Hollis vs dive rite

[mikehoosac]

I'm in the marker for a BP/W style Bcd. Want to get into Tec and looking for a Backplate system. Price range around 600 to 700. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[eelnoraa]

For $600-$700 You have DSS at $450. At $700, you are already looking at Halcyon. Nothing wrong with Hollis, just they are just usually not in this price range. You can easily find discount for Hollis item at much less than retail.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

The advantage of a BP/W system is the fact that it's modular and you can put whatever you like together. While there are still a relative few wings and plates that don't play well together most do. With that in mind a simple BP/W has 3 components

1. The backplate-Aluminum ranges from 50-100 bucks, Stainless Steel 80-200.
2. Wing-Ranges from 150(if you find a sale deal) to 400
3. Harness-Simple Hogarthian harness set ups can be had for around 35-45 bucks. Deluxe style harnesses range from 50-100, or you can go for a Transplate harness from Dive Rite or a similar brand for 100-150(These have padded shoulders and all the bells and whistles).

So realistically you can get into an entry level BP/W for around 300 bucks or less with a few minutes of shopping around or like said above into high end territory for 7-800.

With all of that in mind, figure out your wants and needs and go for it!

 

[victorzamora]

For $600-$700 You have DSS at $450. At $700, you are already looking at Halcyon. Nothing wrong with Hollis, just they are just usually not in this price range. You can easily find discount for Hollis item at much less than retail.

This. However, if you can find a better deal on the Hollis then it might be worth it to you to save the cash. Halcyon is top notch, their quality is pretty instantly noticeable. Dive Rite wings are made in the USA and are good quality, I just don't like their designs. Hollis designs are better than Dive Rite, and the quality is good, but they're not "Made in USA" if that's a huge factor for you. Hog is another brand you should consider. Good quality, cheap, good designs. I have their 32# singles wing and love it. I had the Hollis S38 (pre-LX) and liked it as well. I've sold off all of my Dive Rite wings, and I've never sprung for Halcyon but can speak to their quality.

 

[ronscuba]

I dive a BP/W, but for recreational single tank only. I have preferences in wing designs/mfrs., but not so much in plates. Not sure if tec divers feel the same, but if they do, you might want to start with deciding on the wing design & mfr., and then just buy that mfr. plate.

For the harness, if you are going standard 1 piece webbing, it doesn't matter much. But if you want adjustable, there are differences.

 

[victorzamora]

Definitely start worth a single piece harness. No point in anything else

 

[Octopusprime]

The advantage of a BP/W system is the fact that it's modular and you can put whatever you like together. While there are still a relative few wings and plates that don't play well together most do. With that in mind a simple BP/W has 3 components

1. The backplate-Aluminum ranges from 50-100 bucks, Stainless Steel 80-200.
2. Wing-Ranges from 150(if you find a sale deal) to 400
3. Harness-Simple Hogarthian harness set ups can be had for around 35-45 bucks. Deluxe style harnesses range from 50-100, or you can go for a Transplate harness from Dive Rite or a similar brand for 100-150(These have padded shoulders and all the bells and whistles).

So realistically you can get into an entry level BP/W for around 300 bucks or less with a few minutes of shopping around or like said above into high end territory for 7-800.

With all of that in mind, figure out your wants and needs and go for it!

DRIS... Since the original post was for a newbie to BP/w can you elaborate on what to look for in each component. I know when I first started looking at BP/w you and Chris at the shop helped me a LOT to understand and make batter choices.

For example plate SS vs alum SS will add about 5 lbs neg buoyancy so depending on exposure suit and tanks singles and doubles will change your buoyancy. Wings U vs donut. Etc.

 

[Altamira]

Definitely start worth a single piece harness. No point in anything else

A bit of an overstatement? If what Victor said was the case, manufacturers would not make, or be able to sell, harnesses with quick disconnect features. Obviously, not everyone wants a single piece harness, especially those of us with a shoulder issue.

 

[tbone1004]

harnesses: they're all the same, literally. Some hardware quality is better than others, but meh. Buy a one piece first, if it doesn't work for you then look at the others, don't go the other way around.

plates: they're all basically the same. Scubapro and Halcyon have identical plates except for the polishing. DiveRite gets their plates from Highland mills, same as many other OEM's in the industry. Deep Sea Supply makes their own, the have a few nifty features the others don't including the rubber grommets for the webbing. Plate is also a bit flatter than the others which is more comfortable for singles. Aluminum plates I don't like, the DSS Kydex is much nicer. Stainless steel is preferred for singles. Pretty straight forward. If you aren't "normal" size, get a DSS plate, they have a wide plate, and two different long plates as well as a short plate. Very nice.

Wings: buy the right wing lift size, after that it is personal preference. If you're confused, just call Tobin at DSS, talk to him a little bit, buy whatever he says, and you'll be pretty well off. If you don't want to do that, if you dive cold water, buy something in the 30-35lb range and call it good. If you only dive warm water, buy something in the 25ish lb range.

Made in USA: Halcyon, Dive Rite, Deep Sea Supply, if it matters to you. If it doesn't, then buy whatever is cheapest. You have 3 price ranges, "budget" under $400 range, the DRiS Trianta system falls into that, especially when they run crazy sales and the whole rig is like $330, great deal. "Normal" range, Deep Sea Supply at $450-$500. "Premium" is the Halcyon Eclipse at $800 or whatever they're running. Nothing warrants the Halcyon because the DRiS Trianta is an almost identical wing shape and you can't justify the Halcyon price based on the minimal quality improvement. You buy the blue H to say you have the blue H, no other reason. All of the medium price range stuff are snuffed by DSS in quality, CS, or usually both for the price so it becomes difficult to recommend any of those.

 

[mikehoosac]

I dive warm water and only use 3 pounds on my left hip to compensate for a 19 cuft pony tank mounted on my right. I was thinking an alum plate because with ss I think I'll be over weighed. I saw that most alum plates are 1.5 to 2 lbs. That will allow me to keep 2# in a pocket on back left side of harness to compensate for pony. Will this work or is there a better set up?