FULL DISCLOSURE: This post isn't meant to flame Deep6....I had a few issues with my BP/W and I'm hoping I just did something wrong, but who knows.
Okay......first time in the pool tonight, and I'm a little unimpressed. Tank bands tied the way a bunch of videos showed me to, and the bands were slick as whale crap. Loosened as I was sliding them over the tank and it took about five minutes to get them tightened back up because my fingers were wet and sliding all up and down the coated fabric. Is there a different way to thread these that I don't know about? I think I'll just stick to the uncoated stuff. Glad I have another webbing set on my SS backplate.
Issue #2: (kind of an issue, but less of an issue because it was a freebie...so take it with a grain of salt) Draining my two AL80's so I can put pro valves on them, so I brought one along for the pool tonight. My regs are DIN, and the tanks are Yoke only, so I used the adapter, which pushed the first stage a bit closer to my head. Now, when I opened the box (which was here a lot quicker than I thought it would be) I was pleasantly surprised with a brand new inflator hose, shorter than anything had. After I got the rig put together, I tested the other inflator hoses I had and they were all WAY too long....like bowing up and not giving my long hose anywhere to go long. So I swapped out the new orange inflator hose and though it was a couple inches too long still, it was way better than my other hoses. Thought I was ready to go. Then I got to the pool. First was the tank bands. Got them sorted out and threw my regs on. Opened the tank.......inflator hose is leaking. From the fitting. Like badly. Ended up using a set of regs that was brought along as a spare for the OW students, so 36" secondary and 24" primary. Fail. I know it was free and I wasn't expecting it, but at the same time, if you're going to send a freebie, it should probably work. I dunno. Maybe it's just a random thing, maybe I got the 1 in 1000 inflator hoses that decided to fail the first time it was used, but who knows. All I know is I need a shorter one, so DGX....I'm lookin' at you.
Issue #3: Got kitted up and jumped in the pool......waist belt loosened IMMEDIATELY. Routing the webbing (as demonstrated on a bunch of sites) properly created a "bump" where the flap (for lack of a better word) is supposed to rest. I'm thinking that because the flap wasn't allowed to close all the way that it was prone to opening......at least 30 times over the course of a 45 minute dive. It was pretty bad. I pike.....belt opens. It got to the point that I was farting around the pool holding onto the buckle with my right hand.
Seems to me that two of the issues I experienced were related to the coated webbing, which is obviously seatbelt webbing. (I know how strong that stuff is so I'm not offended...I actually trust that stuff more than regular nylon webbing that is sold....I might actually start using that instead of what is normally offered....who knows) Did it ride all over the place when I was diving? Honestly I don't know I was too busy paying attention to where my hands were, but I don't think it did. I'd practice mask clearing or reg retrieval (might as well.....I didn't have the alternate on a bungie and I apparently need the practice) and inflator hose disconnects and in that short time that my hands were off doing something else my waist buckle came undone. FML.
That being said.....I'm SO glad I switched over to a backplate. Trimmed out easily....no issues staying upright at the surface (compared to my jacket) and no issues staying flat for the rest of the dive. One of the DM's said I'd be happy I switched because he dives doubles and he said he loves both of his rigs compared to what he has to use when helping on the OW courses. Other than the obvious issues I listed above, I loved the feeling of freedom. It was almost like I wasn't wearing anything at all. Compared to my jacket BC this thing was almost weightless, and I ended up dumping 4# throughout the dive (6# in a pool wearing a 2.5mm full suit is a number I never thought I'd see). I could probably shed another 2# and breathe myself down, but maybe that's for another time. If I wore my SS backplate I'd have no need for ditchable weight....at all. Maybe that's a bad thing, but I have no warm water around me so I'm not going to be tempted to dive without ditchable weight so it's moot. All I have is ocean diving and I'll probably need 14 pounds for that, so I'll need pockets somewhere. I need no adjustments on the harness as I apparently nailed it on the first try. Yay me. I wanted to get my weight down wearing a suit....otherwise I would have worn shorts.
So the plan is to buy the smaller weight pockets for the Cayman trip, and I'll probably bring my SS plate along with my regular uncoated webbing. The bigger pockets I'll keep for cold water dives back home. Right now, though, I'm wondering if Deep6 offers webbing that's not coated, and I'd like to be able to trade in my tank bands......maybe those just aren't ready for slippery-when-wet material. OTOH...on the website, the bands are shown as being routed differently (when compared to the numbering on the buckle) so maybe I missed something.
Going to be selling my Axiom. I'm moving on.
