travel backplate

[cruzan]

My husband uses a transpac for diving locally. He loves it but it tends to be a bit bulky when traveling. I'm thinking of getting him an aluminum transplate setup for travel since from what I can see it will pack much smaller and he'll be able to drop a few pounds on the belt. Does anyone use this setup and what do you think of the idea.

[rongoodman]

When I travel it's usually to some place with salt water and floaty aluminum rental tanks, so I take the SS BP/W. It packs pretty nicely. The last couple of trips I've even been able to fit in the weighted STA. I'm thinking of trying out the XSScuba weight pockets on the cambands of my unweighted STA for the next trip.

[Heavy D]

I think the AL backplate is great for travel. It's lightweight and packs easily. Even in salt water, I would prefer that over SS for travel because of the weight savings. Only drawback is that your husband would probably have to wear more weight on a belt to make up for it.

[Daz]

Originally Posted by rongoodman

I'm thinking of trying out the XSScuba weight pockets on the cambands of my unweighed STA for the next trip.

This is our setup (my wife's anyway - she has the XS pockets on the cambands, I have the H pockets). They work great for us, although I'd lke to try a weighted STA sometime.

[awap]

Originally Posted by cruzan

My husband uses a transpac for diving locally. He loves it but it tends to be a bit bulky when traveling. I'm thinking of getting him an aluminum transplate setup for travel since from what I can see it will pack much smaller and he'll be able to drop a few pounds on the belt. Does anyone use this setup and what do you think of the idea.

For me, bulk is not the problem for air travel - it's the weight. With the new travel weight restrictions, I picked up an Oxychec UL plate (Cloth & webbing) and their 18# travel wing and lightened my luggage about 8 pounds. I add 4 lb of lead to a cam strap to compensate for the aluminum tanks and it's good to go. It is not quite as stable as my metal plate but no problem for tropical diving.

[rongoodman]

I see a lot of comments about changing weight restrictions, but hasn't it been 50 lb. per bag for years? I remember taking bags with 70 lb. of climbing gear, but that was a long time ago. What I see changing now are the additional charges.

[Souvy]

I used to have a Seaquest Balance BC which I loved, but I always had to check a bag because it was a bit bulky to pack. Now, I use a DSS stainless backplate (just under 5 lb) and wing and I can actually fit that, my fins, reg, mask, computer, and 3MM wetsuit all in my carry on. I've never had my carry on weighed, so weight restrictions have not yet been an issue. Aluminum would shave a few pounds off and will definitely pack much compactly that a BC. I know DSS makes a Kydex plate that, I believe, weighs in at around 1 LB (and is high on my gear list). That may be something to look into if you're trying to keep the weight down.

[awap]

Originally Posted by rongoodman

I see a lot of comments about changing weight restrictions, but hasn't it been 50 lb. per bag for years? I remember taking bags with 70 lb. of climbing gear, but that was a long time ago. What I see changing now are the additional charges.

Was not too long ago when it was 2 bags per person, 50# each domestic and 70# each international. I believe it changed a little over a year ago.

[RoyN]

I still carry my backplate in my apeks harness. The best thing is I hardly use any weights at all when in the tropical waters.

[bubbletrubble]

I think switching to a simple, lighter Hog harness makes a lot of sense for a travel rig. I made the transition from conventional jacket-style BCD to BP/W several years ago. For cold water diving here in Southern California, the SS BP + heavy STA (6 lbs.) + some additional lead is ideal for me. On my first warm water dive with a BP, I brought along an AL BP and used a weight belt with a few pounds. With that configuration (wearing a 3mm wetsuit), my natural trim was a definitive head-up-feet-down position. With the addition of XS Scuba weight pouches on the tank cambands, I can position the weight (4 - 6 lbs. of lead) along my spine and this helps me achieve effortless horizontal trim. I bought the thread-on style of weight pouch rather than the quick-attach Velcro. Since the velcro camband strap prevents placing both pouches on the same camband, I put one on the top camband to the right of the tank and the other on the bottom camband to the left of the tank. Alternatively one could modify the weight pockets by sewing on some Velcro to the outside -- the tank camband would then "stick" to that. The XS Scuba weight pockets are a wonderful investment ($12 each). If you're interested in shedding dry weight of your rig and you end up with an AL or Kydex BP, give those XS Scuba pockets a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised!
Have fun and dive safe...