Fear of S/S BP being too heavy?

[eelnoraa]

About weight, ditching your floaty BC and switch to bp/w alone will probably safe you 3lb. Then 6lb of SS plate. Estimated 9lb saving on belt. You diving 26lb with 7mm now. You will be using 17lb. This applies to both DR and DSS. DSS offer 8lb bolt on plate, further drop you belt down to 9lb.

You are 135lb, which is about my size. I persoally found that 17lb on belt is getting to a point that is hard to manage You maybe OK with it. 9lb is very easy to handle. If you keep diving in Monterey, you will sooner or later switch to drysuit. That means more weight. Having the option to go to bolt on later is nice.

Nothing wrong with DR package tho.

I don't know how concerned I am about losing more weight than the steel backplate already loses me. I don't ming wearing an 18-20 pound belt with an Al80. I know a lot of peopel content with the DSS rig, does it benefit me in any othe way to sink that extra $100 in?

Edit: also, is the STA a necessity if I'm only ever diving one-tank?

---------- Post Merged at 07:19 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:15 PM ----------

Also, if you decided to go without STA, DSS has the best implmentation there. Again, you may not appreciate the difference. To me, it is all the small attention to detail that make me like DSS.

 

[umihoshijima]

The more I think about it, I'm going to be diving cold water almost exclusively… the S/S in tropics idea was just something that came to mind. I'm probably leaning towards a s/s backplate at this point. At my preferred price point, I'm looking at the DRIS, the Dive Rite, and possibly (a bit of a stretch), the DSS. Considering I'm used to a 26-pound weight belt (all on belt, not integrated), I feel like just losing the 9 pounds would be sufficient for me at this point. both the DRIS and Dive Rite follow the extreme KISS attitude that I like about these. Will I actually regret buying one of these because they're missing a feature (the bolt-on plate compatibility), considering I'm buying them for their simplicity?

PS, the DRIS is out of stock till october.

 

[TSandM]

An Al80 is +4 when empty, so a 6 lb SS plate will render you -2, assuming you have nothing else that floats, and nothing else that sinks. If you have a standard jacket BC, the BC will be +1 to +3, so you'll be just about neutral. If you use any exposure protection at all, the SS backplate won't even be enough, and you will need additional weight. (This is, of course, in salt water.)

I sometimes dive a SS BP in warm water, and sometimes a Kydex Deep Sea Supply plate -- it depends on whether I'm going to be intelligent enough to dive my dry suit, or whether I've had a manic moment and decided to give diving wet another try.

 

[ams511]

PS, the DRIS is out of stock till october.

You may be able to find a Hog setup in your price range also you may want to check out Golem Gear supposedly their wings are very tough

 

[herman]

An Al80 is +4 when empty, so a 6 lb SS plate will render you -2, assuming you have nothing else that floats, and nothing else that sinks. If you have a standard jacket BC, the BC will be +1 to +3, so you'll be just about neutral. If you use any exposure protection at all, the SS backplate won't even be enough, and you will need additional weight. (This is, of course, in salt water.)

I sometimes dive a SS BP in warm water, and sometimes a Kydex Deep Sea Supply plate -- it depends on whether I'm going to be intelligent enough to dive my dry suit, or whether I've had a manic moment and decided to give diving wet another try.

Add another 3 to 4 lbs negative for the regulator

 

[halocline]

If she (my guess is that the OP is a woman) wears 27 lbs with a 7 mil wetsuit, I seriously doubt she's going to have to worry about being negative in the tropics with a SS plate and AL tank...the plate only counters the buoyancy of the AL80 she's certain to get on a tropical charter, anyway.

Getting back to the question of the Dive rite set up, the first package would be the one you want. Get a small wing, definitely the travel wing if you buy dive rite. Dive rite wings are notoriously big....I have three of them. Don't get a STA, but you do need cam bands.

Have a look at oxycheq packages from caveadventurers. The 30lb machV wing is probably more streamlined than the travel wing, definitely more so than the larger D-R wing, and I suspect you can get a comparable deal that includes cam bands and a harness. The oxy wing also works great with no STA.

Go simple......no padding, 2" crotch strap, the basic hogarthian set up. You won't regret it.

I still bet you're overweighted....

 

[eelnoraa]

There is one downside to Oxycheq Mach V wing. While it is more streamline in water, it is more difficult to pack for traveling. The material is very stiff, so the wing is un-foldable. It is also quite heavy too. If you can look pass that, it is a good wing.

 

[ams511]

There is one downside to Oxycheq Mach V wing. While it is more streamline in water, it is more difficult to pack for traveling. The material is very stiff, so the wing is un-foldable. It is also quite heavy too. If you can look pass that, it is a good wing.

I agree, for traveling a Halcyon or a clone would be better as you can fold or roll the wing. I cannot comment about Dive Rite as I don't own any of their products.

 

[halocline]

I don't what you guys are talking about, I have no problem flattening out and folding or rolling my mach V. Same with the travel wing. The oxycheq outer shell is a little thicker fabric, so what. The difference in packability between different brands of small wings is really inconsequential.

 

[aquaregia]

If she (my guess is that the OP is a woman)

OP's totally male Not that it matters for anything other than pronoun selection here though.