Are backplates and wings not for noobs?

[offthewall1]

BP/Wings are just modular BCD's... so I'd say Scubatoys is losing it...

We train all of our students in Dive Rite Transpac's with Wings... and Transpacs are a great option as well.

Feel free to call us with any questions... we beat internet pricing everyday of the year...

Good Luck with your diving!

 

[bigtim6656]

i am thinking a oceanic 3mm or 5mm custom wetsuit

At 6'4" you need a longer than standard backplate.

We offer plates in 5 sizes, you need a "Long Pattern" plate. Too short a plate will put the waist strap across the lower portion of your rib cage.

The harness is essentially just 2" weight belt webbing. You probably need a longer piece than the ~12 ft we typically furnish. Webbing is inexpensive, .75 / ft. 15 ft is likely enough.

The wing you need is primarily a function of your exposure suit. Do you know what you will be using for a wetsuit?

Tobin

 

[DwayneJ]

A BP/W works very well and provide incredible flexibility for the future. I know some members have mentioned the Transpac harness - I use the OMS equivalent. Either way, a harness or even just continuous webbing with a back plate and wing are a great solution.

 

[cool_hardware52]

i am thinking a oceanic 3mm or 5mm custom wetsuit

I prefer to have actual buoyancy number on the divers suit, but you likely don't have the suit yet, and if you are diving in Indiana you may want more than a 5 mm wetsuit.

I'll assume that your wet suit is 25 lbs positive, that's on the high side for a 5mm, BTW.

If your suit is really +25 you will need enough ballast to offset the buoyancy of your suit and any "personal buoyancy" I'll assume another 5 lbs.

A Long Pattern SS Plate and harness is about -7 and a regulator is -2. I'd suggest a steel tank as most steel tanks are about -2 lbs empty.

Plate & Harness + reg + empty tank are about -11 lbs. We offer bolt on weights that fit the Long Pattern Plate. These provide another 10 lbs. With the weights your rig will provide about ~20 - 22 lbs of ballast with an empty tank. With a full tank (100 cuft) your rig could be -30 lbs.

You need a wing large enough (lift capacity) to float your rig if you ditch it, and enough wing to compensate for the complete compression of your wetsuit.

With a rig that may well be -30 lbs I'd suggest our Torus 35 wing.

Recap:

Long Pattern Plate
Hogarthian Harness
10 lbs bolt on weights
Torus 35 wing

Tobin

 

[aMc10]

i hope to get two tanks

That'd be another reason to get a BP/W from the start, then. For the most part, jacket BCs are not designed for double tank setups. If you start off with a BP/W for your single tank, all you have to do when you get your doubles is change the wing.

 

[Web Monkey]

I was talking with a guy from scubatoys. I will need to buy my bc before i get ow because of my size. He recommend a zeagle ranger ltd. I asked about the bp\w bcds
HE said there a bad idea for a newbi diver. IS that true

Like most things in life, it's a tradeoff. I dive both at different times for different reasons.

Since nothing goes in front of you except some webbing, a BP it will fit you no matter what size you are and if you inflate it on the surface for buoyancy, won't squeeze you like a jacket will.

If you might be spending a lot of time on the surface (waiting for pickup or whatever), a good jacket BC will let just hang out and wait, while a BP requires a little finesse.

Jacket BC s are also very popular for training, since you only need to know "Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large" and pull one off a hanger. A BP actually requires a little fussing with the webbing to adjust properly. It would be a nightmare to do this for a couple of dozen students, but wouldn't be any problem at all for an individual, if you bought one.

A BP has no pockets, although you can add them. It also has no integrated weights, so if you need any significant amount of weight and have hips smaller than your waist, you'll need a weight harness (I like the DUI Weight and trim, butt there are others).

I'm sure I've missed stuff, but these are a few high points.

Neither are all good or all bad, they're just different, however because of your size, I'd guess that you wouldn't be able to find a jacket BC that fits, so you'll probably be happier with a BP. Tobin is a ton of help with getting a great fit and I'd recommend him in a hearbeat.

Terry

 

[pelagic2530]

when i first got certified, i bought an Oceanic jacket BCD because it was the only one that would fit me; with a BP&W the plate would have looked like angel wings on me, to say noting of the bladder. however, as i started diving more, i realized that the BCD i had was not going to cover all aspects of the diving i was doing. while my jacket worked fine in the caribbean, it was way underkill for atlantic diving. a notable example was the day that i couldnt get enough weight in the pockets to get myself down the anchor, then once my suit compressed on the bottom i couldnt get enough air in the bladder to keep me off the wreck.
my next BCD, and the one i have now, is an Apeks WTX backplate system with a 32-lb lift bladder. i also got the optional weight pockets too, and added a Zeagle pocket to the system as well. the thing i love about this BCD is that i can do anything and dive anywhere with it, so long as im using a single tank. its compact enought that its not a big deal to take it to the tropics, and its got plenty of lift for diving around here. im an equipment freak as well, and other BCDs never have enough d-rings for me. i can put as many as i want, along with gear retainers, light sleeves, and extra pockets on this system. its ultra-personalizable and extremely functional. and, if i ever want to switch to doubles, all i need to do is get a bracket and maybe a bigger bladder. overall, my BP&W system is far nicer than my jacket, and suits my needs perfectly. and, it gets alot of approving looks on dive boats everywhere

 

[RJP]

I am 6'4 440

Don't want to go off-topic here, and please don't take this the wrong way, but have you gotten medical clearance to dive? You should know that in the DAN Report on Decompression and Diving Fatalities obesity was a factor in 55% of dive fatalities. While obesity is not a strict contraindication to diving, it does raise significant concerns. "Morbidly obese individuals with no exercise tolerance can dive in a tranquil sea: it's when things go wrong or when circumstances change that they have to call upon their reserves. Beyond physical fitness, consider an individual's ability to perform self-rescue and/or assist a buddy."

i hope to get two tanks

Diving a doubles rig is not quite as simple as "getting two tanks." If you do go that route you will want to have a BP/W setup, but know that diving doubles requires some specific training and you won't be ready for that type of training/diving until you have OW, AOW, and a fair number of dives under your belt. However, you can certainly get relatively large SINGLE tanks. There are 119cf and 130cf high-pressure tanks that certainly hold a lot more gas that a standard AL80. However this will require a significant investment, and won't help you out on vacation or any other situation where you need to rent tanks as AL80s are essentially the standard.

 

[ligersandtions]

I was (and still am) a new diver using a back plate and wing. I love it and couldn't suggest it more! I see that Tobin has replied a couple times in this thread....his stuff is top-notch, as is his customer service. I highly recommend working with DSS and Tobin!

 

[AbyssalPlains]

I was talking with a guy from scubatoys. I will need to buy my bc before i get ow because of my size. He recommend a zeagle ranger ltd. I asked about the bp\w bcds
HE said there a bad idea for a newbi diver. IS that true

If someone at Scubatoys indeed said this, I am very disappointed with them. I thought they knew what they were talking about. Sigh.