BP/W Question

Has anyone used either a HOG or Zeagle BP? If so, what do you think? The amount of metal between some of the holes and the edge of the plate looks a little slim to me.
I currently own a Hollis SS plate and it holds the tank and wing way too high on my back. So high, in fact, that my head hits the first stage. The HOG and Zeagle plates have more adjustment, so I could move the tank/wing farther down.
My other reason for wanting to move the wing farther down is a trim problem. I'm too foot heavy. Even when finning, I'm diagonal. I believe if I move the wing farther down it should bring my backside up and make me more horizontal. Or is there some other solution I haven't thought of?
Also, something in my rig is making me roll to the left. My harness is symmetrical in it's setup. the only thing that could possibly be making me roll is the weight of my SPG and the snap hook I use to secure it. Or is it something else?
Can these problems be solved without me buying a new plate and instead just making some adjustments?
Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

Well, there are lots of things you can try to correct head-up/feet-down static trim.

The tank can be moved higher (relative to the wing/BP). Obviously, there are limits to this as you don't want your first stage to bonk you in the back of the head.
Weight can be shifted from your hips to weight pockets on the cambands.
An ankle weight can be placed around the neck of the tank.
You can try using less negatively buoyant fins.
You can change your foot/leg/body/arm/head positioning.

Honestly, I don't think that replacing your BP for another brand is going to make a significant difference.
Work with what you've got first. After exhausting all of the options above, then you can start looking at taking more drastic measures.

Have you read any of the threads here on ScubaBoard related to achieving proper horizontal trim?

I had/have the opposite problem as you, but because of it I had to make a few adjustments to my rig, so I'll tell you what I found.

1) I'm not sure moving your wing will be a solution for being foot heavy, because would you want to count on having air in your wing at all times? I'm not sure what type of diving you do (mine is usually warm water, but up to a 5mm suit in "winter" warm water), but I don't usually have much air in my wing, except at the beginning of the dive when my tank is full (maybe it is different in much colder water, where I don't have experience).

2) I am always foot light/head heavy. I moved the tank down to get it out from behind my head, and that also helped my trim. So it seems like it might not help yours (but I understand about wanting to be able to lift your head!)

3) What I did was get an STA that has three sets of cam band slots. This allows me to have more freedom to adjust the tank up and down. I noticed that most STA's only have the slots at the far top and bottom, which doesn't let you adjust much.

4) I also put trim weights on the foot of my tank - it seems to be the only way I can get foot heavy enough. So maybe conversely you could put trim weights on your upper cam band or near the tank valve. Or you could use a weighted STA like the one Halcyon makes. Maybe then you could trim out not-foot-heavy but without moving the tank up to interfere with your head even more?

5) The best thing I found was to experiment, changing one variable at a time. Also, my buddy videoed me, which helped a lot, as sometimes it looked different than it felt, if that makes sense.

6) Oh, one more thing: Sometimes your trim might be opposite to what you think. That is, you might think you are foot heavy, because you are always swimming foot down; when actually you are head heavy, but without realizing it you are "reverse trimming" in order to compensate for it. Just a thought.

(I'm still a tiny bit head heavy, so I think there will be more experimenting in my future; still, I'm much, Much better trimmed out now than I was at first.)

Blue Sparkle

PS: As you can see by my dive count, I'm not that experienced. I just thought I would pipe in since I've been working on my trim. Also, so far I'm a one-climate wonder (Florida)

With a single tank, you shouldn't need to change equipment to change your trim. You can set the tank in different places in the cambands (unlike with doubles, where you have very little choice). You can also loosen the harness a bit, to get the regulator down to where it isn't bonking you in the back of the head.

The first step in solving the feet-heavy problem is posture. Have you had someone video you or give you feedback on your body position? You need to be FLAT from the shoulders to the knees; flexing at the hips will always tend to drop the bottom half of you.

The next step is weighting, and it's pretty easy to move some weight up onto the cambands or the neck of the tank, and see if that fixes the problem. I dive with six pounds on my cambands, and that balances me perfectly.

I would be willing to bet that all your issues can be solved with the gear you have.

It seems you have multiple issues. Buying a new plate probably wont solve all of them. I have been dealing with 1st stage hitting head problem for a while, so I want to comment on that.

Are you using STA? Most STA makes tank sit higher than if just using cam slot of the plate. If you have an STA, give it a try without, you should be able move tank lower by 2" by losing the STA. If you dont have an STA, you should loosen your shoulder strap and highten the crotch strap, so your entire rig sits lower.

There are plates, ie, Halcyon and OMS, they have steeper band. This make the tank further from your back, so 1st stage further from you head. It can help a little, but I doubt this is the root cause.

One more on this issue, are you using a DIN reg with DIN to Yoke adapter?

I will let other expert touch on the trim issue.

I never even considered the din- yoke converter into the trim issue. Thanks, it is added weight up top! you get smilies!

davetowz:

I never even considered the din- yoke converter into the trim issue. Thanks, it is added weight up top! you get smilies!

Click to expand...

No, din to yoke does NOT contribute to trim issue, but it does contribute to 1st stage hitting head issue.