"Warm water backplate" with a "cold water wing" a bad idea?

[fnfalman]

Actually the exact opposite. I'm trying to utilize what I already have, and buy the least necessary. However, I don't want to use or buy anything that won't perform appropriately.

That's what you say, but come on, deep down inside, that's not what you want. You, like the rest of us, want new toys. Get what you want. Do the do.

I know, I am not helping much.

 

[Malpaso]

That's what you say, but come on, deep down inside, that's not what you want. You, like the rest of us, want new toys. Get what you want. Do the do.

I know, I am not helping much.

Normally, that's true in all of my hobbies! For some reason, I HATE spending money on BCDs.

 

[grf88]

I would probably buy an aluminum plate. I use a 50 lb donut wing for both cold and warm water diving but I have a heavy Fred T plate for cold water and an aluminum one for travel.

 

[kafkaland]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I have a Hollis S38LX wing on an Al backplate. It's a compromise. I need the lift for local cold-water diving with steel cylinders and think suits. But I don't want to lug a steel plate around when I travel to warmer waters. I do notice that a bit of air gets trapped in the right side of the wing, as both dumps are on the left, so I guess a bit of tacoing is going on. In the great scheme of things, it doesn't seem to matter much for cold water diving, where big buoyancy swings from suit compression etc. are unavoidable, but I found it just a bit annoying in warm water where I often dive in just a rash guard or even shirtless. I can do the dance to get the air over the the left side, or carry a bit of extra weight, but it's still annoying. Now I'm thinking whether getting a STA will help, or if I eventually want to get a second set-up so that I can split it into warm-water and cold-water gear, as in steel plate plus 38lb wing for cold water, and Al-plate and a 25lb wing, plus some padding, for the warm-water trips. But right now that seems like a luxury, and I'm not willing to spend that money yet.