Question Diving harness with both Single and Double tank wing

[harveywalker500]

Hey all,

I've been considering getting a new wing BCD with a DIR harness (or maybe not, the quick release clips seem really nice to have, but I'm still not entirely sure what DIR is!) I would like to have a harness that can support both a single tank wing and a double one which I can change depending on my setup.

I currently use a Cressi Start, and it's perfectly capable, but I'd like to have something a bit more configurable for when I do more technical diving.

I have used an XDEEP Zeos wing with a club once and I liked it a bit, but I can't see if the harnesses are interchangeable, so I'm not committed to them.

Which things would you recommend?

Thanks for your recommendations

 

[rongoodman]

The same harness and back plate will work with either singles or doubles, depending on the wing you use. I'm partial to the standard single piece of webbing on a SS plate myself, although doubles combined with light exposure protection might do better with an aluminum plate in order to avoid overweighting.

 

[harveywalker500]

The same harness and back plate will work with either singles or doubles, depending on the wing you use. I'm partial to the standard single piece of webbing on a SS plate myself, although doubles combined with light exposure protection might do better with an aluminum plate in order to avoid overweighting.

That's the plan I'm a fairly skinny lad and I don't need much weight normally (roughly 2kg with a 5mm), do you reckon that an aluminum plate would cover that?
Which setup do you use?

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Here's a reasonably solid guide . You should be OK with a harness + backplate that looks like this:

There are some mild differences between brands - some need a slightly thicker screw (I think M8 / M10 / M12, can't remember which one) and the groove on some of the backplates is shallower than on others. Generally this is not a problem.

It's quite nice to have a harness with a logo, as it helps with adjustments to make sure that both straps are of an equal length. Protip: buy a cheap backplate and later replace the no-name harness with a Halcyon one .

You can use a backplate with a manifolded twinset as it is. You need to get a single tank adaptor and 2 cam bands to attach a single cylinder.

You most likely don't need or want anything like weight pockets - you can attach trim pockets with some lead to cam bands that hold the cylinder. Padding is not necessary with a drysuit, not sure about a wetsuit. Unless you have mobility issues, you generally should not need breakaway clips or quick releases. You might suffer once every training course when someone needs to get you out of the harness but in a real world situation, you would just cut it.

Since you are in the UK - you could have a look at an S40 wing from Custom Divers, it seems to be popular. Give them a ring, they are nice. Tecline is also pretty good. If you want just the backplate, you could check Kent Tooling - few people use their backplates when they needed something special in terms of weight.

If you don't want to go the DIR route, have a look at the Buddy Commando monstrosity as it can take twindies (two independent cylinders). If you ever do go DIR or get decent technical training, be prepared to throw it away.

There is also a lot of cheap gear on Facebook at the moment, as people are giving up diving.

Personally I own two XDeep backplates and Zeos (38 pounds lift) + Hydros (50 pounds lift) wings, you can swap them interchangeably. Weights (normal weight, not an athlete, not obese):

• Single 15l cylinder + drysuit: steel backplate + few extra kg
• Steel 2x12l twinset + drysuit: steel backplate + 0 - 3 kg of lead, depending on undergarments
• Ali 2x11l twinset + drysuit: ali backplate + 1 kg of lead, with summer undergarments

Never used it in a wetsuit. The wings are nice. The backplate groove could be just a tiny bit deeper - not a problem if you own a twinset but you might need to make few adjustments on rentals. Doesn't matter for single cylinders.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

Hey all,

I've been considering getting a new wing BCD with a DIR harness (or maybe not, the quick release clips seem really nice to have, but I'm still not entirely sure what DIR is!) I would like to have a harness that can support both a single tank wing and a double one which I can change depending on my setup.
Which things would you recommend?

I have a Sub Gravity aluminum back plate, 26 lb wing and their adjustable harness which I love. It is clean & simple and there are no plastic parts. I recommend their whole Sub Gravity BP/W system. They have 3 back plate choices, 4 single tank wing sizes and 2 double tank wing sizes, 2 harness styles and 3 weight pocket sizes. Backmount Gear Archives - SubGravity