Below some of my findings, some of which were already mentioned.
Depending on your preferences, there should be something in for you.
I also had a Oceanic Shute. Used it for some time. Really not bad, but WAY too heavy for travel, even worse when wet.
And I learned to appreciate the lack of clutter in a BP/W.
1. DSS Hogarthian setup, you can get it for <400$ with the polymer backplate which is great if you (at least sometimes) fly to your destinations and look for light weight. That's what I went for, because I liked the size and low weight and replacable bladder.
Was a close call with 3. below.
2. above + Hammerhead backplate if you ALSO dive cold water/local and want to save some compared to the DSS steel BP.
3. Oxycheq single or signature wing, at ebay from Samishdivers. They have various packages at great prices, good service, and also sell you individual wings at much better price than advertised at Oxycheq.com (ask!).
Cheapest setup I could find: Oxycheq single wing from Samish (209.-) plus OMS alu BP from Leisurepro (65.-) plus 2 Tankstraps from ebay (40.-) plus webbing and metal parts from any of 5. below (<40.-)
4. Famous name special at NESS (northwestscubasupply.com) plus tank straps from ebay (there is one place that sells decent straps for 14.- each)
5. bits and pieces for harness, snaps, etc: NESS, Diveritexpress.com, reefscuba.com, Leisurepro for OMS stuff...
I recommend you first try the cheap and simple Hogarthian harness. It really works well. Although it doesn't look as comfortable as any of the comfort harnesses, it really is unless you have to walk a mile. And it's unbeatable for flexibility, price, robustness, low clutter. If you don't like it, it's a very small investment and you can always "upgrade".
One more thing: I found that in many cases the hoses delivered with standard setups are way too long, causing large loops over your head. Bad for drag and entanglement.
Make sure you get as short as possible hoses, request an exchange from the vendor as need be.
Regards, d-s-f
