OMS IQ Pack or not

[GreenDiverDown]

I'm brand new to this board, but one thing that I have noticed is that there are a couple of Hogarthian snobs out there (don't take it personaly).

Hmm... how does one not take that personally? :06:

The question was asked and I answered. At least I've tried the thing. I'm not just shooting from the hip. I've watched my buds...who certainly could care less what is hogarthian...both toss their IQ packs for a simpler harness. I recognized some advantages of the piece and gave it credit for those things.

I just don't like it and I don't recommend it for anyone. Seems fair to me.

I suppose we should all just say, "yah it's great!" :11:

 

[xiSkiGuy]

Plus, one could make a strong argument that different exposure suits require different plates. So, once you have your Al plate plate and hog harness setup for your 3mil shorty and your heavy SS plate rigged for your drysuit, no further adjusting is necessary.

He's got me there. :11: While it is very easy to change plates on the IQ Pack, Matrix, etc (way more so than to re-rig a Hog setup) with the price of webbing there is no reason not to own two harnesses. I still think you need to try both before you decide.

Besides, OMS as a company is just plain silly, IMHOAE. I can't think of a company that is more frustrating to deal with. Sorry. With so many fantastic choices out there, there's no way I could recommend them to anyone.

The shop I work for doesn't seem to have trouble with OMS. What is your experience?

 

[GreenDiverDown]

I still think you need to try both before you decide.

Can't argue with that. It's always wise to try things out for yourself. We all like different things.

The shop I work for doesn't seem to have trouble with OMS. What is your experience?

Everything is always on back order or it's something that's been in their catalog for at least a year - sometimes three - but they still don't actually have it yet. My last call to them was for a simple SS BP. "Not available...don't know when...the steel shortage, ya know!"

 

[kidspot]

for what little it's worth ... I had the Halcyon backpad on my plate for awhile, but finally got rid of it as it didn't add any measurable comfort to my rig and made cleaning a bit more of a hassle. While I do not have quick releases on my shoulder harness, like the IQ, I can see how that would be a nice convenience.

Aloha, Tim

 

[GreenDiverDown]

If you also consider the resale value, I don't recommend it. I am not talking about the quality, but the market preference.

I'm not sure that resale value is something that I consider when I buy scuba gear, but... OMS is pretty well valued in many places other than here on SB. Their stuff is standard fare in the northeast and in the Great White North.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

for what little it's worth ... I had the Halcyon backpad on my plate for awhile, but finally got rid of it as it didn't add any measurable comfort to my rig and made cleaning a bit more of a hassle. While I do not have quick releases on my shoulder harness, like the IQ, I can see how that would be a nice convenience.

Aloha, Tim

While I personally am not a fan of QRs I can sure understand why someone might want one. One... not two, mind you... and not a bunch of other stuff. Heck...there are times when I wished I had one...like after a long dive in twins with a drysuit. But, that's what tenders are for...right?

Hey...on a positive note...here's a harness that is, in my opinion, a bit better than the IQ. It doesn't have a quick release but it looks a little less complicated to my eye. Of course, I'd cut off the chest strap...oh...there I go again!

http://www.dive-rite.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=BC1080

 

[xiSkiGuy]

Everything is always on back order or it's something that's been in their catalog for at least a year - sometimes three - but they still don't actually have it yet. My last call to them was for a simple SS BP. "Not available...don't know when...the steel shortage, ya know!"

Hmmmm..... We called to order several items the day before they packed everybody up for DEMA. . . . and we still got it on time. Maybe they are suspicious of landlocked states

 

[DYOUNGER]

I own a IQ pack used with a SS BP and a OMS comfort harness attached to a AL bp. If I had to do over again I would go with two OMS comfort harnesses one rigged with the SS plate for cold water and one with the Al plate for warm water. The comfort harness is just slighlty less comfortable than the IQ but is quite a bit more stable. Also, I took the back padding off the IQ without any noticeable difference in comfort. The pad was just more flotation that I had to offset with more weight.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Hmmmm..... We called to order several items the day before they packed everybody up for DEMA. . . . and we still got it on time. Maybe they are suspicious of landlocked states

Yah...maybe they have it in for us. :06:

 

[Mandy3206]

When I was researching for the Back Inflated setup, I strongly considered the IQ Pack, since my brother had the Trans Pack, I could compare the 2 of them.

After pondering the thing for a few months, I decided for the OMS SS BP, SS STA and Deluxe Harness, due to tank stability, the soft pack may not provide the stability a BP provides.

The IQ can acomodate a BP inside and provide the BP stability, but as kidspot pointed out, the extra padding of a soft pack may make it a bit harder to clean up and the extra back padding won't make a big diference in confort.

The only diference in confort that I found was on the shoulder straps of the harness, and with the shoulder pads available, the problem was corrected.

OMS has responded to all my requests in a promptly manner via my distribuitor in Miami (Austins) and provided me all the gear I asked for (even 2 additional BP/W setups for my buddies) in a reasonable time frame (1-2 weeks tops)

If you want super fast delivery, go to WWW.Diveriteexpress.com, those guys are the fastest guns around.
The wing is another discusion, but the main decison with OMS is if bungies or not, they carry non banded wings as well as bungied wings, the choice is yours, but be confident that quality is excellent in these wings

QR are more of a personal choice, I've never heard of a QR failure, but I suppose it can happen as many other things can happen. All jacket style have QRs and thouthands of harnesses use them so they can't be that bad. I wouldn't trust a QR in my sky dive harness due to shock loads, but for diving I consider them a great comodity.

Do your research and decide on the features you like, then shop for brand and price. Unless you buy some strange never heard off brand, you should be ok with any of the top manufacturers.