Better to have multiple rigs or get one modular rig?

[DBPacific]

Hello,

I'm looking to get a bp/w and wanted some advice to narrow down my choices between rigs that seem to be more modular and would be able to go between singles, doubles, or sidemount, or a simple, cheaper rig that would only do singles. Is it better to have dedicated rigs for singles/doubles or to have a rig that can grow and change with your experience and dive types? I've been doing mostly recreational diving but I'm now getting into scientific diving which will make me carry more equipment and be more versatile in terms of my skills, but I'm not sure if I'd need to move to doubles/sidemount set-ups. I can see that being a necessity/desire in the next five years, but I could also see that not being a necessity in the next five years. It all would depend on what the project requires, and right now I don't know that. Right now I'm a near-broke college student who definitely can't afford multiple rigs, but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot jobwise by getting a singles-only rig when surprise! I need doubles. Any advice?

 

[swimlikethefish]

I find most of the science guys in my area dive one extreme to the other (single tank or a rebreather) I can't think of any of them that dive doubles or sidemount while doing anything work related.

To minimize cost and purchases, why not start with a Stainless Steel backplate. Gives you the weight for a drysuit, is a solid foundation to build upon. Most all backplate designs will accommodate single and double tank setups.

Beginners Guide To BP/W

Quick little guide to help with understanding backplate.

Edit: I just remembered a local guy that did a trip to South America last year and dove a sidemount rebreather. So I lied.

 

[DBPacific]

I find most of the science guys in my area dive one extreme to the other (single tank or a rebreather) I can't think of any of them that dive doubles or sidemount while doing anything work related.

To minimize cost and purchases, why not start with a Stainless Steel backplate. Gives you the weight for a drysuit, is a solid foundation to build upon. Most all backplate designs will accommodate single and double tank setups.

Beginners Guide To BP/W

Quick little guide to help with understanding backplate.

Edit: I just remembered a local guy that did a trip to South America last year and dove a sidemount rebreather. So I lied.

Haha. No worries. Also hello again. My main thinking for a versatile rig is probably the fact that my instructor is constantly giving examples of jobs you'd need all different rigs for that he's had to do. Then again, he is a cave and tech diver on top of scientific. Someone just replied to another comment I made elsewhere and apparently that cheap singles-only simple bp/w I found actually can be used with a doubles wing. I sent an email to the manufacturer to ask how feasible/recommended that is. I do a bit of travel so I was thinking to get a stainless steel plate for my cold home diving as well as an aluminum plate that I can switch out for travel and warm diving.

(Thanks so much for the BP/W guide, I've been lost on some of the tech talk but have been too wrapped up in exams to fully dive in and look things up yet)

 

[MichaelMc]

Between singles and doubles, the same harness and plate can be used for both. If it is the standard rectangular plate, and not a custom for singles plate like the freedom plate or a soft plate.
The wing will be different though, doubles wings need a bit more lift, and to sit well around a wider set of tanks, and do not do well with singles tanks.

Sidemount is best done with a sidemount specific rig. Multi use rigs exist but are not reported to do any as well.

I started scientific dive training with a basic rectangular plate, singles wing and harness. Which is all I still *need* for it. My diving is all rec or helping teach scientific diving for fun, I don't actually do any of it. You can do a lot of early scientific diving with a singles rig. BP/W is the way to go for modularity and clipping off gear.

Yet for redundancy -- I solo or watch students a bunch -- I now use an xDeep sidemount rig, or a Dive Rite rec wing for tiny doubles. I got a DiveRite plate for the DiveRite doubles wing as I was unsure about pinching the wing with my existing plates. When I moved away from single tank, I went sidemount as it was about on the order of the cost of a doubles wing. That seems a bridge to cross later.

A similar single/double/side question, from a photog perspective: Backplate and regs for a travelling photographer

The gear accumulates, but a singles wing is the place to start. These days I have three wings (single, double, side), three plates (AL, ST, ST I know my doubles wing should like), harnesses on all the plates because rethreading is a pain, several regs, and tanks.

 

[DBPacific]

Between singles and doubles, the same harness and plate can be used for both. If it is the standard rectangular plate, and not a custom for singles plate like the freedom plate or a soft plate.
The wing will be different though, doubles wings need a bit more lift, and to sit well around a wider set of tanks, and do not do as well with singles tanks.

Sidemount is best done with a sidemount specific rig. Multi use rigs exist but are not reported to do any as well.

I started with a basic rectangular plate, singles wing and harness, when I started scientific dive training. I now mainly use an xDeep sidemount rig, or a Dive Rite rec wing for tiny doubles. I did get a DiveRite plate for the doubles as I was a bit unsure about pinching the wing with my existing plate. All rec diving. I help teach sci diving for fun, I don't actually do any of it. You can do a lot of early scientific diving with a singles rig. BP/W is the way to go for modularity and clipping off gear.

When I moved away from single tank, I went sidemount as it was about on the order of the cost of a doubles wing. That seems a bridge to cross when you get there.

A similar question, thought from a photog perspective
Backplate and regs for a travelling photographer

ETA: I do now have three wings (single, double, side), three plates (AL, ST, ST I know fits my doubles wing), harnesses on all the plates, several regs, and tanks. So it does start accumulating.

I'm definitely expecting it to accumulate, just right now I don't have enough in terms of pay coming in to offset getting a lot of rigs at once. I've found a doubles wing that'll work with the plate, I just wasn't sure if the plate was as versatile as it seemed. For a bit more detail, the cheap simple singles rig I was looking at was the DGX Singles package (wing, harness, plate). I just sent off an email to the DGX guys if a doubles wing can be attached to it (and which one they recommend) but based on what you and some other folks have said, it seems so. The one I know for sure can be switched out is the DiveRite TransPac which is twice the price, but like you said, can use the Rec wing. Question: What counts as a tiny double? So far I've mostly only used Al80s

 

[MichaelMc]

Tiny doubles are generally LP50s these days. AL40s as well, or AL30s for young folk. I've done AL40 doubles, and LP50 and AL40 as tiny sidemount.

On scientific diving, it takes a while to work up to even a 60' cert, which is usually well served by a single. It sounded as if you need a single capability. And that jives with my impression of the science I've seen done. And the deeper stuff may just be rebreathers, so far outside a student's budget. I'd stick with a singles oriented wing. If 90% of you dives will be singles, you will not be happy with a doubles wing. Yes, you'll miss out on the doubles dives, but you'd need doubles tanks as will. Are the doubles dives a current option or just a future possibility?

 

[DBPacific]

Tiny doubles are generally LP50s these days. AL40s as well. I've done AL40 doubles, and both as tiny sidemount. (or AL30s for young folk).

On scientific diving, it takes a while to work up to even a 60' cert, which is usually well served by a single. It sounded as if you need a single capability. And that jives with my impression of the science I've seen done. And the deeper stuff may just be rebreathers, so far outside a students budget. I'd stick with a singles oriented wing.

Is there a separate depth cert for scientific divers? I've gone to 80-90' with my Advanced and then another dive with an instructor. Even those dives I managed about a 50 min bottom time with a single

 

[MichaelMc]

Is there a separate depth cert for scientific divers? I've gone to 80-90' with my Advanced and then another dive with an instructor. Even those dives I managed about a 50 min bottom time with a single

Scientific diver is a separate framework of cert levels. You're working, so you fall under workplace safety regs. Universities teach it, post OW or AOW, in typically a semester long class. 100 hours of class room, pool sessions, and 12 open water dives. Rescue, FirstAid/O2/CPR. All that for a 30' cert. For 60', you then need 10 approved scientific 30-60' dives with a 60'+ scientific diver, plus a checkout dive; more for 100' etc. And yearly min dives. Periodic physicals, FirstAid/O2/CPR retraining to maintain it. So it is a bit.

30' and 60' covers a lot of the entry work. For which a single tank goes a long way.

 

[DBPacific]

Scientific diver is a separate type of cert. You're working so you fall under workplace regs. Universities teach it as typically a semester long class. 100 hours of class room, pool sessions, and 12 open water dives. Post OW or AOW. All that for a cert to dive to 30'. Then you need 10 approved 30-60' dives with a diver cert'd for a higher depth and a checkout dive before you can be cert'd for 60', more certs for 100' etc. And yearly min dives. Period physicals, and first aid retraining to maintain it. So it is a bit. 30' and 60' covers a lot of the entry work. For which a single goes a long way.

Interesting. I knew about the physicals, first aid renewal, and yearly minimum dives, just not the recerting for depth.

Alright wish me luck I'm ordering the rig. I have an exam tomorrow and need to stop pouring over gear pages now that everything has basically been checked off and triplechecked. Thanks for the help!

 

[JohnnyC]

Get one backplate. Get a singles wing. IF you need to go to doubles, get a doubles wing. Most doubles wings will work ok with a rebreather if you end up that far.

Why you would consider sidemount for scientific diving outside of a cave, I have no idea, but if for whatever reason you wanna be that guy, don’t get some rig that’s advertised for everything and sucks at everything. Get a dedicated sidemount rig.