BP/W for a New Diver

[seasss]

Hello! I am a new diver and I'm interested in a backplate and wing combo for a BC.

I would really appreciate some assistance from the highly experienced divers here!

I'm short and petite and a BP/W set up was recommended to me to likely fit better than a jacket-style BC. I've seen many people here speak very highly of this type of BC set up, as well as other places on the web, and now I'm extremely interested in getting one for myself. I asked my local dive shop about them, but was told that they're only for tech divers...which I've read here is not necessarily true.

I have a bunch of questions

I'm mostly interested in this set up for travel. I live in Canada and *for now* I plan to do most of my diving travelling. I don't think I'm ready for cold water yet! And to buy more gear for cold water is more than I want to spend at the moment. So, I would require this BC for travel, warm salt water, use with a 3-5mm wetsuit, single tank diving, rental tank and regulators (for now rental regulators), and if it makes any difference, I'm 5'1" and <100lbs.

Backplate: Steel? Aluminum? Ultra-light travel?
I reckon that if I use a steel backplate, then I may need to wear less weight? But could I potentially be overweighted?
What are the pros/cons of any of these?
I'm quite interested in the Oxycheq Ultra-light Travel BP, which seems to work well and be comfortable? Would it be more worthwhile to get a steel or aluminum one?

Wing: 18lb? 25lb? 30lb? How much lift do I need? (I think this question may get asked a lot here - I've tried to research this, but I'm still too new to diving to know the buoyancy characteristics of my wetsuit and tank and everything else.)
It seems like quite a few people use an 18lb lift wing for travel diving in warm waters... I may be using a thicker wetsuit however, and it would probably be more ideal for my BP/W to be able to serve me in cold waters as well in case decide to do this. Or would an 18lb lift wing be good in any case?

Other questions:
BPs I'm considering are the Oxycheq ultra-light travel one, but I would also love some recommendations for steel or aluminum ones (particularly if they come in a shorter size, as I suspect this would be more comfortable for me) or thoughts on this.

Wings I'm considering are the Oxycheq 18# Mach V, Oxycheq 30# Mach V, and the Hollis S25. Thoughts or comparison of any of these? Could I use a Hollis wing with an Oxycheq BP?

How do I know when I need a single tank adapter?

Anything else I should know or consider? Comfort / Quality of any of the brands etc mentioned?

Thank you for any help!!

 

[Jax]

Hi, Seasss . . . Love your moniker!

Welcome to ScubaBoard. I'm going to suggest you call this fellow by the name of Tobin, at the number on this website:
https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?page=contact

Tobin has this almost miraculous way of asking you a bunch of questions, and then coming up with the ideal setup. Experience does this for you.

I will tell you that my steel plate, wing and harness weighed .1 lbs less than my Jacket BC did. However, I have so much stuff, that I prefer my kydex plate to travel.

Hopefully, cool_hardware52 (Tobin) will weigh in here when he comes on board.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

I agree with Jax, call Tobin. He'll ask you lots of questions and he will also answer any questions you have. I bought my 18 year old son a BP/W from DSS in January after the talk with Tobin.

 

[kathydee]

Hi,

I'm a 5'4" female and dive a bp/w which works as well for single tank recreational diving as it does for technical double tank diving.

I find a steel backplate quite a bit of weight to haul onto the airplane so tend to travel with my Al plate. Each body has different buoyancy characteristics, but I am over weight with a Steel Small Backplate and 3mm.

I often take my 20lb wing to the tropics as it packs easily. But if planning to purchase a single system to dive in both warm and later cold water, you may consider picking up a 30lb wing. It will be a bit bulkier than the smaller wings to pack but will dive fine in the tropics and provide enough lift if/when you ever decide to dive drysuit and cold water.

One important piece of advice - at your size it's important to purchase a "small" backplate for comfort on a smaller torso. I know Halcyon, DSS and I believe oxycheq all manufacture the smaller plate. I prefer Halcyon wings, but have heard positive reviews about the Mach V.

Steel plates are useful in cold water where you need more weight due to extra buoyancy of exposure protection, but you can consider the extra equipment needed if/when you ever decide to dive locally .

Some wings such as Halcyon require a single tank adapter, while DSS does not. Depends on the system.

I love diving my BP/W - enjoy!

 

[seasss]

Alrighty, if Tobin doesn't pop in here, I will give him a call. Thanks!

I've read many great things about Deep Sea Supply and Tobin, quite impressive, but I didn't mention that brand only because the potential expenditure scared me off a bit haha. But of course, perhaps "you get what you pay for" applies... Will inquire.

Jax: the name is actually just a happy coincidence that it fits here :thumbs-up

 

[seasss]

Thanks for the info Kathydee!

 

[Peter_C]

Started my partner in a drysuit and a BP/W. She loves her setup with a bungee backup and long hose. She has a Freedom Plate, with a 30lb Oxycheq Mach V wing. It is a excellent setup for cold and warm water. Both of us have stainless plates with Mach V wings for warm and cold water. I use an aluminum plate for doubles, but prefer my stainless Freedom Plate for comfort and weight when diving warm water. It is up to you where you want to carry your weight, in your baggage, or on a weight belt at your destination.

What ever you decide for brand, stay with a basic harness. Simple really is better.

Scubatoys and DRIS both have good deals on packages for BP/W's too.
BackPlate and Wing Package discounts on sale Dive Rite

 

[cool_hardware52]

Hello! I am a new diver and I'm interested in a backplate and wing combo for a BC.

I would really appreciate some assistance from the highly experienced divers here!

I'm short and petite and a BP/W set up was recommended to me to likely fit better than a jacket-style BC. I've seen many people here speak very highly of this type of BC set up, as well as other places on the web, and now I'm extremely interested in getting one for myself. I asked my local dive shop about them, but was told that they're only for tech divers...which I've read here is not necessarily true.

I have a bunch of questions

I'm mostly interested in this set up for travel. I live in Canada and *for now* I plan to do most of my diving travelling. I don't think I'm ready for cold water yet! And to buy more gear for cold water is more than I want to spend at the moment. So, I would require this BC for travel, warm salt water, use with a 3-5mm wetsuit, single tank diving, rental tank and regulators (for now rental regulators), and if it makes any difference, I'm 5'1" and <100lbs.

Backplate: Steel? Aluminum? Ultra-light travel?
I reckon that if I use a steel backplate, then I may need to wear less weight? But could I potentially be overweighted?
What are the pros/cons of any of these?
I'm quite interested in the Oxycheq Ultra-light Travel BP, which seems to work well and be comfortable? Would it be more worthwhile to get a steel or aluminum one?

Wing: 18lb? 25lb? 30lb? How much lift do I need? (I think this question may get asked a lot here - I've tried to research this, but I'm still too new to diving to know the buoyancy characteristics of my wetsuit and tank and everything else.)
It seems like quite a few people use an 18lb lift wing for travel diving in warm waters... I may be using a thicker wetsuit however, and it would probably be more ideal for my BP/W to be able to serve me in cold waters as well in case decide to do this. Or would an 18lb lift wing be good in any case?

Other questions:
BPs I'm considering are the Oxycheq ultra-light travel one, but I would also love some recommendations for steel or aluminum ones (particularly if they come in a shorter size, as I suspect this would be more comfortable for me) or thoughts on this.

Wings I'm considering are the Oxycheq 18# Mach V, Oxycheq 30# Mach V, and the Hollis S25. Thoughts or comparison of any of these? Could I use a Hollis wing with an Oxycheq BP?

How do I know when I need a single tank adapter?

Anything else I should know or consider? Comfort / Quality of any of the brands etc mentioned?

Thank you for any help!!

Hi seass.

You are already getting a lot of good advice, and diver's today have many good BP&W's to choose from.

At 5'1" tall you are a candidate for a short plate. If your plate is too long it can make arching your back more difficult.

Choice of plate material, i.e. Stainless Steel vs Aluminum or Kydex is a function of how much ballast you need. If we look at the typical warm water diver using a 3mm suit and buoyant Aluminum 80's for cylinders, they will need about 7-9 lbs of total ballast. A 3mm suit will be 3-5 lbs positive and an empty al 80 is about +4 lbs.

A small SS plate and harness provides about 5 lbs or ballast and your reg will provide about 2 lbs. Many dive in tropical conditions, 3mm + al 80 with only their plate, harness and reg for ballast.

If you elect to use a lightweight plate, aluminum or kydex you can save about 3 lbs in dry travel weight, but you will then need a weight belt. This may or may not impact your trim.

Which wing? Any BC needs to offer enough lift to: 1) Float your rig at the surface if you ditch it, and 2) Offer enough lift to compensate for the maximum compression of your wet suit. A small SS late, harness, reg and full al 80 will be about -9 lbs. Your 3mm suit is likely to be 3-4 lbs positive. That makes a very small wing practical for warm water, 17, 18 20 is plenty.

Cold water requires more (thicker) more buoyant exposure suits. That in turn requires more ballast and large wings.

Can one wing be used for both cold and warm water? Of course, but the this one wing has to be sized for the cold water suit, and will be much larger than required for warm water. The down side of an oversized wing is more drag, less stability and it can be harder to fully vent.

If you were my customer I'd recommend:

Small Stainless Steel Back plate
LCD 20 Wing
Hogarthian Harness

Why the LCD 20? It is the shortest wing we make, it's offers enough buoyancy for 5mm suits (maybe more) and it's not going to be way too big for warm water.

If you have other questions let me know.

Tobin

 

[ddmattos]

"only for tech divers"......what a shame and totally untrue.

I started with a SS back plate,wing and weighted STA with two trim pockets on the lower cam. I use this system for all my single tank diving. When I go doubles, switch wings. You don't have to "upgrade" later. I take my gear on all my vacations.

You really don't need multiple plates. Also, don't rule out local diving. A drysuit will take care of that.

And find a new shop!

 

[3D diver]

This is a well timed thread, I just made my first dive after a loooong break with a new drysuit & undergarments & had to add weight. I'm thinking about a backplate based system to distribute the weight more comfortably.