Ditching the poodle jacket

[InTheDrink]

Just so's I'm straight - the rig you tried to correct had plate, then wing, then channel with a bolt attempting to marry them all up? Shame you didn't video it - that would truly be amusing!

I can see exactly how one could end up in that scenario and can see precisely why it would be a real head scratcher but I can nearly see you now, pausing for breath, standing up straight and scratching your head going, 'well, WTF?' Too funny.

The temptation to ask you how you doff and don your kit and whether I can give you any tips on that is nearly too powerful to resist but resist I will

I'm off to colder climes tomorrow (no diving sadly) but should be back online Tuesday.

Happy Easter one and all and thanks for everyone's help, really mean it.

J

 

[InTheDrink]

So I took the rig to the pool today, at long long last. I felt a little self conscious trying to get setup. I do need to get a buddly locally so I can shoot the breeze and get some feedback into what I'm doing right or wrong rather than muttering to myself wondering how to buckle those damn cam belts (of which more later).

Anyhow here are a few observations so far:

1. Trim was perfect and effortless. This was really noticeable, perfect motionless neutral buoyancy required zero effort or concentration. Very much felt like I was suspended on a thread. Lovely and extremely pleased about this.

2. Getting fitted correctly was harder than I thought and I don't think I'm quite there still. My main complaint is that the wing feels too long. Either the rig is too high on my head, obstructing my raising my head somewhat, or it's too low, more or less completely obstructing my ability to use the D-ring on the back of the crotch harness. This wing seems like it would suit me better if it was 6 inches shorter. I am really wondering whether an 18lb wing might have been better for me. This is further re-inforced by the point below.

3. I required no weight. Which is awesome, so the weight pockets I ordered can probably go back in the drawer. I was wearing a full 5mm suit none of the extras that would normally make me a little heavier, like light, knife, etc. so I think that I should not require lead for diving in a 5mm. However, if this is the case, then 30lbs of lift seems like a lot given I'll not normally be going below 40m/130ft. So think I've maybe got to big a wing. At 37 it seems unlikely that I'll have a late growth spurt so I'm working on the premise that I'm missing something at that I can somehow manage the length - again, any thoughts on this welcome.

4. The backplate (Freedom plate) is lovely, extremely comfortable and looks terrific. As I've no experience with other plates it's very hard for me to make a comparative review but it was very comfortable and I simply didn't notice it. I can definitely see me diving it without a wing for certain types of dives.

5. The comfort harness was nice, didn't rub at the shoulders as SeaJay feared. And given it was my first outing, it was nice to be able to adjust easily and underwater rather than having to constantly come out of the water to recalibrate.

6. I felt a little turtlely and at a certain angle could feel real roll about to kick in. Any tips on what to do here would be great. I tightened the harness a little but I don't want it too tight.

7. Minor point - both buckles on my new cam bands rusted immediately on contact with the water. This has annoyed me slightly (see photos below) as it looks a bit crap and risks getting rust on my other stuff, including clothes, which live in the same bag as my gear when I'm travelling. Anything I can treat it with that might de-rust it?

Other than that, absolutely awesome. I didn't do much more than get used to it and didn't do much in the way of drills and skills or ****ing about like going inverted. That I'll save for next week, or possible the week after: I'm starting my rescue course next weekend and I'm considering going back to my poodle jacket just so as not to be too task loaded. I'll also be wearing a dry suit for the first time so it sounds like too many new things at the same time so might give the mares dragon a last blast of life

Cheers guys,

John

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So I took the rig to the pool today, at long long last. I felt a little self conscious trying to get setup. I do need to get a buddly locally so I can shoot the breeze and get some feedback into what I'm doing right or wrong rather than muttering to myself wondering how to buckle those damn cam belts (of which more later).

Anyhow here are a few observations so far:

1. Trim was perfect and effortless. This was really noticeable, perfect motionless neutral buoyancy required zero effort or concentration. Very much felt like I was suspended on a thread. Lovely and extremely pleased about this.

2. Getting fitted correctly was harder than I thought and I don't think I'm quite there still. My main complaint is that the wing feels too long. Either the rig is too high on my head, obstructing my raising my head somewhat, or it's too low, more or less completely obstructing my ability to use the D-ring on the back of the crotch harness. This wing seems like it would suit me better if it was 6 inches shorter. I am really wondering whether an 18lb wing might have been better for me. This is further re-inforced by the point below.

3. I required no weight. Which is awesome, so the weight pockets I ordered can probably go back in the drawer. I was wearing a full 5mm suit none of the extras that would normally make me a little heavier, like light, knife, etc. so I think that I should not require lead for diving in a 5mm. However, if this is the case, then 30lbs of lift seems like a lot given I'll not normally be going below 40m/130ft. So think I've maybe got to big a wing. At 37 it seems unlikely that I'll have a late growth spurt so I'm working on the premise that I'm missing something at that I can somehow manage the length - again, any thoughts on this welcome.

4. The backplate (Freedom plate) is lovely, extremely comfortable and looks terrific. As I've no experience with other plates it's very hard for me to make a comparative review but it was very comfortable and I simply didn't notice it. I can definitely see me diving it without a wing for certain types of dives.

5. The comfort harness was nice, didn't rub at the shoulders as SeaJay feared. And given it was my first outing, it was nice to be able to adjust easily and underwater rather than having to constantly come out of the water to recalibrate.

6. I felt a little turtlely and at a certain angle could feel real roll about to kick in. Any tips on what to do here would be great. I tightened the harness a little but I don't want it too tight.

7. Minor point - both buckles on my new cam bands rusted immediately on contact with the water. This has annoyed me slightly (see photos below) as it looks a bit crap and risks getting rust on my other stuff, including clothes, which live in the same bag as my gear when I'm travelling. Anything I can treat it with that might de-rust it?

Other than that, absolutely awesome. I didn't do much more than get used to it and didn't do much in the way of drills and skills or ****ing about like going inverted. That I'll save for next week, or possible the week after: I'm starting my rescue course next weekend and I'm considering going back to my poodle jacket just so as not to be too task loaded. I'll also be wearing a dry suit for the first time so it sounds like too many new things at the same time so might give the mares dragon a last blast of life

Cheers guys,

John

Hi John,

Congrats on getting your rig all together. It looks great!

The rust on the buckles is most likely from some ferrous metal debris that got onto the surface of the cam buckle during production, not the metal of the buckle itself. Go to a hardware store and purchace a small bottle of Naval Jelly. Use a small stiff tooth brush and scrub the stains off with the naval jelly and the phosphoric acid will dissolve and nuetralize the rust. Be sure to rinse the part with fresh water while the naval jelly is still wet. Don't let the naval jelly dry on the buckle before rinsing. After all the ferrous material has oxidized off and cleaned you shouldn't have any more trouble with it. If you do, then that means some how some carbon was introduced into the alloy during the casting process. This is bad and means that it will continue to oxidize whenever you expose it to a corrosive environment. Just clean it up for now and let's see if it comes back, it'll probably be fine.

Same goes with the plate. If you see any spots starting it's
not the stainless itself, but something that got on the stainless. Generally they've all been pretty clean and I haven't had any complains about staining, but occasionally a spot or two might start up. I tool them with high carbon hammers and hand shape them on a steel anvil horn so it's possible there might be some ferrous transfer, but just follow the steps I mentioned if you see any signs and it will be fine.

With the wing length:
Hmmm, don't quite know how to help you there. An 18 isn't going to be much shorter than a 30 - maybe by 3 - 5 cm. I don't know if that's enough to make a big difference. Most of the difference is in the diameter of the wing.
Just keep using it and hopefully you will get used to it and overcome the issue. To be honest, there really isn't anything out there that's better constructed. The Mach V's are top of the line.
And what you went through to get the stuff, holy crap!!! A return would almost seem out of the question.

Do a little homework and see maybe if a Hog wing is shorter. If you're really unhappy with the Mach V maybe you can off it locally and still come out OK.

 

[InTheDrink]

Hi John,

Congrats on getting your rig all together. It looks great!

The rust on the buckles is most likely from some ferrous metal debris that got onto the surface of the cam buckle during production, not the metal of the buckle itself. Go to a hardware store and purchace a small bottle of Naval Jelly. Use a small stiff tooth brush and scrub the stains off with the naval jelly and the phosphoric acid will dissolve and nuetralize the rust. Be sure to rinse the part with fresh water while the naval jelly is still wet. Don't let the naval jelly dry on the buckle before rinsing. After all the ferrous material has oxidized off and cleaned you shouldn't have any more trouble with it. If you do, then that means some how some carbon was introduced into the alloy during the casting process. This is bad and means that it will continue to oxidize whenever you expose it to a corrosive environment. Just clean it up for now and let's see if it comes back, it'll probably be fine.

Same goes with the plate. If you see any spots starting it's
not the stainless itself, but something that got on the stainless. Generally they've all been pretty clean and I haven't had any complains about staining, but occasionally a spot or two might start up. I tool them with high carbon hammers and hand shape them on a steel anvil horn so it's possible there might be some ferrous transfer, but just follow the steps I mentioned if you see any signs and it will be fine.

With the wing length:
Hmmm, don't quite know how to help you there. An 18 isn't going to be much shorter than a 30 - maybe by 3 - 5 cm. I don't know if that's enough to make a big difference. Most of the difference is in the diameter of the wing.
Just keep using it and hopefully you will get used to it and overcome the issue. To be honest, there really isn't anything out there that's better constructed. The Mach V's are top of the line.
And what you went through to get the stuff, holy crap!!! A return would almost seem out of the question.

Do a little homework and see maybe if a Hog wing is shorter. If you're really unhappy with the Mach V maybe you can off it locally and still come out OK.

Hey Eric,

How's it going? I've been waiting to reply to you (email) until I got the rig in the water, so expect something from me tomorrow

Thanks for the tip on the rusty-looking cam buckles. I'll nip down to hardware shop and see if they've got the naval KY jelly or something similar. Be good to get it off, even if it's only a minor nuisance.

The Freedom plate itself is obviously spotless. I don't know anything about metal (or, as you can see from some of my other questions, DIY) but the quality of alloy you've used looks and feels amazing. Aesthetically and ergonomically it is fantastic. It's how I imagine Apple would create a plate if they made diving gear. The iPlate

Anyhow, it's just lovely and I'm going to look to dive it on certain shallow warm dives without a wing. That is going to be a blast. It's a shame I haven't dived other plates, so I can say something comparative, but I can't. All I can say is it's an awesome plate that is a doddle to rig.

Now, the wing - perhaps my review of the experience wasn't as balanced as it could have been. I love it, with caveats .

The lift will be too much for some of my diving, but not for others I suspect as I'm going to be getting into dry suit diving soon and start braving the non summer UK months. So a 7mm or dry suit will be De Rigeur and I'm guessing a little more lift that 18lbs for this is probably necessary. For the warmer water diving, the additional but not terribly useful lift should not be such a big deal - especially if the difference in dimensions between the 18 and 30 is mainly in width.

The trim and control with the wing and plate was really surprisingly awesome. The dump is wondeful, and just the right amount of sensitive. The inflator took a little getting used to, hiding behind me on a couple of occasions until I affixed it onto the harness (altho I did wonder whether this was a clue that the wing was riding too low on me?). The only part I was really surprised by was the back d-ring accessibility. I've played around with it again in my garden and I think it is probably just a case of getting used to it. Like a lot of things, just takes a little getting used to. And I'm still finessing the harness fitting so there may be some room there for improvement. It was my first outing so I'll be expecting improvements as I get used to it. I really do not see myself sending it back or selling it. There has been too much of an emotional bond formed in the process of trying to get the damn thing found in the labyrinth of the UK postal service.

I'm looking forward to taking it out for real. I had expected that to be in Egypt next month (liveabord to St John's and other southern reefs) but given that the water's warming up (9C ) I might end up getting a few in here before I go.

Overall, as things currently stand, from my very first foray into BP/W, I'd give the plate a ten and the wing an 8 and overall a 9. I appreciate that a review from a novice isn't terribly valuable, but from a first outing, I love it all immensely.

One other thing: the overall rig works really well with JetFins in terms of trim. Jets felt a little heavy with my Mares BC but with the BP/W I am automatically flattened out without any effort or concentration.

J

 

[Sas]

I'm looking forward to taking it out for real. I had expected that to be in Egypt next month (liveabord to St John's and other southern reefs) but given that the water's warming up (9C ) I might end up getting a few in here before I go.

Oh nice! I am jealous of your Egypt but I reckon you must do some 9C dives just so you know to appreciate Egypt more . Cool the new setup is working out well

 

[hg frogman]

Hi John

I am glad for you that you now have your much awaited gear. I just watched the pictures of your setup, and here are a few suggestions for some drawbacks you mention.

1) When one is horizontal in the water, all BCDs tend to slip forwards (comparatively to where they are located when one stands up). More so with a metallic backplate, more slippery than the foamed backpack of a jacket-style BCD. If nothing is done, the reg is more likely to bump into one's neck while using a BP/W than with a jacket-style BCD. Fortunately this can be solved by a mix of the following:

a) Tighten the crotch-strap enough. Shouldn't squeeze too much one's crotch (normally this is not a genuine concern in less than 37°C water while wearing a neoprene suit ) but shouldn't be too loose either. The crotch strap does contribute to prevent the forwards motion of the BP on your back.

b) Set your tank as low as you can on your BP/W. This will increase the distance between your reg and your neck. Point c) thereafter helps for this setting.

c) With Oxycheq wings you have two positions available for the wing : high on the BP, or low on the BP. From your pictures I see you set the wing in the "high on the BP" position. This puts your reg closer to your neck ==> I suggest you set your wing in the low position (I am 6'2" and that's how I set mine). This makes the wing go lower on your body (this issue will be adressed in point 2) thereafter) which is good at the surface (more support). But the main interest in doing so is that it also helps in having the reg as far as possible from your head.

d) Set your Legend upside down, ie the "turret" facing your feet (same trick for those using a Mk25 or Mk17). Try, you will see there is no issue in doing so (other than changing hoses positions, but now you have good wrenches, don't you ?)

e) True the Mach V is long (and hence narrow) so it doesn't fit all the tanks. It fits perfectly an Al80 or a long steel 12 liters. It doesn't fit at all a short steel 12 liters. In the "wing low on the BP" position that I recommend, it just fits a steel 15 liters (that's the tank you show on your pictures, I guess). But short steel 12 liters are a PITA anyway, underwater they are like a clunker or a keel on your back.

f) With an Al80 you don't have the quite long and narrow "neck" of the tank you show on your pictures (by "neck" I mean where the valve is screwed) and you gain one more inch of maximal possible distance between your reg and your head.

2) For the D-Ring on your crotch strap : set it so that this D-Ring is placed close to the end of the lowest part of the wing (that means quite low on your butt). Don't forget that when you clip a reel or a DSMB on this D-Ring you don't want it to interfere with your tank - and an Al80 is a long one. So yes, having this D-Ring quite low is not a concern (and the length of the Mach V 30 lbs is fine).

Enjoy the tinkering,
HG

PS : I own also a 18 lbs wing - it's much less versatile than a 30 lbs when you dive with different tanks, different suits and so on, while keeping the same wing. I just find 30 lbs to be the perfect trade-off for me, from Alpine lakes to tropical waters. Also the lift necessary to keep your head well out of the water at the surface (while wearing a wetsuit or a flooded drysuit) is often underestimated by some Scubaboard posters IMO.

 

[InTheDrink]

Hi John

I am glad for you that you now have your much awaited gear. I just watched the pictures of your setup, and here are a few suggestions for some drawbacks you mention.

1) When one is horizontal in the water, all BCDs tend to slip forwards (comparatively to where they are located when one stands up). More so with a metallic backplate, more slippery than the foamed backpack of a jacket-style BCD. If nothing is done, the reg is hence more likely to bump into one's neck while using a BP/W than with a jacket-style BCD. Fortunately this can be solved by a mix of the following:

a) Tighten the crotch-strap enough. Shouldn't squeeze too much one's crotch (normally this is not a genuine concern in less than 37°C water while wearing a neoprene suit ) but shouldn't be too loose either. The crotch strap does contribute to prevent the forwards motion of the BP on your back.

b) Set your tank as low as you can on your BP/W. This will increase the distance between your reg and your neck. Point c) thereafter helps for this setting.

c) With Oxycheq wings you have two positions available for the wing : high on the BP, or low on the BP. From you pictures I see you set the wing in the "high on the BP" position. This puts your reg closer to your neck ==> I suggest you set your wing in the low position (I am 6'2" and that's how I set mine). This makes the wing go lower on your body (this issue will be adressed in point 2) thereafter) which is good at the surface (more support). But the main interest in doing so is that it also helps in having the reg as far as possible from your head.

d) Set your Legend upside down, ie the "turret" facing your feet (same trick for those using a Mk25 or Mk17). Try, you will see there is no issue in doing so (other than changing hoses positions, but now you have good wrenches, don't you ?)

e) True the Mach V is long (and hence narrow) so it doesn't fit all the tanks. It fits perfectly an Al80 or a long steel 12 liters. It doesn't fit at all a short steel 12 liters. In the "wing low on the BP" position that I recommend, it just fits a steel 15 liters (that's the tank you show on your pictures, I guess). But short steel 12 liters are a PITA anyway, underwater they are like a clunker or a keel on your back.

f) With an Al80 you don't have the quite long and narrow "neck" of the tank you show on your pictures (by "neck" I mean where the valve is screwed) and you gain one more inch of maximal possible distance between your reg and your head.

2) For the D-Ring on your crotch strap : set it so that this D-Ring is placed close to the end of the lowest part of the wing (that means quite low on your butt). Don't forget that when you clip a reel or a DSMB on this D-Ring you don't want it to interfere with your tank - and an Al80 is a long one. So yes, having this D-Ring quite low is not a concern (and the length of the Mach V 30 lbs is fine).

Enjoy the tinkering,
HG

PS : I own also a 18 lbs wing - it's much less versatile than a 30 lbs when you dive with different tanks, different suits and so on, while keeping the same wing. I just find 30 lbs to be the perfect trade-off for me, from Alpine lakes to tropical waters. Also the lift necessary to keep your head well out of the water at the surface (while wearing a wetsuit or a flooded drysuit) is often underestimated by some Scubaboard posters IMO.

Frogman, welcome back from your trip!! Hope it was fun!

Thanks for your tips - they all make sense to me and I had considered flipping my first stage upside down and like you say, now I've got decent wrenches, no probs switching ports. Actually, going to do this right now... hang on...

J

 

[InTheDrink]

Ok, so done that now. I think that particular tip might help a lot, we'll see. As my wife always says, that extra two inches makes all the difference. I did nearly hook my second stage into the HP port while swapping over but when it struggled to screw I checked. That could have been a nice surprise.

The rest of your tips I'm working or dwelling on. At 6'2" you have 5 inches on me so probably 2-3 inches more than me on your torso which isn't a great deal really (irrespective of what my wife says).

In terms of tanks, I do find the squat steel tanks not so good. I prefer the long ones as they keep the weight evenly distributed.

In terms of keeping the wing low on the BP - that's where it naturally wants to go. That was fine, and helped with the first stage banging the head thing, but it did leave the wing sitting very low on my ass and left not much space for an accessible rear d-ring without the risk of looking like I was just tickling my balls underwater (which I might try anyway). But with the first stage inverted I suspect I might be able to ride the wing high without losing head flexibility and at the same time be able to get to rear d-ring simply looking like I'm picking my ass. Which is much more normal.

And good to hear your thoughts on the 18 V the 30 pound wing. I agree. If I had endless cash then I'd get absolutely particular kit for particular style diving. But I don't, and this rig will need to last me 2 years at least before I get another and knowing that it's versatile enough for the tropics as well as murky UK winter diving is a real plus.

Cheers my man, good to see you back on the board!!!

T'es super sympa et c'est toujours bon d'entendre ta voix (je sais, je sais, je parle le francais comme une vache espagnole)

A+ mon ami,

J

 

[hg frogman]

I forgot to mention that my wife (5' 8") has the same backplate and same Mach V 30# wing than me, and same settings (ie wing low on the backplate) and she likes it like this. The lower end of the wing reaches the lower end of her butt, and that's perfect (ie the wing doesn't go lower than the tank) with an Al80 or a steel 12 liters long, and still OK with a steel 15 liters.

We both found that, like this, there is more margin for setting our tank so that the reg doesn't come to bang our neck (or that it doesn't bang too much, at least). We found it also more "elegant" or "stylish" like this (don't forget we are French ).

We both set the butt D-Ring of the crotch strap as low as we can (ie at the lower third of our bums) and find it OK (access to this D-Ring for clipping an item is done from the side). Only thing a bit special, we didn't like feeling on our backside the extra-thickness of the triglide and webbing that retains the D-Ring, so we sewed the webbing to hold the D-Ring without a triglide and with minimal extra thickness (I tried to draw it here but it doesn't work with that software).

Further adjustments of the crotch-strap can be done using the front side.

 

[Deep South Divers]

Just so's I'm straight - the rig you tried to correct had plate, then wing, then channel with a bolt attempting to marry them all up? Shame you didn't video it - that would truly be amusing!

Yeah, hence my embarrassment when I realized, through all of the commotion a bunch of pages ago, that I had the plate/wing assembly wrong.

Before it sounds too goofy, though, understand... I don't know of another plate that DOESN'T assemble that way. It's plate/wing/STA (if necessary) for every other plate. Since it was brought to me that way as well... Well... It didn't make any sense to me either.

Now here's the real kicker - wings generally have 11" centers. Go figure how that looked on the Freedom plate, with 9" centers (the only one I know of that doesn't use 11" centers). From my perspective, it just looked... Well... Let's just say that I wasn't pleased.

I can see exactly how one could end up in that scenario and can see precisely why it would be a real head scratcher but I can nearly see you now, pausing for breath, standing up straight and scratching your head going, 'well, WTF?' Too funny.

Yep, you've got the visual right... But I said a few more choice words than that.

The temptation to ask you how you doff and don your kit and whether I can give you any tips on that is nearly too powerful to resist but resist I will

Oh, doffing and donning isn't an issue... I do it every day, day in and day out, 5 or 6 days a week. And when I'm not doing it for work, I'm doing it while diving for fun on my day off.

Not sure what the doffing and donning has to do with the sequence of plate/wing assembly, though...

Anyhow here are a few observations so far:

1. Trim was perfect and effortless. This was really noticeable, perfect motionless neutral buoyancy required zero effort or concentration. Very much felt like I was suspended on a thread. Lovely and extremely pleased about this.

Yep, that's what most experienced divers feel most the first time they dive a backplate and wing. Good stuff, isn't it?

2. Getting fitted correctly was harder than I thought and I don't think I'm quite there still. My main complaint is that the wing feels too long.

Yep, remember when I was asking you about how far the wing came over the plate? That's what I was referring to.

Someone posted a link to Cody Gardner's plate fitment page - in there, he shows exactly where the plate should fit your back. (I am assuming - perhaps correctly, and perhaps not - that the Freedom plate should fit the same way.) From there, you can adjust the rest of the hardware, including the wing, cam bands, and the like, to get the optimum fitment.

Of course, since you can't bolt or otherwise affix the wing to the plate ('cause it's assembled plate/STA/wing instead of plate/wing/STA - with no bolts through the wing, which is only loosely held together with the cam bands), your adjustments are not going to be permanent - that is, you'll have to adjust it every time you put a tank on the rig.

3. I required no weight. Which is awesome, so the weight pockets I ordered can probably go back in the drawer. I was wearing a full 5mm suit none of the extras that would normally make me a little heavier, like light, knife, etc. so I think that I should not require lead for diving in a 5mm. However, if this is the case, then 30lbs of lift seems like a lot given I'll not normally be going below 40m/130ft. So think I've maybe got to big a wing.

Remember back-when when you were worried that the wing you chose might not have enough lift? Tough to explain that to someone. It's like they don't believe you... Or simply accuse you of not reading their posts.

Still, you should still be fine with a 37-pounder, especially if you dive dry with steels (which you are apparently doing). I doubt that you'll feel it's too big when you're diving dry.

4. The backplate (Freedom plate) is lovely, extremely comfortable and looks terrific. As I've no experience with other plates it's very hard for me to make a comparative review but it was very comfortable and I simply didn't notice it. I can definitely see me diving it without a wing for certain types of dives.

What you just described is the ultimate compliment of a backplate. It should hold the rig stable, be a firm mount, work with the rest of the rig to provide proper bouyancy, and nothing more. "Simply not noticing it" is the perfect plate.

5. The comfort harness was nice, didn't rub at the shoulders as SeaJay feared.

Very cool. Mine didn't rub my shoulders - it rubbed at the base of my neck, right above the shoulders. Interestingly, I was using webbing only and am 6'1" tall with a large 17.5" neck. All of my guys are built similarly - it kinda comes with the job.

And given it was my first outing, it was nice to be able to adjust easily and underwater rather than having to constantly come out of the water to recalibrate.

Yes, but those adjustments are permanent - a pain to set at first, but never coming out of adjustment again, which I like.

6. I felt a little turtlely and at a certain angle could feel real roll about to kick in. Any tips on what to do here would be great. I tightened the harness a little but I don't want it too tight.

The only thing tight should be the waist strap. Your upper harness is too loose when it falls off of your shoulders while diving. It's too tight when you need a quick release to get out of it. Proper adjustment is dead in the middle of those two. Keep diving the rig, and it'll become obvious.

The problem that you describe ("turtling") is a trim issue... Your tank is too heavy. That is, you've got too much of your weight (apparently 100% of it) on your back. When diving a BC, no inherent weight in the BC = a heavy tank is a good thing. Now that you've got a backplate back there, there's TOO much weight back there.

Is it possible to use a lighter tank (HP steel or even AL)? That will bring your center of gravity back toward your spine and down slightly if you have to compensate with a 2-lb weight on your belt (I just put mine directly onto my harness).

7. Minor point - both buckles on my new cam bands rusted immediately on contact with the water. This has annoyed me slightly (see photos below) as it looks a bit crap and risks getting rust on my other stuff, including clothes, which live in the same bag as my gear when I'm travelling.

Yeah, I would agree with Eric on this - that it's caused by contamination, not the rusting of the metal itself. That said, I'm a huge fan of ScubaPro's cam bands over anything else, because you don't have to stand the tank up and slip the rig down onto the tank for assembly. You can simply lay the rig down on it's face and strap the tank on in a horizontal position - a huge advantage on a rocking, pitching boat. It also means that you can keep regs on a tank and remove the backplate and wing so that you can keep the regs pressurized for rinsing.

...And I've never seen a ScubaPro cam buckle rust.