Wing or Jacket for 5'1" female ??

[Dogbowl]

Mine is a Men's size Large.

With the waist weight pocket belt, it weighs 9.0 #.
With the travel waist belt, it weighs 6.8 #.

According to my digital luggage scale.

Also, a couple more notes:

The waist belts are 2" webbing.

The travel waist belt has D-rings on both sides. They are sewn in a fixed position. But, you can adjust the position of the waist belt itself. It has loops sewn into the ends. You insert the ends through slots on each side of the back plate. Then you insert a plastic clip through whichever loop you want to use. Which loop you use determines how far the waist belt pulls through the back plate to go around your waist.

That also means you could put accessories on the waist belt just in front of the back plate - e.g. a light canister or Eezycut pouch.

And you could put accessories (for 2" webbing) on the belt towards the front, too, by removing the plastic buckle, sliding on your accessories, and putting the buckle back on.

View attachment 448409

Thank you for that info, @stuartv . Very helpful!

 

[tbone1004]

@stuartv that's surprisingly heavy...

I think it was @reefrat who got a kydex DSS plate with LCD20 or 30 and put pockets on there. IIRC the total rig weight with pockets was like right at 6lbs, and I know the "medium" sized kydex+LCD20 is right at 5lbs with no pockets and a trimmed harness. That obviously would go down a bit for the small size since the harness will be shorter as well as the plate being shorter.

 

[stuartv]

BTW, my single tank BP/W rig weighs 10.4 #.

That is a SS Freedom Contour plate (~5#) plus Hogarthian rigging (w/2" wide crotch strap), HOG 23# wing, plastic main buckle on waist belt, 2 x ScubaPro-style QR tank straps, 1 pair trauma shears in a pouch, and an Eezycut.

 

[Dogbowl]

I think the marketing spiel for the Hydros Pro was that it is “travel friendly” and not a “travel bc”. Hence, it’s not as light as the true travel bc’s that are usually in the 4.5-5.5lbs range. Still, the grippiness and @stuartv ’s comment regarding it’s stability is very intriguing.

 

[stuartv]

@stuartv that's surprisingly heavy...

I think it was @reefrat who got a kydex DSS plate with LCD20 or 30 and put pockets on there. IIRC the total rig weight with pockets was like right at 6lbs, and I know the "medium" sized kydex+LCD20 is right at 5lbs with no pockets and a trimmed harness. That obviously would go down a bit for the small size since the harness will be shorter as well as the plate being shorter.

To me, you're now talking about 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Once you go to a Kydex plate, you lose all the advantage in lead reduction that is offered by a SS plate. Kydex rig vs Hydros w/travel waist belt appears to be about the same weight.

I think the Kydex rig would be less expensive. I got my Kydex plate for $20, used.

I think the Kydex rig might be slightly nicer to swim because of having a smaller, more streamlined wing. But, it's almost a toss-up because the Hydros is slightly more stable and the Hydros wing does stay tucked in fairly tightly (I think) because of the bungee arrangement on the wing. And, the Hydros wing offers versatility because you don't pay much penalty when using it in situations requiring small lift, yet you don't have to buy a bigger wing to dive where you need more lift.

The Hydros is VASTLY quicker to dial in the fit, compared to a BP/W.

The Hydros fit also adjusts from rash guard and board shorts to 5mm wetsuit to 7mm, to drysuit vastly quicker than a BP/W. Unless you don't mind adjusting your BP/W for a drysuit and then diving it with a loose fit in warm water.

The Hydros is stupid expensive and I already made it clear I wouldn't pay full pop for one. But then, I wouldn't pay full pop for a DSS rig, either. For BP/W, a $70 Blue Reef SS plate, cheap Hogarthian webbing setup, and a HOG wing for $150 - 170 (not hard to find) works just as well (for me) as the DSS rig I had. But, I do think the Hydros is nicer, more versatile (for strictly single tank diving), and more stable than any BP/W I have tried. It's also less durable and not quite as streamlined for some specific scenarios. What that is "worth" is up to whoever wants a rig and their wallet.