Quality Plastic Buckles? Want to Switch from SS to Something Lightweight

[cool_hardware52]

If I were to take Tobin's seteup. 1.6lb kydex plate, 1.6lb harness, 0.8lb bands, 2.6lb wing, it is 6.6lb. Let's say 0.2lb is for the knife and holster. This is a weight saving of 1lb over the H setup.

Minor point, but the knife and sheath were included in the mass of a DSS harness kit. I simply weighted the bagged goods we include in a harness, and the knife and sheath are part of our kit.

I do agree that obsessing over a few ounces of BP&W starts to get silly too. Particularly when items like fins can save several pounds, and non diving gear like duffles etc. offer similar savings.

I guess it gives the internet a reason for being…...


Tobin

 

[Centrals]

Maybe it is time to look for a lightweight suit case or duffle bag instead.

I did just that several yrs ago. My bag came in about 0.8kg and never had anything damaged or taken.

 

[annasea]

So for I am bored and dig up some old gears measurement and did some measurement for current gears, here is what I got. pictures can be provided upon request:

1. DiveRite regular size SS plate (advertised to be 6lb): 5.06lb
2. Halcyon small size SS plate (advertised to be 5lb): 4.12lb
3. SS buckle (DiveRite, Halcyon, DGX): 0.34lb. They all look the same except the logo. DGX spec is very accurate at 0.35lb
4. DIR harness for my size, ~9ft webbing, crotch strap, Dalton style holster and knife, 2x SS buckle, 7 d-rings, 7 triglides (including 2 on crotch strap): 2.06lb
5. Halcyon regular size Al plate (advertised to be 2lb): 1.45lb
6. Halcyon Evolve 40lb: 2.38lb
7. Halcyon Eclipse 30lb: 2.06lb
8. Halcyon Non weighted STA: 0.92lb
9. Halcyon octo grip cam band: 0.65lb each

I do have a regular size H plate, but it is on loan. I can measure it once I get it back. But I don't have a small size H Al plate for comparison. If I go travel today, #4, #5, #7, #8 and #9x2 go with me, together 7.78lb.

If I were to take Tobin's seteup. 1.6lb kydex plate, 1.6lb harness, 0.8lb bands, 2.6lb wing, it is 6.6lb. Let's say 0.2lb is for the knife and holster. This is a weight saving of 1lb over the H setup.

Using my H setup for example, going to DSS delrin cam bands will save me 0.7lb. Going from SS buckles to XS glass filled $12 a pop buckles will save me 0.2lb each, total 0.4lb. My setup will from 7.78lb to 6.68lb, comparible to DSS setup. Realistically, how much lighter is it going to get? Maybe it is time to look for a lightweight suit case or duffle bag instead.

For me, it's not so much about the weight within the luggage, thus, lighter luggage isn't really an option. (I like my luggage to have wheels and structure. Dragging a 50# flimsy duffel bag to/from/around an airport is not going to happen.) I'm more concerned with hauling my gear around once it's unpacked, so a weight buckle that weighs next to nothing compared to one that weighs almost half a pound is a big difference.

As for the comment re: fins... a BP is far more negotiable than fins. Of the fins I've owned, nothing comes close to my Dive Rites. A BP's intricacies, OTOH, are negligible.

 

[Colliam7]

Maybe it is time to look for a lightweight suit case or duffel bag instead.

I did just that several yrs ago. My bag came in about 0.8kg and never had anything damaged or taken.

I have had a similar experience using a duffel for scuba travel.

I like my luggage to have wheels and structure. Dragging a 50# flimsy duffel bag to/from/around an airport is not going to happen.

This is a very good point, and illustrates that choice of 'travel-friendly' equipment also is influenced by individual preferences for luggage, not just gear. And, I do tend to see more female divers with (heavier) 'structured' bags than male - not an absolute pattern, just a trend. If it was only about weight, the duffel would probably be a more logical choice for more divers. For example, if you look at the weight and capacity of several 'structured' scuba bags, and compare them with the specifications of a fabric duffel:

Akona Roller Backpack 14 lb 9114 CI
Oceanic Roller 5 Bag 9.7 lb 7018 CI
Stahlsac Curacao Clipper 8.8 lb 5864 CI
REI Roadtripper Duffel 2.1 lb 9702 CI

For me, the (larger, and much lighter) duffel makes perfect sense. But, I can lift a 50lb bag onto my shoulder and walk through the airport without issue. The discussion of the relative weight savings of delrin buckles over stainless steel makes more sense when you are already giving up 10-20% of your luggage weight allowance to the case itself.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have had a similar experience using a duffel for scuba travel.This is a very good point, and illustrates that choice of 'travel-friendly' equipment also is influenced by individual preferences for luggage, not just gear. And, I do tend to see more female divers with (heavier) 'structured' bags than male - not an absolute pattern, just a trend. If it was only about weight, the duffel would probably be a more logical choice for more divers. For example, if you look at the weight and capacity of several 'structured' scuba bags, and compare them with the specifications of a fabric duffel:

Akona Roller Backpack 14 lb 9114 CI
Oceanic Roller 5 Bag 9.7 lb 7018 CI
Stahlsac Curacao Clipper 8.8 lb 5864 CI
REI Roadtripper Duffel 2.1 lb 9702 CI

. . .

Curacao Clipper roller duffels work great for my wife and me. Cozumel, Bonaire, Roatan, Indonesia--no issues with weight of bag and gear, including steel backplates and buckles.

 

[annasea]

I have had a similar experience using a duffel for scuba travel.This is a very good point, and illustrates that choice of 'travel-friendly' equipment also is influenced by individual preferences for luggage, not just gear. And, I do tend to see more female divers with (heavier) 'structured' bags than male - not an absolute pattern, just a trend. If it was only about weight, the duffel would probably be a more logical choice for more divers. For example, if you look at the weight and capacity of several 'structured' scuba bags, and compare them with the specifications of a fabric duffel:

Akona Roller Backpack 14 lb 9114 CI
Oceanic Roller 5 Bag 9.7 lb 7018 CI
Stahlsac Curacao Clipper 8.8 lb 5864 CI
REI Roadtripper Duffel 2.1 lb 9702 CI

For me, the (larger, and much lighter) duffel makes perfect sense. But, I can lift a 50lb bag onto my shoulder and walk through the airport without issue. The discussion of the relative weight savings of delrin buckles over stainless steel makes more sense when you are already giving up 10-20% of your luggage weight allowance to the case itself.

Those dive bags suck. I just weighed my Swiss Army Victorinox rolling duffel bag and it beats the lightest one you posted, by half a pound.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Am I the only one who's confused about your views on luggage? Here you say you use a rolling duffel:

Those dive bags suck. I just weighed my Swiss Army Victorinox rolling duffel bag and it beats the lightest one you posted, by half a pound.

Here you say you like your luggage to have "wheels and structure," which I assume describes your Swiss Army Victorinox rolling duffel:

For me, it's not so much about the weight within the luggage, thus, lighter luggage isn't really an option. (I like my luggage to have wheels and structure. Dragging a 50# flimsy duffel bag to/from/around an airport is not going to happen.) . . .

Are these statements consistent with each other?

I guess it's irrelevant, though. It seems you are determined to lighten your dive rig, not your dive luggage.

 

[annasea]

Am I the only one who's confused about your views on luggage? Here you say you use a rolling duffel:



Here you say you like your luggage to have "wheels and structure," which I assume describes your Swiss Army Victorinox rolling duffel:



Are these statements consistent with each other?

I guess it's irrelevant, though. It seems you are determined to lighten your dive rig, not your dive luggage.

It's a bit of both, actually, but I'm more concerned with lightening my rig... which, in turn, leads to lighter luggage. It's all relative... lightening my luggage by 1/2 a pound doesn't make much difference, of course, considering my luggage almost always maxes out at 50#, but shaving 1/2 a pound from a 6# rig, for example, does make a difference.

My point about my Swiss Army bag compared to the others is the others are designed for divers, so I would think weight would be a serious consideration. My bag, OTOH, is designed for everyday travel... what do most people bring on trips? Clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc., point being not generally heavy items like fins, yet my bag is the lightest of the examples provided. Likely cheaper, too.

 

[ams511]

The Traveler plate is lighter than Al. Plus, the harness hardware on the Traveler is Al, not steel. And the Traveler doesn't need an STA. I'd guess the Traveler Pro would be 1.5lbs lighter than a plain Eclipse, AL plate, and STA. The regular non "pro" Traveler would be a touch lighter still.

But more importantly - to me anyway - is the way that the Traveler Pro plate takes weights.

Once you travel to your dive destination you can add up to 16lbs of weight to the plate itself (Specs say 12lbs - 4x 3lbs - but 4lb weights fit.) distributed in the same fashion as on a steel plate. Accordingly, the Halcyon Traveler can be set up to trim out exactly the same as a 6lb stainless plate, a 6lb plate plus a non-weighted STA, a 6lb plate plus a weighted STA, a 6lb plate plus weighted STA plus a few lbs of trim weight. However you like.

For single-tank recreational diving I currently travel with my steel plate and weighted STA because I [-]like[/-] love the way it trims out. I have an aluminum plate as well, but don't travel with it because I [-]don't like[/-] hate the way it trims with a single AL80.

The Halcyon Traveler provides a diver with the best of both worlds: a rig that flies like a plastic travel BC and dives like a steel BP/W.

The Traveler Pro is $800. It would seem more cost effective to purchase an aluminum plate and a Hollis SMS weight plate and use that with your Eclipse.

I agree Halcyon makes some nice kit but it is expensive and not really modular. I do not think the plate is available for purchase separately. Do you know if this used the same wing as the Eclipse? It would be more cost effective to purchase this and then add a steel backplate.

 

[RJP]

It would seem more cost effective to purchase an aluminum plate and a Hollis SMS weight plate and use that with your Eclipse.

Certainly less expensive, given that I already own the wing and the plate... which is why I don't own a Traveler Pro.

The SMS weightplate is an interesting idea in this application, but would require an STA.

The Traveler Pro is $800.

Retail is for suckers.