Novice diver plunge for Backplate and Wing?

[danvolker]

All of this sounds wonderful except that the OP is not a tech diver.

Ok...double 40 cu foot tanks ....or,
Find a good GUE instructor to do the fitting of the recreational single tank rig. Or, a good Halcyon shop that JJ or Bob Sherwood, or someone else high in the system, recommends as an expert in fitting.
If the OP was here in S Fl, I could have several people ( like this) help whether in Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach.

 

[eelnoraa]

....the solution is going to be finding the right person to fit the rig to the diver. For some people like Kev, maybe this would take a Bob Sherwood or similar skilled GUE instructor that can see strange body proportions,

I can tell you this isn't true. There is more than about fitting. We first have to agree that STA's cam slots puts tank higher than using cam slots from the backplate. For Halcyon STA, it is a good 2" higher. For dive rite STA, it is about 3". I created a thread about this issue a while ago. I still wonder why most STAs are designed so poorly, and few people ever talk about it.

Now, the problem is usually for people that is small, or short torso, short neck in nature. With this kind of STA, if the bottom of the plate is already at the edge of your hip bone, the plate can't go any lower. If the top camband already at the break of the tank neck, head still hit first stage, there is NO adjustment you can make to resolve this.

So what is the solution? Gear solution. 1) change from regular size plate to small size (in Halycon line up, gain you about 3/4"). 2)find a STA that has lower top camband position (like deep outdoor, gain you about 1.5"). or 3)find a plate that allow your to mount the STA lower so that despite the poor designed STA, the top cam slot will be more or less line up with the top slots from the plate (HOG brand plate)

 

[Insta-Gator]

Don't use a STA is the best solution.

It's auto-correct via Tapatalk 2, figure it out.

 

[eelnoraa]

Well, if you have a wing without slots, like Halcyon Eclipse, you dont have that option

 

[SangP]

I can tell you with certainty that both Halcyon and GUE will tell you that no one should be considering cutting slots as the solution to not having the head bang on the first stage....the solution is going to be finding the right person to fit the rig to the diver. For some people like Kev, maybe this would take a Bob Sherwood or similar skilled GUE instructor that can see strange body proportions, and instantly figure out the fitting solution.....Ultimately, this will provide the perfect custom fit, whether for Kevin or anyone else.

While those of us who have had the pleasure of getting a perfect fitting from a GUE instructor do not find any problem as Kev has, another thing for Kev to be aware of, is that in a doubles configuration, the 1st stages are well away to the right and left of the head, and even someone with a neck and head like a turtle, will be able to have their head back like a periscope, and not have any head bump

Agree.

All of this sounds wonderful except that the OP is not a tech diver.

Disagree, what does tech have to do with having a properly fitting bp/w? The solution is just getting someone familiar with bp/w in general and getting them to help fit it.

 

[fnfalman]

Disagree, what does tech have to do with having a properly fitting bp/w? The solution is just getting someone familiar with bp/w in general and getting them to help fit it.

Because Dan was recommending GUE instructors and gurus. How often do rec divers meet these people?

 

[CT Sean]

And how many of them really offer their services up for free? If those couple in FL do, that's great but something tells me if I walk into my local GUE shop (which is only a handful of miles away, bu ti've never actually entered) with my gear I didn't buy there and asked them to fit it properly for me, I'd probably get some strange looks.

 

[danvolker]

And how many of them really offer their services up for free? If those couple in FL do, that's great but something tells me if I walk into my local GUE shop (which is only a handful of miles away, bu ti've never actually entered) with my gear I didn't buy there and asked them to fit it properly for me, I'd probably get some strange looks.

Tell them there is a big discussion on the internet about this...tell them you ask that they look at how you are presently configured, and for them to at minimum, offer the changes to you that you could make yourself.....The GUE people I know would do this, no problem, for a person they did not know, off the street, so to speak...At least they would if this is Halcyon gear....the willingness is part related to the gear being good enough....Halcyon is NOT the only gear they would help with, but there is plenty of gear that is just not going to be worth messing with.

 

[SangP]

And how many of them really offer their services up for free? If those couple in FL do, that's great but something tells me if I walk into my local GUE shop (which is only a handful of miles away, bu ti've never actually entered) with my gear I didn't buy there and asked them to fit it properly for me, I'd probably get some strange looks.

I'm not sure about that, not all GUE guys are that mercenary. They might offer a lot more help then you think.

Sure they might want to sell you a course or 2 but I doubt any professional operation would just say get lost.

There are also tons of online help if needed,:
DIR-diver.com - Adjust the backplate
http://www.globalunderwaterexplorers.org/equipment/config

Just to name a few.

 

[tracydr]

I wear reading glasses, and have some personal experience with different dive computer displays. From experience, I know that I could not possibly read the display on a D4 underwater (or a D6 or a D9, for that matter). I use a Suunto HeLO2, before that a Suunto Vytec, simply because of the bigger display. They are more readable. Of course, these computers also have a much bigger physical profile, which may not appeal to some, but does not bother me (I have no interest in wearing a $500 dive computer as a wristwatch, irrespective of how cross-functional it is, or how cool it looks). But, even with that bigger display, I have noticed over the past year that my ability to read the HeLO2 screen in anything other than bright ambient light is becoming compromised (not surprisingly, that is happening in parallel with an increase in the strength of the reading glasses I buy at Wal-Mart). I suspect you can probably read your D4 in bright light, but not in darker conditions.

My personal preference for a readable dive computer display is my Liquivision X1, with an OLED display. I can read it in all light conditions (except on the surface in bright sunlight). I can read it at a distance, at night, etc., even though the actual screen is rather small. That is the beauty of an OLED display. But, the X1 is NOT a computer you want / need at this point - it is an expensive, multigas, technical dive computer. Rather, the point is, an OLED display is probably going to be better for you, something like the Liquivision Kaon, for example. Problem is, most of these types of units are not air-integrated (I presume you bought a D4 for that feature, among other things).

I suspect that, having just spent quite a bit of money on a D4, you may not want to spend even more on something like a Kaon. But, keep the idea of OLED in mind for the future.

I've gotten to the age where I've decided that my next computer will be a very bright screen. I'm planning on a Shearwater for my next computer. I simply can't read a regular screen, especially at night.