Freedom Plate poll

[stablgr]

I looked into getting one of these backplates just at the time Eric stopped production. After all I'd heard on this forum I was gutted when I found out he'd stopped making them. I eventually went for an OxyCheq st/stl travel plate which I just got last month and so far am pleased with but.......maybe my wife won't notice if I happen to acquire a nice shiny new plate.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I bought one of Erics plates when he was having his big sale, I can't remember what I paid for it but I practicaly stole i!. I have only used mine once but I love it!! It fits perfectly and doesn't move, period. I was wearing 15 lbs of lead with my old BC in Hawaii and I was down to less then 5 when I used the freedom plate. I bought a set of XS Scuba weight pockets and got rid of the weight belt altogether. Total weight of my set up with cast stainless steel cam bands and Oxycheq wing was about 9 pounds which is heavy compared to my wifes which weighs about 6 lbs. and my old BC which weighed about 4 lbs.

The only thing I would like to see is some way of holding the wing in place when the tank is removed. The slots in the wing allow you to adjust the placement of the wing and you might not get the wing in exactly the right spot. I might drill and counter sink a 1/4" hole and put a bolt through the plate to hold the wing in place but I haven't bothered yet. It's not a problem when I set it up my self but on some boats where the crew sets up your gear for you I can see it confusing people.

Over all its a minor issue. Once you use this plate you will be convinced that its the way to go for single tank diving.

How you doing Kazuo?
good to hear from you.
Glad you like the plate.

One thing to remember about the weight of a rig and that is that only the stainless components count when in the water, not the weight of the whole rig on dry land. The wing and webbing will neutral out underwater but weigh a few pounds on a scale topside.

Holding the wing in place was a consideration at one point but I decided against drilling holes in the plate and holding the wing still with a sex bolt because then the wing would be pegged in one spot on the plate and wouldn't give people the option to move the wing up or down as they wish. I never let anybody touch my stuff on a dive boat. Besides I think most divemasters working on diveboats would be clueless about putting anything together other than a standard jacket BC. My experience is that when they see advanced gear they generally let the diver deal with their own stuff.

Happy diving!

 

[HenrikBP]

Good point about holding the wing to the plate when no tank is strapped in. I have a couple of plastic "sex" bolts holding the wing, which makes it easier to slip the tank in the straps without anything moving about too much. Of course, that would also limit - or eliminate - the option of varying the position of the wing.

Maybe a few holes in the plate to account for that?

Henrik

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Good point about holding the wing to the plate when no tank is strapped in. I have a couple of plastic "sex" bolts holding the wing, which makes it easier to slip the tank in the straps without anything moving about too much. Of course, that would also limit - or eliminate - the option of varying the position of the wing.

Maybe a few holes in the plate to account for that?

Henrik

Like I said, I already looked into that. Drilling a bunch of holes into the plate just to hold the wing temporarily while assembling it seems like overkill and an unecessary degradation of a very clean slick piece of stainless to me. It's actually a very minor task assembling the rig. With a little practice everybody gets the hang of getting everything lined up and once you snap down the cambands it's solid as a rock.

I need to stick with my minimalist beliefs and keep it absolutely as simple as possible.

 

[2TH DIVR]

Nemrod,

Did you remove the tank bracket to mount the STA ?

Thanks
Scott

 

[Nemrod]

Nemrod,

Did you remove the tank bracket to mount the STA ?

Thanks
Scott

I am not sure what your asking. My plate is a little different from the latest version and I have the original version of the Mach V that required an STA. The new versions do not require an STA as they have camband slots in them, mine does not.

I never posted any pics of that mounting system because I was essentially never given permission to--it is not my design. I will be glad to only if Eric allows it. I think his newer design solves the problems given that the Mach V (and similar wings) has cam band slots.

N

 

[2TH DIVR]

I was wondering if your tank sits flush to the plate or are raised at the bottom ?
I have a Freedom plate and was thinking of lowering or removing the tank bracket.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I am not sure what your asking. My plate is a little different from the latest version and I have the original version of the Mach V that required an STA. The new versions do not require an STA as they have camband slots in them, mine does not.

I never posted any pics of that mounting system because I was essentially never given permission to--it is not my design. I will be glad to only if Eric allows it. I think his newer design solves the problems given that the Mach V (and similar wings) has cam band slots.

N

You can post pics of it if you want, I don't mind.
But that design is obsolete just so people know. You already addressed that topic ( all wings now have built in slots) so there isn't a reason for an STA because nothing needs to be adapted, it's already designed for singles and all relevant wings have slots ;-)

 

[tridacna]

Count me in. I've been dying to get one. Please advise when these are available. Price is just fine.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I was wondering if your tank sits flush to the plate or are raised at the bottom ?
I have a Freedom plate and was thinking of lowering or removing the tank bracket.

The reason the bottom of the plate is kicked out with the tank bracket is to allow the lower portion of the plate to maintain contact with your lower back for support, otherwise what I found happened was the tank actually sit too close to the body and it felt like I had a splint on my back with the tank riding very close to my back plus pressing against my butt. The bracket frees up some of that and gives you a little more range by allowing you a little more room to arch yourself backwards.

But if the tank bracket is too tall for your personal geometry send it back to me and I'll fix it however you want free of charge.
No problem.

Thanks

Eric