I hate conforming...

[chris_b]

divrnr once bubbled...
Hmmm... I'm getting a FredT heavy SST plate $89, SST STA $50, his harness kit $40,...

And if you didn't need the weight, AUL makes an aluminum BP + harness for $70, so you could get your total down pretty close to $300...

 

[Scubaroo]

<further digression deleted>

 

[MikeS]

So Scuba446 are you going to answer the question? How much did you loose on the DIR rig? Or perhaps you decided to keep it for when you change your mind again? And let's leave DIR out of it; BB and wings were around before DIR. You don't have to be DIR to use a BB and wings.

Mike

 

[Scubaroo]

MikeS once bubbled...
And let's leave DIR out of it; BB and wings were around before DIR. You don't have to be DIR to use a BB and wings.

Amen to that!

 

[Scuba446]

No, I'm not going to answer that - thats no one's business but mine - however, it sure wasn't near what I paid for it...and, I don't consider a Bob 3 wings anywhere's near the quality of Halcyone gear - do you?

 

[ckharlan66]

Superhelix. I think you will like the BP setup. I love mine. I trust others have answered your question specifically but if not let us know and we will expand further.

Chad

 

[MikeS]

scuba446,

Which question are you not going to answer?

How much you lost?

Or, if you decided to keep it for when you change your mind again?

 

[Scuba446]

"Or, if you decided to keep it for when you change your mind again?"

Oh, that won't happen again, that I know. I love my BC setup!

 

[seabass]

Scuba446 once bubbled...
Well, quite honestly, I'd love for any of them to tell me a DIR rig IS cheaper, because its not. ESPECIALLy if one buys top quality gear. I spent probably 40% more on my DIR rig, and frankly, didn't dive as well with it. Sure, I'm sure I'll take alot of flack for that - but, the fact IS, at least for recreational diving that I do - a BC works fine, and costs LESS!

Like anything this doesn't have to be true. A BP is simply a piece of metal, you can pay 50 or you can pay 150. Branding is probably irrelevant.

My setup was as follows:

AL Backplate fully rigged - 75
Halcyon Wing (LDS) - 200
SS STA - 40
Pocket from Wal mart - 6

I honestly don't feel like I dive better in the BP and wings (over my backinflate jacket BC ). What I really like is the fact that I don't have a lot of extraneous stuff like cummerbund and uneeded padding (extra weight that is bouyant so requires additional weight in the water). In addition, it doesn't have any extra places to trap air and stays adjusted (the straps always slipped and needed tightening when I dove). Finally, when I travel, the BP and wings is much more compact than the jacket style BC.

 

[Genesis]

My SS BP + Wing + STA + 6 lbs of weight (the STA + BP is about 9, so that's 15 total) is 9 lbs LESS than my Nighthawk + 15lbs (the amount of lead I need to be neutral with it) in total weight.

That's 9 real lbs that I take off my kit, which is NOT insignificant.

I've not completely trimmed out my BP+Wing yet (can someone make this HORRIBLE weather go away in the gulf PLEASE?!), so it may be that I need even less since I suspect the NH is reasonably buoyant intrinsically.