Good Rec (Maybe Tech) BP/W

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USVet96

Contributor
Messages
301
Reaction score
28
Location
Miami, FL
# of dives
25 - 49
Hey everyone. I'm looking for opinions, advice, and suggestions. I'm trying to decide between a Zeagle Stiletto and a BP/W.

I know that the BP/W party line touts the Halcyon as the King. And that's OK. It's a fine BC with a lot of room to grow, customizations, simplicity, etc.

But ............ $879. Seriously - $879. Not a typo - $879.

That is a HUGE amount of $ for a BC to me. Maybe not to some, but to me it is.

Compared with say a DSS, or an OMS, or even a Dive Rite, setup that is maybe HALF the cost of a Halcyon?

I know the Halcyon has the "Cinch System" and other niceties, but it's $900.

Is it cheaper to piece it out, or use a separate wing with a Halcyon harness, or another brand harness and a Halcyon wing, etc. And on and on and on.

I have a BC now that I just don't like. So I'm trying to decide now what to do about it.

Here are my options:
- Get a cheap $300 BC to use that will replace my BC now that I don't like and save up For the BP/W over the next 6-8 months

- Suck it up and use what I have NOW a deal with the problems (non safety issues) and Save the money for the BP/W over the next 3-4 months

If I go with a BP/W I'm just trying to determine if it's ultimately worth it to save for the Halcyon or go with something else that is just as good but only costs half as much because it does NOT say Halcyon on the side lol.

Or do I just bite the bullet and pay the man the $900 asking price.

BTW - Basic rec diving now, max 160' (rarely), mostly 75-125', wreck diving.

No tech diving, not doing doubles, no penetration, no deco, etc.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

USVet
 
Why Halcyon?? They make some nice stuff but as you noted DSS is half the price and just as nice and functional. If you really want H stuff go for it - not my money. For my money I would be looking seriously at DSS. And use the extra coin for other toys like a doubles wing.
 
Why Halcyon?? They make some nice stuff but as you noted DSS is half the price and just as nice and functional. If you really want H stuff go for it - not my money. For my money I would be looking seriously at DSS. And use the extra coin for other toys like a doubles wing.

Thanks Silly. That's a little of my point. I know H makes good quality stuff, but you pay for that. It's like Toyta and Lexus or Ford and Land Rover. The companies make BOTH products so is one better than the other. (OK not the best example BC H does not make other gear under a different name lol). But what I mean is that Toyota and Ford (well more Toyota lol) make a good quality car at an affordable price. If I want to get a "softer leather" and a badge then Im going to pay MORE for that. Leather is leather but one is supposedly "softer."

Jesus that's all over the place. Sorry :wink:

I guess I'm thinking the same thing. I mean of H is a better option and is going to be a better product for me and my diving then I just bite the bullet and save for it then get it.

I just want to make sure that it IS the option for me before dropping a GRAND lol.

Thanks everyone
 
And you mention DSS. Even an OMS setup is substantially cheaper.

Again, I'm NOT putting down Halcyon or their products at all, I think they are great. I'm just wondering if there is a good alternative so I can use that other $$ on more actual diving lol
 
I used a Halcyon (Eclipse) as my first bp/w. It was a rental that I used for a two-week dive trip. I thought it was great quality, but I went with another brand (DSS) for a couple of reasons.

1) Many more sizing options with the backplate (S, M, L, XL, Long).

2) More sizing options for the wing. The smallest Halcyon wing available was (is?) a 30# wing that was somewhat wide. I was setting up a tropical-type rig, and I appreciated being able to get a narrow, 17# wing with the DSS set-up.

I'm not sure what I would have done if the DSS rig had been $8xx and the Halcyon $4xx, because I really wasn't shopping by price. If I had strongly preferred the Halcyon, and/or if it had fit me or worked for me when the DSS one didn't, I certainly might have bought it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would not have bought a DSS rig "just" because it was cheaper; nor would I necessarily have shunned the Halcyon only because it was more expensive.

I can see plusses and minuses to both rigs (that is, plusses/minusses to individual buyers) because there are some differences in detail (which I won't drone on about now since my posts probably tend to get too wordy); but to me they both seem to be very good quality.

For me it was ultimately all about fit.
 
there are *lots* of alternatives. i'd no more buy any of them new than try to eat a toyota.

bottom line - halcyon is great. dss is great. dive rite is great. golem gear is great. oxycheq is great. oms is great. buy any or all of them, new or used, mix & match.
 
Thanks Blue - no not too wordy. And what you are saying is basically how I am feeling. I am not going to buy one or the other over price. It's a point that must be addressed obviously and if one is more than I can afford that I want I just have to save and then get it.

The problem is EXACTLY what you stated. I will buy whatever fits and works best.

PROBLEM is that noone near me carries ANYTHING BUT the Halcyon gear. So I have nothing to physically compare it to. If I see a DSS or an OMS for example it has been online. And I can't try it until I buy it - not good lol.

An example is I like the cinch system on the H but without being able to try an alternative on I don't know what the others are like "without" the cinch system
 
Don't forget that BP/W systems are modular, consiting of backplate, wing and harness and there is no reason why you should have to buy a whole 'system' from the one manufacturer.

Purely for example, and I'm not saying you should buy this kit or recommending this retailer but simply to illustrate my point; if you were diving doubles you could put together a kit like this;

Backplate and Wings - Wings - Dive Rite Closeout Wings - 60# Classic Wing - Blue - Northeast Scuba Supply

Backplate and Wings - Backplates - Aluminum Backplates - Dive Rite Aluminum Backplate - Northeast Scuba Supply

Backplate and Wings - Dive Rite Harness Systems - Dive Rite Hogarthian Harness - Northeast Scuba Supply

Backplate and Wings - Backplate Accessories - Crotch Straps - 2" Crotch Strap by Dive Rite - Northeast Scuba Supply

That's a BP/W sytem for under $300.

It just so happens that's all diverite gear from the one retailer but you could hunt around and find each element much cheaper, the harness, after all, is just some webbing and hardware and you could source the bits separately. If you're diving singles you can hunt around and get a single wing for just now - you don't have to change the harness or backplate if you later want to use doubles.
 
I hear you. It's hard to buy something like this on a "leap of faith" when it comes to fit, etc. I was lucky to have been in a place where it was easy to rent the Halcyon rig. That told me that I really, really liked the bp/w. And in fact, I might have bought an Eclipse on that trip, because it would have been great to have my own rig for that trip.

But I was "spared" that decision because the shop was not able to get me a small (Halcyon makes two sizes of plate) stainless plate during my time diving with them. So then once I was back home, the choice of "all" rigs was back on the table and I started doing a lot of research.

I almost didn't buy the DSS because for some reason the photographs of the stainless plates on their website made them look sort of.... galvanized to me (even though I knew they weren't). But for a number of reasons I did decide to go with it and as it turns out the plate is very nicely finished (but in looking of photographs I've taken of my own bp/w, I see that it is hard to photograph the stainless and have it look like it really looks).

I think Baby Duck has a good point in that one can mix/match and buy used to save money. On the other hand I get the sense that you might like to buy a new "complete" rig to start with (?).

Here's one question that comes to mind: How much of a detail person are you? I'm fond of them (or can't ignore them, to put it another way), so I pored over ads and specs to see about all kinds of little things. You may not be that way at all though.

Also, for my own individual (and probably not very universal) reasons, I later bought an Oxycheq wing and use that with my DSS rig. (However, I will say that if you are single-tank diving and use a fully DSS-rig, the wing/camband design is really fantastic in allowing you to quickly [literally three seconds] separate the wing from the rest of the rig -- this is great for packing, so you can put the heavy plate on the bottom of your bag and the wing on top; and also for easy rinsing later.)

Hmm, I guess I'm not being very helpful!

I guess I'll close by saying that if you are of "average male" build, you probably can't go too wrong with any of them. If you have more unique sizing requirements, or are a detail freak like me, then you might strongly prefer one over the others. Or you may be somewhere in between.

Blue Sparkle

PS: I believe DSS does have some sort of adjustable harness set-up you can use with a one-piece webbing harness. I haven't found the need for it so I have not looked into it or tried it (my shoulder straps are loose enough to easily get in and out of, and I don't change size/exposure protection multiple times in a trip/often).
 
Hick - that's also kind of what I was thinking. And thanks for the input.

To me, let's say I get a BP for under $100 plus say a Harness for $100 then a wing to suit my needs now and change later accordingly, if something isn't right or I want to change things a bit I'm only out a LITTLE BIT of coin (if I decide to NOT sell it).

That to ME at least is a while lot better bet than say $900 and then have to pay for another rig in order to change it or modify it.

I think this line of thought makes the most sense - at least in MY case
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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