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Yeah I experienced a lot of that dm envy wrt my DSS BP/W when we were in Coz.I bought a DSS kydex bp from Tobin about 3 months ago. It's perfect for my steel hp 100's at home as well as a great travel bp. I used it in Cozumel about 6 weeks ago when I went to Cozumel and even experienced a bit of dm envy a time or two as they checked out my DSS bpw. I highly recommend it.
Switching up some gear for light weight travel (have a trip coming up in a couple of months). I'm in the market for a plastic backplate as even with my aluminum plate I'm overweighted with a single tank if I'm just in a rash guard/bathing suit. I know Tobin makes a kick ass kydex plate. I thought some other companies made some plastic stand alone plates however I'm having trouble finding any on their websites (I thought Dive Rite used to make one but I can only find steel plates to buy by themselves on their website now). Is the DSS plate really the only option?
A number of ABS plates have been offered in the past. The fundamental problem with all of them was cracking. Straight ABS (vs impact modified ABS) can be brittle, more so if it isn't stress relieved after molding or forming. Add to that the loads imposed by wing nuts and washers bearing directly on the plastic in the center channel.
The propensity for ABS plates to crack has lead some tech instructors to ban their use in their courses.