What backplate and wing are you using for singles?

[cool_hardware52]

Alec Peirce did a great video on that back in the day about how they would weight themselves for certain depths and use rocks and what not to help them make the initial descent, then pick them back up as they were coming back up. Can't remember which vintage scuba video it was, but it's in there somewhere

Variable ballast, drop weights etc. (rocks etc, which BTW make crappy ballast, most rocks are less dense than aluminum) is one approach. The reality is the early days of scuba was an extension of skin diving. Small volume tanks, (re purposed fire bottles etc.) meant very small swings in gas mass, and there simply was not a lot of hovering. Skin divers, particularly those hunting, tend to be mission driven and aren't sight seeing.

If you don't need to hover much BC's become less important.

In all fairness today larger volume tanks and changes in practices, hovering, staying off the reef, etc. does make a BC damn handy, but the lift capacities offered and used can get ridiculous quickly.

Tobin

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Alec Peirce did a great video on that back in the day about how they would weight themselves for certain depths and use rocks and what not to help them make the initial descent, then pick them back up as they were coming back up. Can't remember which vintage scuba video it was, but it's in there somewhere

I use to do this when I was using my DA Aquamaster for nostalgic reasons, but then it became quite a learning tool as a side benefit.
I found that nothing teaches you better about weighting then when you have *no* means of correcting or overcoming bad weighting with a BC. Without lift and being overweighted without a BC you sink period. So the lesson becomes 'weight yourself correctly for the depth you plan to go'. This can also mean fighting your way down until pressure starts to even things out, then carrying around rocks towards the end of the dive to stay down and not cork up.
But then I already had an idea of where I should start weight wise based on my freediving experience.

 

[Hoag]

I just picked up a Hog AL Backplate & a 23lb wing. I have not dove with it yet other than a pool session to do a "check out / refresher" dive. I hope to give it a thorough check next month in the Bahamas.

 

[Alastor]

Al BP and Halcyon Pioneer 30# wing or
Al BP and DTD 38# wing (with 18L steel cylinder).
Both do not requires STA
In 3mm wetsuit I do not have ballast (maybe 1Kg)
With drysuit SS BP and 5Kg weights with STA because it is faster to switch to twinset just removing it and changing the wing, instead to undo the cylinder straps from the BP.

 

[stuartv]

Al BP and Halcyon Pioneer 30# wing or
Al BP and DTD 38# wing (with 18L steel cylinder).
Both do not requires STA
In 3mm wetsuit I do not have ballast (maybe 1Kg)
With drysuit SS BP and 5Kg weights with STA because it is faster to switch to twinset just removing it and changing the wing, instead to undo the cylinder straps from the BP.

It would be even faster to have separate dedicated SS BP rigs for drysuit - one for twins and one for single tank.

You already have 3 rigs, what's one more? LOL Just teasing you!

 

[Alastor]

It would be even faster to have separate dedicated SS BP rigs for drysuit - one for twins and one for single tank.

You already have 3 rigs, what's one more? LOL Just teasing you!

Yes, you are right, I also have a son with my same size, and sometimes we dive together, that's why the Al BP are two and I arranged to use the SS BP with singles either ... Next step will be when my son will dive twins, some suggestion ?

 

[EireDiver606]

Halcyon SS BP. Halcyon Eclipse 30.

 

[Flycaster]

deep sea supply long backplate in SS with a LCD30 wing. Absolutely love it. @cool_hardware52 also has brilliant customer support and near endless patience to help new divers find out exactly what they need

What the heck did Tobin do with the LCD30??
Bought one last Fall, want to buy another one and now all that's available is a 17,20 or 40.
Bummed out.

 

[tbone1004]

What the heck did Tobin do with the LCD30??
Bought one last Fall, want to buy another one and now all that's available is a 17,20 or 40.
Bummed out.

ask him directly. He may have run out of stock temporarily. The LCD30 MAY be too long of a wing for that short backplate though, and is definitely too long if she uses al63's.... Give him a call

 

[Flycaster]

ask him directly. He may have run out of stock temporarily. The LCD30 MAY be too long of a wing for that short backplate though, and is definitely too long if she uses al63's.... Give him a call

In looking at the LCD20 I see it is 22 inches long (lots shorter than even the Torus 17) which would be ideal for a steel HP80.
That might suit her just fine at her statuesque height of 5'1"