BP/W Question on interchangeability

[decompression]

Could this issue be eliminated with the cam bands that separate? I want to be able to remove my wing for cleaning and I hate unlacing every time.
Cam bands

I see what you are saying, if you have a plate and wing that have matching slots, is it possible to undo the cam and remove the wing? Yes, I could be configured that way.

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Shane, where are you located? If we can hook up I can show/ let you dive multiple set ups that I have, single and double, back and sidemount.

 

[Peter_C]

Shane the BP/W setup was originally designed for technical divers diving double tanks. The back plates had holes for mounting the doubles but no cut outs for cam bands.

Really? What would Mike Nelson do?

If you wanted to dive a single tank you used a single tank adapter.

Am I missing seeing the STA here?

At that time most (if not all) wings were designed for doubles and tacoed badly when used with a single tank.

Wait weren't we talking vintage here, so there were no wings, but maybe a horse collar

Then about 7-8 years ago specially designed single-tank wings started to appear, most still required an STA. As the BP/W made the transition from technical to recreational divers the plates and wings became designed for single tank. DSS, Golem, Oxycheq, and Hog all make wings with built-in roll control that do not require a STA. The only wing I can think of that still requires an STA is Halcyon. I am not sure about Dive Rite and some of the others. The tank is stable using either method. Why do you want to mix and match plates and wings?

Back to modern times, yes most all manufacturers make a wing today that does not require an STA and has roll control of some form. My first Oxycheq wing purchased in 2006 didn't have roll control, but did have slots cut in a weird place. Today my Mach V, mounted to my Freedom Plate, creates my favorite setup for single tank diving. Mixing and matching makes life more interesting.

Above is all tongue in cheek, so don't take it wrong

There are at least a few back plates made today without standard mounting holes.

 

[halocline]

Several years ago a person was selling something called a Jet Harness, that was a single-tank only rig with a perfectly flat plate. It had no bolt holes.

I have one of those, and a freedom plate which also has no bolt holes. The holes are really there to mount to doubles, there's no need for them at all with a single tank. Lots of single tank wings do have holes with grommets to line up with the holes so the wing can be bolted to the plate, but it's still the cam bands that hold everything together in use. DSS has a neat arrangement where the "slots" in the wing for the cam bands are actually large openings so you can just pull the wing off the plate, leaving the cam bands threaded, and the wing snaps in place with a few small rubber snaps. My freedom plate/oxycheq wing just kind of hangs together because the slots in the oxy wing are not wide openings (they are long 'slits', reinforced) until I cinch up the cam band. The jet harness plate is a nice design; it has two slots on either side for each cam band, so you thread the cam band through and end up with a length of cam band going across the center of the plate on the wing side; you use this to trap the wing against the plate. It works very well with dive rite wings. The jet harness plate with a travel EXP wing is a really nice single tank set up.

But, thinking about traditional-style backplates that are meant for doubles and single tank, I know for a fact that the oxycheq wings line up with Dive rite plates and vice-versa, but I don't know if halcyon wings line up with either. It might do the SB community a favor to start posting measurements for popular single tank wings and plates, maybe going for center-to-center distance between the upper and lower cam band slots, and the length of the slot itself. We could pretty easily put together a chart and get it stickied. I'll start with what I have:

Oxycheq mach V 18 lb wing: about 6" center-center for the upper/lower slots, but the lower slot is a full 5" long, so the wing would accommodate slots as close together as 2" or as far apart as 7" center-to-center.

Dive rite wings: the travel wing I have has a webbing cross in the center rather than solid fabric with slots. The rec wing (not that any sane person would use that for single tanks) has slots about 7.5" center/center, the top slot is 3" and the bottom is 5", so it would match up with plates that have slots as close together as 4.5" center/center and much further apart. This is really a doubles wing, though, and not even a 'small' doubles wing despite what dive rite says.

Freedom plate: slots are about 5.5" center/center, 3.5" long each. Should accommodate lots of wings due to the long slots.

Hammerhead plate: slots are 5.5" center/center, 2.25" long each.

Halcyon, DSS, and hog owners can chip in, please!

 

[ams511]

Wait weren't we talking vintage here, so there were no wings, but maybe a horse collar

The Above is all tongue in cheek, so don't take it wrong

No problem Pete, I enjoy looking at your vintage gear but I am not sure if you helped or confused the OP by showing it to him. My assumption is that he uses a a single hose not a double hose regulator.

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But, thinking about traditional-style backplates that are meant for doubles and single tank, I know for a fact that the oxycheq wings line up with Dive rite plates and vice-versa, but I don't know if halcyon wings line up with either.

I am not sure if Halcyon changed the design of the Eclipse (my wing is 6 years old) but if I remember correctly the wing does not have any slots in the center to thread the cam bands through, so you must use an STA or cut your own slots with the wing.

If you want I can measure my Halcyon and Abyss (I think TDL may still use the design) plates. My other wing is a Mach V 18 lb, and you already have the specs for that.

Also from what I gather about freedom plates, there were a few different versions. I thought one of them did have an STA. I have been looking for one myself. Awap snatched the last one up for sale in under 10 minutes.

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Well, when you buy used as I usually do, it's not always easy to keep everything the same brand. I'm just shopping around right now trying to pick up a single wing, double wing, BP, and Harness. Maybe I should ask the question here if anyone has had a negative experience buying a used wing.

Northeast Scuba Supply, DRIS, and Diver's Supply (and I am sure others) have pretty good deals on single tank packages. I am not sure if customs and shipping kill the deal for you. I have never bought a used wing because there was never one cheap enough to entice me to buy.