SS v. aluminum backplate - help me think this through

[happy-diver]

AlOOminum is for AEROplanes not for backplates in the ocean



See!

 

[Nemrod]

And yet you Aussies seem to favor loominum boats .

By the time my VDH or Hammerhead aluminum plates succumbs to the sea I will be dead and in Davey Jones locker two or three times over.

James

 

[scrane]

I don’t think AL vs SS is that big an issue. If you decide you made the wrong decision you’ll probably have no trouble trading with someone going the other direction here on SB. That’s what I did going from SS to AL.

 

[Eric802]

AlOOminum is for AEROplanes not for backplates in the ocean



See!

I thought it was Al-oo-MIN-ee-um for you folk.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I sometimes suspect that many of the divers (especially newer ones) who advocate for (or see no problems with) having no ditchable lead; have never seen a good diver panic scene at the surface. They probably really can't imagine how quickly things go south, how chaotic it is and how a nice little wind chop makes it all the more fun. Of course, probably all the people who don't want ditchable lead don't wear a snorkel on their mask either.

Personally, I gave up on the snorkel about the time I started using a go pro head mount.. it was just too cumbersome with the snorkel on the mask. Probably a weak reason, but I rarely dive with no ditchable lead.

The older divers who are uncomfortable with the idea of no ditchable lead probably came to this mindset not because that was how it was done in the old days, but rather from seeing some F'ed up situations.

From a big picture perspective, wearing a little extra lead that you can drop if necessary, is a lot less troublesome than trying to dive a big steel tank and heavy steel plate while wearing little exposure protection. I would view the later configuration as unwise, unless you are very fat.

I’m not even an old diver, I’ve only been scuba diving since 1998. But something instinctively in me knew from the start that not having any ditchable weight was a really bad idea. No instructor or mentor had to tell me this, I just knew it. Maybe it was from the years freediving I did before getting in to scuba. Being overweighted freediving absolutely does not work, there is no BC or drysuit to save your ass. I used to see overweighted ab divers trying to function in the ocean and they were not having a good time. Near panic and exhaustion was more like it, hanging onto their float tubes for dear life!
The mantra in freediving is: when you get in trouble you dump your belt.
Maybe this just stuck with me, IDK?
I’ve never had to dump my belt scuba diving, but if I had to I’d do it in a second. Better alive than drowned.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

And yet you Aussies seem to favor loominum boats .

By the time my VDH or Hammerhead aluminum plates succumbs to the sea I will be dead and in Davey Jones locker two or three times over.

James

‘Ain’t nothin gonna happen to your loominum plates other than they’ll probably get uglier than uncle Festers step sister. But they still work jus fine.

 

[jayknight]

What would play a role for me is the type of diving happening during the trip:

On live aboards that include lots of diving (and pickups) with a RIB, for instance, the standard operating procedure was that the guys on the RIB first took your weight belt / pouches, and only then hoisted your (much easier to lift) BC on the RIB (followed by the ever so elegant ‘seal’ like entry into the RIB).

Also: if there is a lot of hauling gear, it’d be beneficial if weight belt / pouches can be carried separated.

 

[brsnow]

I have both and am still confused on which to use))

 

[JaxSpearDiver]

My philosophy is that your setup should be as light as possible to achieve neutral buoyancy at the end of the dive. I switched from SS to Aluminum because I didn't need the extra weight with my standard gear configuration which I use frequently for offshore ocean diving. No need to carry extra weight. If I switch to my drysuit rig, I need to use my SS. There is no one size fits all, it's totally dependent on the dive profile and gear configuration.

 

[Jacob BV]

For a drysuit and twinset (I realise this doesn't fit the OP) I believe the Ali to be more optimal for most as it gives you extra flexibility. In fresh water I would be overweighted with a SS, especially with a drysuit inflation bottle. In salt walter I have the option of putting the extra lead needed either on my waist, as a tail weight or in V weights. This gives you more options when trying to adjust your trim.

Then on top of that, as others have said, Ali is a bit lighter to travel with.

There might be some who need lots of weight in which case steel might help a bit, but one can easily fit 10kg in V, tail, and P weights - so theres not many who will need more than that in a twinset.