To SS or Aluminum BP/Wing?

[GreenDiverDown]

I suspect FredT plates will be rather difficult to come by...for awhile, at least.

Do you need an entire setup...plate, harness, and wing?

 

[Cold_Under_Here]

Thanks for the feed back fellas.

Safer...hmm...what exactly are you asking? I'm not sure that I follow.

Yes safer. Is it safer to have all your weights in one place, where you can dump them? Or somewhere else where they cannot be accidently ditched?

Do you need an entire setup...plate, harness, and wing?.

Yes, the entire setup. I like the oxycheq wings with the hogarthian setup.

:14:

 

[cmalinowski]

Thanks for the feed back fellas.
Yes safer. Is it safer to have all your weights in one place, where you can dump them? Or somewhere else where they cannot be accidently ditched?

I have no ditchable weight really. I have 8lbs on my tank bands, and technically, they could be ditched, but not easily. I dive SS plate. In addtion, you wouldn't want to ditch everything at once I would imagine... just what you need to ditch. I'm hoping that I never have the need to ditch, and I can't think of a time when I would. But that's another thread discussion I guess. Don't want to start that war here.

Chris

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Is it safer to have all your weights in one place, where you can dump them?

I think that would be the worst arrangement. Dumping a bunch of weight is going to prompt a very fast uncontolled ascent. There are many of us here that believe ditching weight is never an answer to any underwater emergency. Problems underwater should be solved underwater.

Or somewhere else where they cannot be accidently ditched?

This is the reason why some of us wear our weight belt under the crotch strap.

Yes, the entire setup. I like the oxycheq wings with the hogarthian setup.

That's an excellent setup. But you might want to think through your weighting requirements very carefully before purchasing it.

1. How much total weight do you need to hold a 10 foot stop at the end of your dive with a nearly empty cylinder?
2. Can you swim that rig up from the bottom at the beginning of your dive with a full cylinder or will you need at least a little ditchable weight to be able to do this?
3. How does that weight need to be distributed to facilitate a horizontal trim?

In your case, the thick wetsuit and your relatively high weight requirement complicate this issue to some degree. The best solution would be to get in the water with the gear and figure it out. Unfortunately, that is difficult if you don't have the gear or don't dive with anyone that does.

Just making a guess, I would think that you would need a heavy backplate, an STA, a weightbelt and maybe some cam band weight pockets. Otherwise, going with a standard plate alone, will leave you having to use a massive weightbelt...as much as 24# if the weight information that you gave us is correct.

To get things dialed in with the Oxy you might need to use their weighted STA and some cam band pockets. An alternative to this would be to get Koplin's 1/4" plate...I know that Oxy offers this but I've never seen one.

FredT's plates...9#, 12#, and 15# would be an option but they are not available...at least until Fred recovers from Katrina.

Halcyon also offers a weighted STA but only has the standard SS plate. Someone already mentioned stacking plates and that would be an option, but it would add to the expense and is a little 'clumsy', IMHO. Probably the best bet with a H setup would be to combine their SS plate with the weighted STA and then make use of their cam band weight pockets.

Then, of course, is Tobin's DSS gear. You could go with his standard SS plate, add the 8# weight plates and then make up the difference with some combination of an STA, cam band weight pockets and weightbelt.

Here are some ideas for some combinations. They are just a guess with respect to your particular needs! Notice that the cam band pockets give you a lot of freedom with respect to moving weights around. (The amount of weight that I have shown below can be tweaked. Personally, I prefer no more than 8# on the belt. Then...I just work backwards to figure how much to put in the cam band pockets.)

Oxy: Fresh
6# SS plate/hog harness
6# weighted STA
4# cam band pockets (2# upper, 2# lower)
4# weightbelt
20# total

Oxy: Salt
6# SS plate/hog harness
6# weighted STA
10# cam band pockets (2#,3# upper, 2#, 3# lower)
8# weightbelt
30# total

Halcyon

Same setup... but MAYBE this would be a good situation for using their ACB weight pockets...4# in each.

DSS: fresh
6# SS plate/hog harness
8# weight plates (total)
2# standard STA ( Halcyon, Oxy, Salvo)
0# cam band weight pockets
4# weight belt
20# total

DSS: Salt
6# SS plate/hog harness
8# weight plates (total)
2# standard STA
10# cam band weight pockets
4# belt
30# total

The bummer is this...

...cam band weight pockets run about 50 bucks a pair and you would need 2 pair, STAs are about 100 dollars and the weighted ones are another 30. (These are prices for Halcyon. Oxy runs a little less maybe... and there are a few places where you could shave off a few more dollars.)

But if you really need that much weight, you should split it up. I like heavy plates for situations like this and right now the best option with that in mind would be Tobin's plate in combination with his weight plates. The cam band weight pockets allow great versatility in weight distribution and are a great help in situations like yours. As far as STAs are concerned...some people use 'em and some people don't. I like 'em...they make tank switches a piece of cake, they help put weight on the back and allow less on the weightbelt, they add stability on some rigs, and they make using the cam band pockets a little easier.

This is a lot to consider. I hope that I haven't confused you.

 

[Blackwood]

For cold water, definately go SS.

 

[Don Burke]

So what are your suggestions?

I dive a minimum of 7mm (yup,lol), both in Fresh and Salty waters. Would it be safer to go with the unditchable SS plate of ~6lb or the neutral AL plates? (I don't care about comfort, I don't mind weight belts)... I dive AL tanks aswell. I PLAN to go dry one day, when a nice DUI falls from the sky...hehehe...ow!!! :luxhello:

thanks! :bandsmlz:

Steel would be my choice. With about 20 pounds to play with, you can easily give up the 6 pounds or so of ditchable weight.

I suspect your current BC is causing you to need some of that weight, so you would probably be wearing something less than 14 pounds with a backplate.

There really is no need for massive amounts of ditchable weight. It just needs to be enough to keep you on the surface if you are hurt with a BC failure. In some types of diving, you are better off with no ditchable weight anyway.

 

[halocline]

I think you've gotten great advice here; the only thing that might be an issue, especially in "salty" water (love it) is if you're used to wearing 30lbs on your hips, and you move most or all of that weight to your back via plates, STA, and tank weights, you could be pretty top heavy trim-wise. You'll know immediately when you get neutral if your feet start drifting up. Keeping some weight on your hips would help this, as would negative fins if you don't already have them. Maybe start with just the SS plate; that alone could drop your weight belt to as low as 20lbs, if your current BC has lots of inherent buoyancy. Then as you get used to the difference in trim (probably just a dive or two) you could start to add weight plates or the STA, gradually taking more weight off your belt until you find the trim that's just right for you. I'm sure Tobin at DSS would have lots of great info for you and has dealt with many people in your situation.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

That's a good point, Matt. I forgot that he was going from a BC to a plate and that will, indeed, cut some of his weight requirement.

As far as your other point...That's why I really like the cam band pockets for this kinda situation. They allow you to move weight up and down the cylinder AND on or off the weight belt. They are great for tweaking weight distribution, especially when you have a lot of weight.

I posted some pics in the Hog Forum...

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=114689

 

[halocline]

That looks like a great set up. Is there an extra LP hose on the left?

 

[GreenDiverDown]

That looks like a great set up. Is there an extra LP hose on the left?

That's a drysuit inflator hose.

One of these days I'm gonna get some shorter LP inflator hoses. All of mine are the standard 22" hoses that EE sells in there DIR hose kit. They are just right for doubles but I think a 20" might help get rid of that extra bend when rigged like this on a single. Some of it goes away when then rig is put on but I still think that it could be a little shorter.