looking for Tobin, suggestion for BP/W set up >

[TTwizted13]

i posted this over in the BC forum, was directed to come find you though.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/buoyancy-compensators-bcs-weight-systems/398037-suggestions-back-plate-wing-set-up.html#post6067958

would you happen to have any suggestions for me? im 5'7 roughly 140lbs

thanks for all the help!

 

[cool_hardware52]

i posted this over in the BC forum, was directed to come find you though.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/buoyancy-compensators-bcs-weight-systems/398037-suggestions-back-plate-wing-set-up.html#post6067958

would you happen to have any suggestions for me? im 5'7 roughly 140lbs

thanks for all the help!

TT,

At 5'7" you need a medium back plate, that's the easy part.

For me to recommend a wing I need some more info. The key element is the buoyancy of your exposure suit.

What do you use for an exposure suit?

What do you use for cylinders?

Tobin

 

[TTwizted13]

thanks for the fast response!

currently use wet suit, im in the middle of getting my dry suit certification now, so i will be using both. wet suit is 5/7mm for colder climates, ill be using dry suit more then wet once i get it. and then very thin 1mm or 3mm for travel diving.

as for the tanks, ill be using dual HP steel 80's.

 

[Rainer]

as for the tanks, ill be using dual HP steel 80's.

Tobin's favorite cylinders.

Somewhat hard to design ONE wing to work exceptionally well with a 1mm wetsuit in warm water and a DS in cold water (from singles to doubles)...

 

[cool_hardware52]

thanks for the fast response!

currently use wet suit, im in the middle of getting my dry suit certification now, so i will be using both. wet suit is 5/7mm for colder climates, ill be using dry suit more then wet once i get it. and then very thin 1mm or 3mm for travel diving.

as for the tanks, ill be using dual HP steel 80's.

My recommendation is to wait until you have your drysuit, and can test it's buoyancy. Let me know if you need directions on how to test the buoyancy of a drysuit.

BTW HP 80's are less than ideal for any BP&W. When used as singles these "cannonballs with valves" are so short that the wing will flod back under the bottom of the tank.

This makes the wing subject to damage when gearing up, the bottom of the tanks will pound on the wing.

I also cannot recommend doubling up HP 80's. Most new divers using doubles will find they are head heavy as the result of two valves, a brass manifold, and two first stage regs up behind their head. Short cylinders only make this worse.

I'm 5'9" (on a good day ) and I really prefer longer tanks. HP 100's, LP 85's etc.

If you don't own the HP 80's I'd recommend looking for other tanks, if you do own them there is always ebay.

Tobin

 

[TTwizted13]

i do not own the tanks yet, the weight of the tanks im not concerned about. and because im a shorter diver, the smaller tanks IMO are more ideal for me. but thats why im asking for input.

do you have a recomendations as to what tanks i should be looking at?

and is there a wing back plate set up i can use to switch between singles and doubles. so i can use alum 80's for rentals when i travel and use my own set up for my local diving?

 

[cool_hardware52]

i do not own the tanks yet, the weight of the tanks im not concerned about. and because im a shorter diver, the smaller tanks IMO are more ideal for me. but thats why im asking for input.

do you have a recomendations as to what tanks i should be looking at?

and is there a wing back plate set up i can use to switch between singles and doubles. so i can use alum 80's for rentals when i travel and use my own set up for my local diving?

Hard to go wrong with HP100's. Good for singles, nice for doubles. Even pair of al 80's are reasonable first doubles, and they have a future as stage bottles.

There is no one back plate and wing that's ideal for:

Thin wetsuits + al80's and 7mm wetsuits / drysuits and steel tanks

or

Singles and doubles

BP&W's are modular, that permits tailoring the components for a given application.

My advice is to get your drysuit, determine the buoyancy and then pick out an appropriate singles rig.

Trying to get one "do it all" rig is a mistake.

The jump from singles to doubles is costly. If you realy plan to dive doubles and make full use of the gear you will need:

2-4 sets of doubles at ~$600-800 each

4-8 stages and deco bottles with rigging at $150-200 each

4-8 (or more) regulators

Argon suit inflation with 2-3 bottles at $100 each

Computer or BT $500-1500

Training $5000+

Gas (don't want to think about it)

Can light $1000+

Backup lights $200-300

~30 bolt snaps $300

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Trying to save on the cost (~$300) of a "real" doubles wing by buying a "dual purpose" now is not money well spent.

Tobin

 

[TTwizted13]

that all makes sense.

so sticking with a single tank, would doing a steel 80 be a mistake still or keep the suggestion of the steel 100?

and if i were to travel, and it being the case that its too hard to switch from thick to thin set up, ill just rent a rig on vacations until i can afford a travel rig. my main concern is my local go-to diving which id be using more then none the wet suit.

 

[cool_hardware52]

that all makes sense.

so sticking with a single tank, would doing a steel 80 be a mistake still or keep the suggestion of the steel 100?

and if i were to travel, and it being the case that its too hard to switch from thick to thin set up, ill just rent a rig on vacations until i can afford a travel rig. my main concern is my local go-to diving which id be using more then none the wet suit.

HP 80's are too short to work well with any BP&W, LP80's are fine.

At 5'7" you don't need special short tanks.

Tobin

 

[walrus2]

I think one single tank rig for both cold and warm water is fine, with two potential issues. A single rig for both single tank and doubles, not so much.

I use mine both for cold water in drysuit with single large steel tank and travel. With the weight of my backplate I am weighted just right with my 3 mm suit in salt water and rental AL80s, which is nice. My wing is a single-tank 40 lb wing which is considerably more than I need in warm water but it works fine (unlike my 45 lb Apeks wing that's for sale all the time on scubaboard). The other limitation/issue to consider may be weight on planes. My backplate, cold water regs, heavy fins could break weight limits in many cases, but in practice I've traveled on airlines I have frequent flier status on with very generous weight limits.