Has anyone tried diving a Dive Rite Travelpac?

[ntmainstrm]

I've been looking for a lightweight travel BC and this looks like a great shore diving rig.

[Oldbear]

I was looking at the same rig today too...also looking for SB comments on it.

[herman]

Welcome to the board

At $450 (what I found quickly) it's a little pricey IMO. There are bunch of us on this board that are using the Zeagle Express Tech which is very similar. At around $260 it's a lot less expensive and a little lighter- by about 2 lbs-. There is a fairly long thread on it on the board.

Zeagle Express Tech Kit scuba diving gear at Zeagle Express

[ntmainstrm]

Dive Rite says this is designed like a backpack and spreads weight across hips and back. I'm planning on Bonaire this spring and was thinking this would be great to climb 1000 steps. Sorry for taking so long to reply, Holidays!

[Oldbear]

I went ahead and bought the Transplate with Voyager Wing...but would still be interested in how the Travelpac works out for you. Have you tried one at one the Metro Denver Reservoirs...Chatfeild, Aurora, or Cherry Cheek? Perhaps one of these might give you a simular "Hiking" experience.

[ntmainstrm]

Old Bear,
I have been diving in Aurora Res. several times. Most recently last Aug.
I have looked at the Transplate and Transpac as well. Both seem to weight in in the eight-nine lbs. range with weight pockets. The Travelpac ads say it weighs a little over 5. I was looking for a ligthtweight travel BC like the Zuma and thought the Travelpac might be made of more durable material. Have not found any Dive Rite products to look at in CO. Plan on a Homestead Crater trip in Jan. or Feb. might check SLC shops.
I just watched an online video of the Zeagle Express Tech and am considering it but also no shops in Denver stock it. Does your Transplate harness really function like a "moutaineer's backpack"?

[Bryan Cunningham]

If you are an experienced diver the Diverite Travelpac is great. It does not have a great deal of lift, so if you are newish to diving and tend to wear too much weight reconsider. The harness for the Diverite BCDs are GREAT for walking in scuba gear. I was once considering designing a hiking backpack using the Divrite harness and making it detachable for diving. Great for backpacking divers. Take the harness off your backpack, add wing and go dive. Now that would be an ideal BCD.

[Oldbear]

ntmainsrm,

I just purchased my Transplate set-up about a week and a half ago. Because of USPS regulations Dive Express had to send it to my home address in Westminster, where my daughter resent it to my military APO address in Kuwait. I belong to a local dive club here is Kuwait and look forward to using it. I will let you know how it works out.



Bryan,

Very interesting idea about the harness as a backpack; I never thought of that. When I leave the Middle East one of the things I want to do is film Coloado's Mountain Lakes...from the inside out.

[Blue Sparkle]

It does not have a great deal of lift, so if you are newish to diving and tend to wear too much weight reconsider.

A slight tangent, but I found "too much weight" to be detrimental even with BC that had ample lift. In contrast, once I got my weighting more accurate, diving became easier and more enjoyable all around, so I would instead recommend someone newish to "dial in" their weighting instead of potentially buying a BC with more lift than needed just to compensate for over-weighting.

[Bryan Cunningham]

[QUOTE=Blue Sparkle;6167274]A slight tangent, but I found "too much weight" to be detrimental even with BC that had ample lift. In contrast, once I got my weighting more accurate, diving became easier and more enjoyable all around, so I would instead recommend someone newish to "dial in" their weighting instead of potentially buying a BC with more lift than needed just to compensate for over-weighting.[/QUOTE
I could not agree more. But the harsh reality is that about 80% of divers do wear too much weight. I tried to get divers to reduce weight for 15 years. Those that took heed to my advice found their bouyancy and air consumption improve drastically. But still most dive with at least 4lbs too much weight. These divers are going to have surface problems with this BCD. Not playing down the importance of training, just pointing out a concern.