BP&W: DR Transplate or HOG

[guitarmaker]

Hi all,

I’m asking for some continued tolerance with a newbie learning the ropes. You’ve all been true ladies and gentlemen and a wealth of information. THANK YOU!

Another question please? A Diverite Transplate is a back plate and wing and so is the HOG harness set up? Is that right? So if they are both BP&W’s, what is the difference between them and advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks in advance –

Ron

[scubafanatic]

...the most obvious difference is the HOG harness is one piece of continuous webbing...the DR item has fastex (plastic) shoulder quick releases....which the 'tech' community considers to be potential 'failure' points......I can see their point of view on this, but personally I don't consider the failure point issue to be very relevent in the typical recreational diving situation.

[fisheater]

Just so you don't get confused there are (at least) two different uses in diving of the term "hog."

A Hog harness is a generic name for a harness made from a continuous length of webbing (save for the separate crotch strap). It named after its originator, William Hogarth Mains.

There is also a tech diving company that sells "HOG" branded gear, such as regs and wings. It's named for Highly Optimized Gear.

[Scott L]

Hi all,

I’m asking for some continued tolerance with a newbie learning the ropes. You’ve all been true ladies and gentlemen and a wealth of information. THANK YOU!

Another question please? A Diverite Transplate is a back plate and wing and so is the HOG harness set up? Is that right? So if they are both BP&W’s, what is the difference between them and advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks in advance –

Ron

The specific answer to your question is...yes they are the same. Diverite's Tranplate is just one example of a "hog" rig. Halcyon, Oxychex, Golem and Deep Sea Supply are the other major players....

[fnfalman]

Hi all,

I’m asking for some continued tolerance with a newbie learning the ropes. You’ve all been true ladies and gentlemen and a wealth of information. THANK YOU!

Another question please? A Diverite Transplate is a back plate and wing and so is the HOG harness set up? Is that right? So if they are both BP&W’s, what is the difference between them and advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks in advance –

Ron

The Transplate is a harness system and not a backplate. You buy a Dive Rite backplate (steel or aluminum) and you choose a harness style. The Transplate harness has quick adjustable (with quick release buckles) shoulder straps, chest strap, and waist belt. Dive Rite also sell the HOG harness which is nothing more than a long continuous length of 2" webbing and a handful of D-ring and a stainless steel waist belt buckle. DR also sells a couple of harnesses that are kind of in between the Transplate and the basic HOG harness.

The advantage of the Transplate harness is that it's quick adjustable on the shoulder straps. You loosen up the straps, stick your arms through, stand up, buckle the chest strap, buckle the waist strap and then pull the adjustment tabs on the shoulder straps to tighten everything up. You don't need to "set" the harness up for either wetsuit diving, drysuit diving or no-suit diving.

The disadvantage is that it's more expensive than the cheap HOG harness. The other disadvantage is the one perceived by a certain group of tech divers who think that the quick release buckles are failure points.

The advantage of the HOG style harness is that it's dirt cheap and it's simple to use. There is something to be said about simplicity.

The disadvantage is that if you change from wetsuit to drysuit to no-suit is that it's a bit of a pain to unlace them and readjust. The HOG harness is non-quick adjustable. You adjust and set it once and that's it. If you want to change, then you gotta unlace a few things.

The Dive Rite people use their own gears to do some of the baddest, meanest tech diving that most of us (and even those vocal purist tech divers who poopoo anything but HOG harness) would only dream of. If the Transplate harness were to have that many "failure" points and putting lives in danger, the Dive Rite people wouldn't have used them on those gnarly dives. After all, they are putting their lives on the line by using their own gears with these supposed failure points.

So, in the end, if you want quick adjustability and don't mind shelling out the extra money, then get the Transplate. If you don't care about quick adjustability and want to save some cash, then get the HOG harness.

[ScubaInChicago]

Or use the new Halcyon cinch system....

[Jeff Toorish]

DiveRite makes a TransPlate and a TransPac.

Here are links to each:

TransPlate
TransPac

The Transpac is lighter and excellent for travel. The Transplate is a standard backplate with the same harness as a Transpac. The harness is more complex than a regular Hogarthian (hog) rig. It s a bit easier to don and adjust, but also has more failure and snag points.

Personally, I prefer the hog rig because it is simple and pretty much indestructable.

Jeff

[halocline]

The specific answer to your question is...yes they are the same. Diverite's Tranplate is just one example of a "hog" rig. Halcyon, Oxychex, Golem and Deep Sea Supply are the other major players....

The dive rite transplate harness is not a "hog" rig. It's a harness with quick releases and padding, while the whole point of the hog (short for hogarthian) is to use one piece of webbing with a single metal buckle on the waist belt. Many people start with the padded/quick release harness, then switch to the hogarthian set up once they realize that the releases and padding do not add to the comfort of the rig while diving; in fact they detract from it. As long as you're wearing some sort exposure suit, the suit provides plenty of padding. A properly adjusted hogarthian harness is, IMO, easier to doff/don than a softer harness with releases.

At some point, along came a company that called itself "HOG" in an attempt to capitalize on the tech reputation for hogarthian set ups. Then they marketed products that are decidedly not hogarthian. Some users of their gear speak highly of them, I personally have no experience with them.

The thing to remember when shopping for a BP/W is that simplicity and lack of "features" is part of the driving philosophy behind the system, so be cautious about buying anything other than a simple plate/wing/webbing harness. You can always add stuff later in the off chance that you'll actually want it.