Halcyon BP/wing: I love it!!

[JimC]

Was sold a Tusa jacket... Did the job, but was lacking.

Tried the TP2... much better

Tried the OMS IQ... aprox the same as the TP2

Tried a BP/Harness...

Purchased a BP/Harness...


Each to there own, each has some issues. IMHO the issues with the BP/Harness are far fewer and far less than the others.

 

[Genesis]

to the "sore shoulder" thing with the harness was to purchase a pair of small neoprene padded "cells" that go over the harness in the shoulder area and wrap around it (closed with Velcro), effectively putting about 5 mm of padding between your bony shoulder and the strap.

It works and its only problem is that it moves down the shoulder D-rings about an inch from the "DIR" position - I've not found it to be a problem.

I love mine; I have a Knighthawk as well and while its a nice BC its nowhere near as secure as the BP + Harness.

 

[neve]

I was wearing a 0.5mm neoprene suit, and yes I'm prone to bruising.... some of the other BP/wing users I talked to never got any bruises. Maybe I'm an exception. But my shoulders were not sore at all, so the bruising was just on the surface.

Now I'm trying to decide if I should buy the 6lbs SS plate or the 2lbs aluminium one. 4lbs makes a lot of difference when backpacking....

And I'll look into getting that "padding" for the shoulders.... thanks

 

[filtered]

how much weight do u normally use on a weightbelt?

 

[neve]

I normally use about 5kg (10lbs).

With the 6lb backplate, however, I felt a little overweighted (I used 2 more 2lbs weights on a weightbelt). Looks like I need to dump one and just use one 2lbs weight.

 

[orca]

neve once bubbled...
I normally use about 5kg (10lbs).

With the 6lb backplate, however, I felt a little overweighted (I used 2 more 2lbs weights on a weightbelt). Looks like I need to dump one and just use one 2lbs weight.

tok until here

anyway, the reason for the less weight could be due to the benefit of being able to spread the weight that you are carrying across your back, rather than lug them all at your waist

10lbs is an awfully lot of weight to carry if you're wearing 0.5mm wetsuit...

you *might* have to settle for a Stainless Steel plate, but probably won't have to carry that much weight... I would guesstimate that you don't need extra weight if you use a SS plate, but need some practice though

No way you'll be heavier than me, and I'm wearing a 3mm, so you should be less buoyant than me

 

[Genesis]

and I typically wear 9lbs on my weightbelt, but I weight for neutral at the surface with a near-empty tank. Most of that weight is compensation for the wetsuit. When I'm hunting I tend to weight a pound or two heavy on purpose; I could probably get away with 7lbs or thereabouts if I wasn't intending to shoot.

My BP is the "light" one (Halcyon); I can drop the STA but then I end up with the weight on my belt, which is a net lose in terms of comfort.

 

[filtered]

neve once bubbled...
I normally use about 5kg (10lbs).

With the 6lb backplate, however, I felt a little overweighted (I used 2 more 2lbs weights on a weightbelt). Looks like I need to dump one and just use one 2lbs weight.

10 lbs is way too much weight to be diving with if ur wearing a 0.5mm dive skin. I suppose ur best bet would be to go with a SS plate and just work on ur buoyancy technique a bit. I believe u shld be able to just use an SS plate with no need for additional weights. A friend of mine went from using 8 lbs weights to using no weights after just a couple of practices

I find the SS plate a bit too -ve even with a full 3mm wetsuit. Was thinking of getting an Aluminum or titanium plate. Wanna swap?

 

[neve]

don't forget I'm just a lowly newbie I'm still trying to get my weighting correct. I started with 12lbs and I'm slowly dumping the extra lead.

like I said, I think I need to dump one weight (2lb)..... But I definitely can't sink with less than 8lbs (that's 6lb SS BP and 1 extra lead weight). Remember that women has a higher percentage of body fat than men. Also, I think my fins are very very buoyant. I need to get me Jetfins (which means more $$$ )

also, on my last dive the near-empty tank (70+ bar left) almost pulled me up to the surface when I was doing my safety stop. I wonder if this is because I was hovering horizontally (no achor line to hold on to). I struggled to stay down, and my DM had to hold on to me for the last minute of my safety stop.

I usually hover vertically when I do my safety stop, but the BP/wing setup pulls me to a horizontal position. Is this why people use the heavy jetfins, so they can control their buoyancy better?

anyways, I'm gonna work on my buoyancy so all I need is the SS BP!! I guess now I know which one I should buy.... not immediately though, need to save up the $$$ first

 

[leadweight]

Two factors are present Neve. You point out that you are not an experienced diver. As you dive more you will become more relaxed in the water and need less weight. Just how much depends on your natural bouyancy.

The other facrtor is that many BC's have positive bouyancy. As backplates have no padding this could eliminate up to 3# of lead depending on what you were using before.