Backplate Weights

17kg seems a lot to me. How do you carry that much currently? Harness?

Fwiw, I'd go 3mm steel. You can always add a p or vee weight if you need it. With a 5mm you can't easily take the weight away if it's too heavy.

It'd be well worth doing a proper weight check once you have your new setup.

 

I previously used twin euro 12 and 5kg BP, no issues. No ditchable weight isn’t for everyone but suits me. Main thing is getting your weighting correct.

 

Sounds about right. I used to use a 4kg P-weight with a regular SS backplate when diving salt using the Euro 12s.

And I seem to need more weight than some divers. 17kg sounds mental with a twinset.

 

I dive regularly in NDAC with a euro twinset on a 3mm steel backplate, Otter drysuit and thick arctic undersuit and I don't use any extra weight at all.

To be honest, it sounds like you are massively overweighted! Its very common and there are a lot of variables of course, and not something that can be judged on an internet forum!

I'd be happy to dive with you at NDAC if you want to come and see what we can sort out.

 

If you're using weights, you don't want a lightweight aluminium backplate when a steel one performs two functions: that of a backplate and a weight.

6mm backplates are quite expensive and rarely come up second hand. 3mm steel backplates are the most common -- pay £30-£70 second hand. Logos are an expensive joke; a backplate is just a bent piece of stainless steel with holes in it. Those stupid cut-out ones are pointless too -- marketing tosh. I'm not convinced of the covers on backplates either.

Then there's the harness. A simple one-piece harness is great. You don't need all the quick-release bits except for rare special circumstances**. Don't pay more than £50 -- even the avaricious Halcyon harness is £53; most are cheaper.


**Once I had an issue getting out of my harness on a RIB which was being blown by a wind and someone had grabbed my valves from the boat. Was hard to get out. TBH I should have taken the harness off before being picked up. I worked out a 'loop and buckle system' but have never used it in anger (posted somewhere on here).