I have a ss plate and in san diego when I dove a 7mm wetsuit it was great, 8lbs and good to go. Now that I own a steel tank and dive in warmer waters 1mm full - 3/2 shorty, I plan on getting an alu next time I see on on sale in the $60-80 range. If I dive a thin wet suit and a steel tank I'll sink like a rock. Alu tank and ss backplate isn't that bad.
BP/W Wing - Aluminum or SS Advice
- Thread starter Chappys4life
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Dear OP, stainless plates would be great for your local diving, less so for travel diving to Cozumel. There is plenty of lead in Cozumel, no need to tote it on an airliner in the form of a chunk of stainless steel. You need two plates, a standard stainless plate for your cold water local diving in the Lakes and a light weight aluminum plate for travel.
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As mentioned in numerous threads before, there are two schools of thought on tropical diving and plates. Some of us dislike weight belts and/or perceive a benefit from the steel plate being located right up against one's back, closer to the center of buoyancy than lead on a belt. I take my steel plate to Cozumel and other tropical destinations. With a 3 mm wetsuit, aluminum 80 tank, and steel plate, I am perfectly weighted with no additional lead at all. The difference in my luggage weight between the choice of steel or aluminum is all of 4 lbs. or so--not a big deal for me. I don't take a lot of stuff when I travel to tropical dive destinations, I don't buy souvenirs, etc., so my luggage weighs in at under 50 lbs. even with a steel plate in there. For those who travel with a lot of stuff and don't perceive any disadvantages of weight belts, aluminum (or kydex) is indeed one way to reduce luggage weight by 4 lbs. or so.
I put my SS plate in my rollaboard when I fly. I understand that it does happen in some places, but I have never had anyone even try to weight any piece of my carry-on luggage. That's on flights from/to the U.S. to/from Mexico, Hawaii, the UK, Germany, Spain, and Singapore (i.e. I haven't traveled outside the U.S. a lot, but more than zero). So, an extra 4 or 5# in my carry-on definitely seems like no problem.
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I am weight integrated with two camband pouches also. The camband pouches are equally effectice as a steel plate. Reverse one band, place a pouch on each band and shove it down close to the plate. This swims exactly like a steel plate, is adjustable and allows one to use destination provided lead. One can either use a weight belt or as I do QR pouches on my waist band for additioal lead as needed.
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The difference here is you have to either plan on using a rented weight belt, which is fine, or if you are using any sort of weight pouches, or bringing your own weight belt, you have to factor the difference in weight of an aluminum/abs/kydex plate plus the cam band pouches against a steel plate. The difference in aluminum vs steel plates is roughly 3lbs, and I bet if you put a pair of cam band weight pouches on, that becomes closer to 1.5-2lbs in weight difference, and frankly that isn't enough for me to deal with weighted cam bands which I hate, or weight belts, which I also hate. 2lbs is not much and if you pack properly it's a non-issue in my experience.
That's exactly what I do when I need more weight than just the steel plate alone. For a 3 mm suit and Al 80, no camband weight pouches--just the steel plate. But for a 5 mm suit and Al 80, I add 4-6 lbs. in camband weight pouches snugged up against the plate. I'll be bringing my 5 mm suit, steel plate, and camband weight pouches to Cozumel next month.
Caveeagle
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I am in a similar spot. I have been using a SS Apex plate for both single 104s and double 95s. (wearing a 3/2mm wetsuit). This is just about perfect for single tank fresh water, but I have been adding 4# for salt.
This plate is too heavy for my double 95s. I am using a 55# wing and can't stay neutral at 20' without it being ~1/4 full of air. I was planning to either switch back into my old ABS plate, or get an aluminum plate to hold me over until I get a drysuit.
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