Posted by Clinton Bauder on March 20, 2000 at 21:45:34:
In Reply to: Halcyon demo/March 18th Great Escape trip report posted by msblucow on March 20, 2000 at 21:01:21:
I've got about 50 dives now on my Halcyon backplate rig with both single and double tanks. I've got the 36lb wings for single tank use and the 55s for doubles. I've used it both in Monterey with my drysuit and in Baja wearing a 4/3mm wetsuit. My previous BC was a Zeagle Ranger. I don't have any padding on the backplate and found it comfortable even with the 4/3.
For the most part I'm quite happy with it although I must confess that I don't quite understand the near religious devotion some folks have towards this gear. Anyway I find that the backplate is much more stable than my Ranger was. The tank doesn't flop around as much and it is much more streamlined. It is also much easier to get into and out of when out of the water due to the lack of pads, pockets and other nonsense that seems to get twisted or catch on your wrist-mount computer. The lack of quick releases on the shoulder straps can make getting out of the BC in the water a bit tricker. It's easy enough for me but I've seen others have trouble. The moral here is that you don't have to cinch down the straps for the backplate to be comfortable and if you do you'll find getting out to be a chore.
Adjustment was easy - I just didn't adjust it. As delivered it fits my drysuit really well and is just a touch loose for the wetsuit but even then it felt very secure. If I used a porpoise style kick I could feel the backplate move away just slightly from my shoulders each time I flexed but otherwise the tank stayed put. For reference I'm 5'10, 160 lbs.
The 36lb wings are great for CA diving. They are low drag and have a doughnut shaped bladder so that air can move around even if you are inverted. The 55lb Pioneer wings are really bulky and high drag but that's the price you pay for diving doubles.
I'm not overly happy with the over pressure release valve on the wings. I got some sand in it yesterday and it wasn't holding air. When I went to take it apart instead of unscrewing the assembly with the spring I got the bit between the bladder and the spring assembly. I don't see how you can take it apart any other way. In the process I managed to create a slight tear in the rubber gasket between the bladder and the valve assembly. After getting everything back together it still holds air but for safety's sake I'm going the order another gasket. The Zeagle's valve screwed right into a molded piece of the bladder rather than having the valve press on both sides of a hole in the bladder. This seems more rugged to me - assuming you don't cross-thread it getting it back together. Minor nit I guess.
The aluminum single tank adaptor is, frankly, a poor design. After only a few dives I've already got quite a bit of pitting around the bolt holes from galvanic corrosion between the bolts and the aluminium. I like the stainless OMS design much better. The supplied CAM bands are also a bit silly with a thick Halcyon label sewed onto them at the ends which really gets in the way when trying to thread them through the buckles. I solved this problem by removing the labels but they seemed out place and somehow vain on "DIR" gear. The adaptor also holds the bands far enough away from the tank on the sides that my Pony with an X-bracket didn't fit tightly anymore. I solved this by adding a thick piece of neoprene to the bottom of the X bracket.
The bungie holding the low-pressure inflator hose is a bit fragile too. Unlike designs with velcro if you accidentally pull on it too hard it pulls out at the knot rather than disconnecting. This is most likely to happen if you frequently switch wings like I do and drop the backplate while the harness is still attached to the wings. Speaking of the power inflators I really like the short hose on the Halcyon BCs, especially when diving in kelp. It's much more streamlined.
I also have the ACB weight system. This seems to work well although it might be harder to ditch weights in an emergency than with the Zeagle. It's also much less likely that you would lose your weight accidentally which worries me more than not being able to drop it. This probably reflects a bias towards people doing decompression diving where losing a weight belt could be fatal.
I also had to do some hacking to get my Nite-Rider light to fit on the light cannister quick release gizmo but I'm sure it works great with their own Extreme Exposure lights.
Your mileage may vary, but despite a few problems I like my gear and think Halcyon is clearly moving things in the right direction.
Clinton