Putting together a new kit.

[tbone1004]

full circle is a one piece construction, LCD is traditional inner outer bladder. Nothing better IMHO about either, just a different design.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Go with the right amount of lift, rather than the max (which for me would be the BCD with the smallest amount of lift).

Good concept! A lot of wings smaller than 30 lbs, however, achieve this by being SHORTER, and that does not do anything to make the rig more streamlined. The idea is not to purchase a WIDE wing - and around 30 lbs. seems to be a very nice compromise.

With halcyon, the eclipse seems to come with a stainless steel STA, how much does this weigh? It also comes with a harness, but it doesn't seem to be a hogarthian style, any opinions on the harness etc?

Yes, Halcyon wings are available alone. Call Halcyon at 1-800-HALCYON and talk with Cory. Purchase from Extreme Exposure in High Springs, FL... Same owner of the shop that owns Halcyon.

I'm really against the thought of extra gear,

Good boy. . Gear will multiply on its own. No need to encourage it. Good philosophy.

I guess having a wrighted STA is an option here.

I'm not a fan... I much prefer to thread weights onto the harness itself, or purchase Halcyon's ACB weight pockets if you want the ditchability... But weighted STAs are popular.

Finally, does any other company make the stainless buckled tank straps other than scubapro/halcyon?

Thanks!

The ones shown by the poster above are NOT the same design that I recommended, and will not allow you to put a tank on your rig while horizontal... Or with the regulator still attached. Scubapro has a patent on their design, and you will not see it duplicated anywhere else... Although Scubapro does sell a slightly cheaper "generic" version which I once saw at Scubatoys.com. My advice is to get the Scubapro branded ones... Which you will only be able to purchase from an actual brick and mortar Scubapro dealer.

Scubapro and Halcyon both have a very tight grip on their retailers in terms of sales and pricing controls. Do not expect to be able to find much leeway in pricing on either... Or an online retailer of Scubapro products.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Must not have heard that ScubaPro allows on line sales and leisure pro is an authorized retailer now.

 

[sxc]

The ones shown by the poster above are NOT the same design that I recommended, and will not allow you to put a tank on your rig while horizontal... Or with the regulator still attached. Scubapro has a patent on their design, and you will not see it duplicated anywhere else... Although Scubapro does sell a slightly cheaper "generic" version which I once saw at Scubatoys.com. My advice is to get the Scubapro branded ones... Which you will only be able to purchase from an actual brick and mortar Scubapro dealer.

Is this similar to what you're talking about? Highland SS Tank Bands (pair) - Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL.

I can't find anything on the scubapro site specifically about the straps, just want to make sure I understand what exactly you're referring to.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[TSandM]

You've gotten a lot of good advice here.

I would say the only reason to get an STA is if you are switching frequently from singles to doubles. An STA bolts onto the plate the way double tanks do, and it carries the cambands. This means that you don't have to thread and unthread cambands when you switch setups. However, most of us who dive single and double tanks eventually just give up and buy two plates, anyway.

Tobin George, owner of DSS, has an eloquent and very compelling explanation of why doughnut wings are not what people think they are -- basically, because the tank or tanks hold the bottom of the wing against the backplate, air is NOT going to move through that bottom passage unless you are really grossly out of trim. I have dived both, and saw no functional difference between them.

If you are doing your warm water diving with an Al80 and no exposure protection at all, you might enjoy the smallest wing possible -- the DSS TTW 17 is a delightful thing for those conditions, because it is tiny and tucks right against the tank, and the small size of the side pontoons makes it vent instantly. One of the only things I regret about going to diving dry everywhere is not being able to use that wing.

There is a lot of good equipment out there. Customer service is one of the big determining factors for me in what I buy. DSS has a long-established reputation for superb customer service, and I can certainly bear witness to it in my own diving. HOG is a newer company, but is also developing a very good reputation for service. Halcyon has a pretty good rep. And although there are die-hard Oxycheq fans, the company, I think, can at best be said to have a spotty reputation for service. My own experiences with their products have not been happy ones, except for their oxygen analyzer.

Have fun with all this -- there is nothing more exciting and frustrating than trying to decide on new, major gear purchases!

 

[Deep South Divers]

Must not have heard that ScubaPro allows on line sales and leisure pro is an authorized retailer now.

Wow, really? Leisurepro is now an authorized dealer for Scubapro? Scubapro has, for something like 35 years, been the industry leader in the anti-catalog, anti-online, anti-phone sales mentality. Leisurepro, of course, has been the industry leader for the opposite. Seeing the two together is a bit like seeing David and Goliath sitting and having a beer together and telling jokes together. Wow. Maybe Leisurepro is an authorized Scubapro dealer but still unable to sell Scubapro products online or via phone/catalog sales? I just have such a tough time wrapping my mind around that.

Is this similar to what you're talking about? Highland SS Tank Bands (pair) - Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL.

Jim, those cam bands are NOT the ones I'm talking about. Scubapro's cam bands are patented, and you will not find the same design in Dive Rite, Highland, or Halcyon. Those designs are all like each other, and while also stainless, are a completely different design than Scubapro's patented cam bands. Only the Scubapros allow you to change a tank out horizontally, and/or with the reg still attached (and thus enabling you to rinse a reg without ever taking the pressure off of it).

Here's a picture os a Scubapro cam band. The come standard on every Scubapro BC that I know of, and are available at Scubapro authorized dealers as a special order part: http://www.grandio.org/HalcyonRig/Images/CierreCinchaBotella1156.jpg Here's a picture of the "generic" version that is also made by Scubapro, but sold under a different brand name: http://dipndive.com/media/catalog/p...08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/a/tank_camband_1_1_2.jpg The easiest way to tell the difference is that the "generic" version has the white stripes in the webbing.

There is a slight design difference in the generic and branded cam bands - there was a time when there wasn't. Since then, Scubapro has redesigned the way that the webbing is threaded to the buckle, and the generic did not receive the change. Thus, the generic is the "old" design while the branded is the "new" design... And while very similar, I actually prefer the "old" design. It "captured" the velcro adjustment (yes, there is some, it's just that it's a set-it and forget-it kind of thing) better than the new does, and tightening the strap actually INCREASED the velcro's hold, whereas with the new design, it doesn't.

...But I hate the white stripes so much that I use the branded Scubapro cam bands on all of my singles rigs. The "new" Scubapro cam band design hasn't been problematic at all... I'm just saying that the old design was better. I just can't bring myself to use "stripey" or "H-emblazoned" webbing.

One of the criticisms that these cam bands have received is that they are rather high profile and offer a very nasty little entanglement point - in the worst possible spot on your rig - with the rather tall buckle and "finger bend." To counter this, do NOT thread the cam band onto your rig as you see in this picture... Turn the cam band so that the buckle is all the way to the side and as close to buried into your backplate as possible. This offers, then, a smooth profile and buries the entanglement point in your rig so that it never becomes an issue.

Another advantage with this cam band is that you do NOT have to wet the strap when you rig up... The leverage is simply so intense that it doesn't matter is the strap is wet or not. Watch your fingers.

I agree with TSandM on everything she said... But I prefer to use a STA on all of my singles rigs, even those that are dedicated for singles. I find that using the rig without a STA places the tank TOO close to my back (hey, that's a first), and I bang my head on my tank valve, even thought the rig is adjusted correctly. The problem isn't extreme, it's just that the STA takes care of the issue altogether by giving me another 1/4" or 1/2" of room back there. I also like the fact that when I release the cam bands and take the tank off, the rig stays together better and feels more solid with a STA than it does without.

I think that it's really just a preference thing... You're not wrong doing either.