Posted by Walt on June 04, 2005 at 22:04:16:
In Reply to: Re: Oxycheq vs. Halcyon? posted by FARMHAND on June 04, 2005 at 10:52:26:
The smallest wing of Halcyon is a 27# model; Dive-Rites is 30#;...Oxycheq has a compact 18#, which is as compact as I've seen, which is what struck my interest. The smaller the better, as I'm after minimum drag and surface area - that was a problem I had when looking at a horse collar. (I wonder if anyone makes something that would fully compress or disappear when not used? That would be even better. Something like a submarine's ballast tank - but that's another subject.)
The plastic backpack fits like a glove - it makes the tank almost become part of oneself. More importantly, it doesn't add as much weight as an aluminum or steel plate. I want as much of my weight to be dumpable as possible, so the plastic pack has a distinct advantage for me. Most steel plates are about 6#; I use 10-12# with my 7 mil, so over 1/2 the weight would be non-dumpable with a metal plate.
I would consider a metal plate if I needed more weight like if I were diving dry.