont have any.
I recommend buying the lighter plate for now because you can use it in either warm or cold water, just add a few lbs to your weightbelt for cold water. Figure it this way, they used to use plastic backpacks years ago in our waters and made up the difference on their weightbelt, and wearers of poodle jackets in cold water don't have any built in balast whatsoever, so even with a kydex from DSS or aluminum from some other brand you're still ahead.
It also depends on the ratio of cold water vs warm water dives. If you find yourself doing more cold water then get a steel and just suck it up for warm water with luggage fees, or buy two plates. They're not that much.

If it was me I would probably pass on the ghost, it looks too gimmicky for my tastes.

The warm/cold water ratio used to be 99/1 in the past as i primarily dove in South East Asia about 4 to 5 times per year during weekend time off on business trips. This will likely come down now as business needs are changing direction but I assume i will still dive about 75% warm water going forward.

What exactly do you feel is gimmicky on the Ghost?

 

[StefinSB]

If you wear a 3 mm in your tropical diving a "light" plate doesn't really give you any advantage using the typical Al 80 tanks. The tanks are approx 4 pounds positive empty so with a SS plate you cancel that out and then need maybe 2-4 additional pounds on cambands or weight belt for the suit. So unless you are concerns about the difference in dry travel weight between a light plate and a SS plate the light plate appears to make no sense for most people for that application.

 

[tbone1004]

^^ ding ding, the different plates are chosen based on ballast requirements. 4lbs isn't a lot and you can compensate by strategic packing. I.e. put your regulator set in your carryon since it weighs about as much as a steel backplate setup

 

[tridacna]

The double crotch strap makes the Ghost incredibly comfortable and keeps everything close to your body. You have to try it to see the benefit. I only use 6-8lbs in tropical anyway so no need for me to take an extra 6lbs of backplate in my luggage. Easier to rent from the op. This is a really well built and streamlined rig. You will not regret it.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The warm/cold water ratio used to be 99/1 in the past as i primarily dove in South East Asia about 4 to 5 times per year during weekend time off on business trips. This will likely come down now as business needs are changing direction but I assume i will still dive about 75% warm water going forward.

What exactly do you feel is gimmicky on the Ghost?

Just looking at it I see not much reason for all the cutouts other than an attempt at lessening the weight and a fashion statement, but how much less does a plate really need to be? It seems pricey for what it is. A lot of extra laser cutting to get the look. What about all those edges, are they rounded over to prevent chafing? How comfortable is it in a T-shirt or no shirt? Why does it need padding?
The center waist strap looks like it would be too high. What about support from a company in Poland? Where are their dealers? There's nothing really special about it, it's still just a straight rail type rig with a channel needing STA and a lot of fancy cutouts on the sides which look like suit cutters to me.
I personally think just a standard tried and trued
back plate/ wing combo in either aluminum, kydex, or s/s with a one piece harness, no stupid single tank adapter needed, simple cheap reliable. There are systems out there for under $400 brand new.
The whole original idea behind the current BP/W as we know it was dirt basic simplicity, that was it's best feature, not a million cutouts, fancy clips, integrated pouches, padding, etc. to me that's what makes it gimmicky.
That's just my opinion, but you asked for opinions.
Bear in mind it's also an opinion from a person who has never seen or used one, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[The Laconic]

What about support from a company in Poland? Where are their dealers?...

Yep.

You're right about the waist strap being too high, and a lot of other stuff. It is light, but that just means you have to put weight back on, into the pouches, which aren't the greatest.

I replaced mine with... a proper BP/W (an AL backplate and a small wing). Also XDEEP, actually, but I figured I wouldn't need any support from the company to service anything.

 

[tridacna]

I agree that it's way too expensive but I got mine on EvilBay for less than $300. I like the waist strap and the double crotch strap. The plate is well made with rounded edges and is incredibly strong and light. For NE diving I use a rig from Tobin; For travel this is absolutely the best. Support? For what? (And I knew that they have no support to start).

 

[mike0479]

I was just shown the XDeep Ghost today at my local dive shop and it was highly regarded there. Glad I came here to look for opinions as I'm unsure if this is the right purchase for me.
I'm more unsure now though as it seems it's not all that it was talked up to be. I also do a lot of cold water diving here in New England waters. I'm just looking to upgrade and thought that the ghost was a great option (per the dive store's opinion)
Ugh, need more research and opinions

 

[MrTW]

Spoke to my LDS today and got a, what i feel, great deal.

I would have been hesitant to purchase the Ghost at sticker price but given that lowered price point I went for it.

Have my first dive scheduled end of August in cold water and need to figure out the weight. After that i am scheduled to go to Asia, so will have the cold/warm water test shortly after.

Excited now and will report back how the Ghost will threat me.

Thanks for all information here so far.

 

[nibl]

It is light, but that just means you have to put weight back on, into the pouches, which aren't the greatest.

Since lead is much denser then aluminium you will need less weight in total.
1 dm3 of aluminium weights 2.7 kg (and has a bouyency of -1.7 kg since it deplace 1 kg of water), to get the same effect from lead you only need about 1.9 kg.
So for every kg of aluminium you remove you will need to add about 0.7 kg of leed, so you gain 0.3 kg.