SS vs AL backplate question, please help out!

[rongoodman]

Expedition Luggage | Wild Things was unavailable for a while, but now it's back. It's light, without bells and whistles, but bombproof.

 

[aquaregia]

It would seem however that in rec diving with my air never being lower than 900psi

I wouldn't want to rely on having that air for weight. I figure the time I'm most likely to "oops" run out of air on a rec dive is when I'm pretty close to NDL.

 

[Ntino]

I wouldn't want to rely on having that air for weight. I figure the time I'm most likely to "oops" run out of air on a rec dive is when I'm pretty close to NDL.

While this is true, I dont remember the last time I had to go up because of air. anyway a pound or 2 are easy to regulate with breathing or even swimming upside down(not that its comfy) if you really have to.

 

[halocline]

There are some situations in which you could easily find yourself lower on air than expected; maybe a free flow, maybe a buddy has a problem and needs to share air. In those situations you probably don't want to be light on your safety stop.

 

[cool_hardware52]

There are some situations in which you could easily find yourself lower on air than expected; maybe a free flow, maybe a buddy has a problem and needs to share air. In those situations you probably don't want to be light on your safety stop.

My thoughts exactly.

Tobin

 

[aquaregia]

While this is true, I dont remember the last time I had to go up because of air. anyway a pound or 2 are easy to regulate with breathing or even swimming upside down(not that its comfy) if you really have to.

A pound or two is easy to do with lung volume unless you're already at an extreme. Are you sure that the 900psi is with a median lung volume?

I just point this out because I've been wrong on both sides before. I discovered my weighting was too light when I started doing 10' stops -- I'd weighted myself for a 15' stop, and had to add a pound. Same on the other side. I found myself too heavy to stay off the bottom at my planned depth because I'd weighted myself for a tank that was only 2# more buoyant (WK vs PST st72). It's really surprising how noticeable a small amount of weight is.

 

[Splitlip]

A SS plate will nicely offset the positive buoyancy of an AL tank. After that you can focus on your exposure protection.

Stainless.