Thinking about going to backplate & wing config for travel, what do I need to know?

[cool_hardware52]

I'll second the Xdeep Ghost. I picked it up after trying it out in the pool. Love, love, love it because I could put myself in any position, freeze, and I'd stay still.

Depending on your build, a steel plate as some have suggested could be a really bad idea. The last thing you want is to be somewhere diving and overweighted, as we all know how that will cut from your bottom time. I was in Maui in January, diving in 74 degree water with my Xdeep Ghost. I had only 3 llbs of additional weight. Note that I dive with a pony bottle. Not much to ditch if I had to. If you are a bigger guy, then the steel plate may be a great option.

The choice of a negative Stainless Plate vs a less negative lightweight plate (alum or kydex) is pretty simple. Do you need the ballast the SS plate provides or are you looking to shed ballast? To answer that question you need to know the buoyancy of the divers exposure suit and the cylinders used (and maybe the diver's er, um, well personal buoyancy )

No exposure suit (or rash guard) + al 80 usually benefits from a lightweight plate.

Thin suits (3mm) and negative steel tanks usually benefits from a lightweight plate.

Thin suits and buoyant al 80's start to make a Stainless Plate look good

Thicker suits and Negative steel tanks again make a SS plate look good.

The challenge is the diver who uses no suit and al 80, and thin suits and al 80's. In a perfect world they would have two plates. In the real world they can either use a lightweight plate and add ballast when diving 3mm-5mm suits, but trim may be more difficult, or they can choose to use a minimum of a 3mm suit and dive the Stainless Plate. It's pretty easy to stay cool in "too much" suit, leave it half zipped and flush if too warm.

Often this is the more practical approach, particularly if this same diver dives cold water at home. Lightweight plates in demand workaround weighting solutions that can be sub optimal.

Tobin

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

The choice of a negative Stainless Plate vs a less negative lightweight plate (alum or kydex) is pretty simple. Do you need the ballast the SS plate provides or are you looking to shed ballast? To answer that question you need to know the buoyancy of the divers exposure suit and the cylinders used (and maybe the diver's er, um, well personal buoyancy )

No exposure suit (or rash guard) + al 80 usually benefits from a lightweight plate.

Thin suits (3mm) and negative steel tanks usually benefits from a lightweight plate.

Thin suits and buoyant al 80's start to make a Stainless Plate look good

Thicker suits and Negative steel tanks again make a SS plate look good.

The challenge is the diver who uses no suit and al 80, and thin suits and al 80's. In a perfect world they would have two plates. In the real world they can either use a lightweight plate and add ballast when diving 3mm-5mm suits, but trim may be more difficult, or they can choose to use a minimum of a 3mm suit and dive the Stainless Plate. It's pretty easy to stay cool in "too much" suit, leave it half zipped and flush if too warm.

Often this is the more practical approach, particularly if this same diver dives cold water at home. Lightweight plates in demand workaround weighting solutions that can be sub optimal.

Tobin

I should have added that I was diving in a 5 mil wetsuit and using AL80's. I'm 5'11, 180 lbs, fairly lean (don't have my 8 pack anymore, but working on it). I dive in cold water normally, so I just have 2 BP/W. My other BCD is a Xdeep Zeos. More expensive yes, but I want the right gear for the right conditions.

 

[cib]

Hi guys, I understand this is a very old post but in case some look back on it for advice, I'd like to add my input.

I bought a complete rig from Tobin a few years ago. A SS (medium) plate, Torus 26 wing and a Hog harness.
This isn't the lightest weight rig he sells, but it certainly isn't the heaviest either. I have solely used it for single tank diving but varied from 12l Alum to 15l Steels, used the rig with a pair of board shorts, all the way to a drysuit and thermals and it has yet to cause me any issue whatsoever during travel (which I use it for extensively).

As Tobin explained earlier in the thread, the difference between plates is only 3lbs. For any kind of single tank diving, I'd much rather the comfort of the distributed weight of the SS plate to extra lead on my waist and it only costs me the weight of a pair of jeans for travel - my regs weight much more. It separates quickly, easily and compact for travel and the harness and backplate are always setup and no need to change if I ever decide to go to twins. Only another phonemail to Tobin and a frown from my bank manager.

I am obviously biased on the rig as I have nothing bad to say of the DSS equipment and Tobin will help extensively to make sure you are fitted with the correct setup but am sure XDeep, DiveRite, Oxycheq etc are all extremely similar.

Chris

 

[Griffo]

As Tobin explained earlier in the thread, the difference between plates is only 3lbs. For any kind of single tank diving, I'd much rather the comfort of the distributed weight of the SS plate to extra lead on my waist and it only costs me the weight of a pair of jeans for travel -

I travel with an Ali plate, in a rashie i can dive in my rig with zero weight. However I also have weight pockets on the cam-bands so if I end up wearing some neoprene it's easy to add a couple of weights. Putting the weight on the cam-bands does not affect the balance that I've noticed.

 

[mattia_v]

I travel with a 3.5mm wetsuit and an AL plate, almost only ever dive AL80s, and - at my current body composition - need max 2lbs of trim weight, although I've dived without any ballast and it works fine as well. Just a little on the light side at the very end of a dive with a near empty tank..