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.