BP/W combo for tropical diving

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scubazach

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Looking for suggestions/advice on a rig for warm water tropical diving for travel. There are so many manufacturers/considerations I am getting overwhelmed.

SS/Aluminum?
STA/no sta

etc.

I was thinking an oxy razor and I can use that with the SS plate I already have.

I dive a 3mm and use about 8 lbs of lead.

Thanks in advance for your input/advice

Zach
 
Looking for suggestions/advice on a rig for warm water tropical diving for travel. There are so many manufacturers/considerations I am getting overwhelmed.

SS/Aluminum?
STA/no sta
I prefer an aluminum BP with an STA for warm water diving, as I feel it gives me more flexibility with choices of tanks and weights. I normally use an aluminum backplate with a weighted STA (the Halcyon one with the removable spine weight). For salt water diving in a 3mm wetsuit, I use no additional weight on the belt with an AL80. If I remove the spine weight, I can substitute a steel 80, again with no additional weight.

For freshwater recreational diving (like in the springs), I use a 5/4/3 mm wetsuit, and those same combinations of tank/weight work perfectly - no additional weight on the weightbelt, as the thicker wetsuit is offset by the difference in buoyancy going from salt to fresh.
 
For warm water, I've used two different setups: I've dived my SS plate with an Al80, and needed 2 lbs on the cambands to be comfortable in the shallows with a near-empty tank. I've also used one of Tobin's Kydex plates with the same tank, and added 6 lbs to the cambands. (I use XS Scuba weight pouches.) Both ways work fine, but the Kydex plate is four pounds lighter in the luggage.

If you're talking about doubles, I've only dived the Kydex plate with double Al80's and a 5 mil wetsuit. There I need a six pound V-weight to be neutral with empty tanks. The SS plate would probably just about let me dive with no extra weight at all.
 
Looking for suggestions/advice on a rig for warm water tropical diving for travel. There are so many manufacturers/considerations I am getting overwhelmed.

SS/Aluminum?
STA/no sta

Zach,

With thin suit (3mm etc.) and a buoyant tank (al 80's are about +4 empty) you will need about 8 lbs of total ballast. A SS plate and harness is about -6 and a reg is about -2. Often warm water diving with alum 80's can be done with only the plate and reg for ballast.

Keep in mind that a lightweight plate (aluminum or Kydex) will only save about 3 -3.5 lbs of travel weight. If this 3 lbs is what is putting you over the airline limits it might be worth it, but you will need to add some other ballast to your rig at the destination.

You won't need much wing. Even with a SS plate your rig will be a bout -10 lbs with a full tank, and your 3mm suit can only loose about 4-6 lbs via compression.

Even the smallest wings i.e. ~17 lbs lift will do the job.

If you have a wing and plate designed for direct mounting, no STA is needed. That saves money, and travels smaller and lighter.

Tobin
 
Tobin ~
True on the wing - you are right about the ballast. The luggage weight is not a big deal. I would venture to say that a 6 lb plate is as heavy as some reg BCs. The idea of an aluminum plate and a weighted STA does allow more options.


Zach,

With thin suit (3mm etc.) and a buoyant tank (al 80's are about +4 empty) you will need about 8 lbs of total ballast. A SS plate and harness is about -6 and a reg is about -2. Often warm water diving with alum 80's can be done with only the plate and reg for ballast.

Keep in mind that a lightweight plate (aluminum or Kydex) will only save about 3 -3.5 lbs of travel weight. If this 3 lbs is what is putting you over the airline limits it might be worth it, but you will need to add some other ballast to your rig at the destination.

You won't need much wing. Even with a SS plate your rig will be a bout -10 lbs with a full tank, and your 3mm suit can only loose about 4-6 lbs via compression.

Even the smallest wings i.e. ~17 lbs lift will do the job.

If you have a wing and plate designed for direct mounting, no STA is needed. That saves money, and travels smaller and lighter.

Tobin
 
I dive one of Tobin's (DSS) Kydex plates with his Tropical Travel Wing 17 (TTW-17) in warm water and love it! For the places I like to travel I DO need to save those few pounds over a SS plate.

Depending on my suit I only need about 4-5 lbs in salt water. I usually put 2 on the upper cam bands for trim and 2 in small xs scuba pockets on the waist belt.

This rig is so comfortable and streamlined it takes noticeably less effort to move through the water, and it packs up very small.

-thomjinx
 
My setup falls in line with several of above posts.
I have a DSS SS backplate, basic harness, and 17 lb Torus wing. Typically use Al80s. I weighed my BP/W, harness and regs at 8 lbs. I have a 3mm, plus I use Dive Xtra X-shorts for the pockets - I figure the buoyancy combined at 8 lbs.
I bought into Tobin's reasoning to get the smallest wing that meets one's typical needs, and I am satisfied with that decision. The Torus 17 lb wing can float my rig at the surface, and compensate for wetsuit compression at depth.
To be neutral at the safety stop with about 1000 psi, I figure it as -8 rig, +3 tank, +7 wetsuit (a guess based on some compression at 15 ft) - and 2 lbs weight in trim pockets.
I've weighed my travel loadout, and it's below airline limits.
I really like the simplicity, streamlining, and flexibility of the BP/W setup.
 
I have the DSS stainless steel backplate and tropical travel wing and love it.

I was using the dive-rite deluxe harness with it(quick release on the left strap). I replaced the shoulder strap part with transpac shoulder strap pads that I found used for 16$ because I dive in T-shirts in the tropics and find the pads more comfortable(especially out of the water). I also took off the crotch strap after the shoulder strap change.

With a 2-piece 3mm wetsuit, I need:
Aluminum AL80- 10 lbs.
Steel compact 80- no weight. But, tank acts as a kind of keel if you spin over :(

With T-shirt and shorts, I can dive a standard AL80 comfortably with no weight added.
 
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Get an Al plate and the smallest wing you can. Tobin's (DSS) 17lb wing works very well. If you travel a lot especially in thrid world countries as a domestic pasenger (greatly reduced weight bagage limits) you'll want to keep your travel rig as light as possible. You can always add some weight when you get there. My dive bag w/ gear comes out at ~19.8 Kilos dry. Most Asian carriers are working on 1 bag / 20kilo limits for domestic and some for international travel.
I also dive w/ less weight than most(for singles), I use an OMS Al plate w/ DSS 17lb wing, and a Dive Rite STA. The rest of my rig consists of a Hog harness, 2 backup lights on the harness (small green force), SMB bungied to the bottom of the BP, new 3mm wetsuit (full), DIR knife on the belt, Apeks regs, booties and Rocket Fins. The weight you're going to need depends on what the rest of your kit weighs.
 
Red Barbarian is correct about Asia. Japan often has a 15kg 1-bag limit on discount domestic flights. Fortunately, I can send a bag to Okinawa from Tokyo for about USD20. Takes about two days with a "Takyubin" delivery company. Japan Post's U-Pack is the cheapest. They have booths at the airport and you can also send from convenience stores.

I often put my backplate and reg in the carry-on if I think the weight will be an issue.

Also, one of the beautiful things about DSS plates(no, I am not getting paid to say this :) ) is that they need no single tank adapter(STA). Perfect for recreational divers.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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