Shopper Hi,
I'm looking to purchase an aluminum backplate (warm water diving and lots of travel). However, I'm very concerned about reviewers commenting that this plate is poorly manufactured. More specifically "the finishing of the holes and slots is very poor and will shorten the life of the harness webbing because some of them are quite sharp".
Does anyone know if OMS has addressed this issue? If not, would you recommend another brand?
Thanks!
PETER B Hi,
the back plate was for my father and he is diving all around a world,
never told me, that is somethink wrong with the plate. 15 of his diving boddys has the same think.
MIKE W I have one aluminum and two stainless steel backplates from OMS. The best finishing is on my original 1998 SS plate. However, while the holes in my new 2 lb aluminum plate are not as well finished as those in the old 1998 plate, they are not sharp enough to cause any concern over webbing durability. I use my aluminum plate with vintage 2-hose gear including heavy twin tanks from the 1960's and give high priority to durability of my equipment. Use the stiff OMS webbing with the plate and durability will not be an issue. Mike
KADIE E I bought one about a year ago and have not had a problem with it. Its not sharp where the webbing goes thru.and I see no signs of breakdown with the plate or webbing.
dive g Thank you everyone! Glad to hear no one's had serious issues with the plate.
VERONIKA J I have been diving with this backplate since 2009 (cold and warm water) and have always been well pleased with it. I use it with a Halcyon single webbing harness and a Dive Rite TransPac with double steel 80s. I am always looking to streamline and shed weight where I can so I went with an aluminum backplate instead of steel. Speaking specifically to the issue of the slots and side holes - mine seems very well made with no rough or sharp edges (you could rub your finger around them without a splinter) and I have never experienced any type of rusting, oxidation, patina, chipping or discoloring of any kind. I can be pretty tough on my gear but see no reason why I shouldn't get a lifetimes use out of my OMS aluminum backplate. Hope this helps.
MIKE L no issues with mine, but I use a IQ pack, so the plate is not strung up in the webbing, rather it sits in a pocket in the IQ harness.
CRAIG P Have no idea what you are talking about. Been using mine for my double s set up with no issues. Besides, webbing is cheap, just a hassle to re-thread. I usually change or adjust mine anyway when I change with seasons for drysuit/wetsuit changeout anyway. So far, I have had no problems with OMS gear, but I have heard many people bad mouth it -- not sure why.
BRAD S I can say that my backplate was flawless. I purchased it a few years ago though. Maybe 5 or so.
ANDREW C I think this is a great piece of equipment. Mine has OVER 400 dives on it and I see no signs of excess wear. I also own the SS version and they seem to be of equal quality.
LUKAS S I've used this plate for 3 years and hundreds of dives. The edges around the holes do seem a little sharp, could be rounded off/finished better. Not sure if this has been fixed. But I've had No issues with webbing wearing (I use the dive rite hog harness kit which comes with nylon tubes to reduce abrasion in the slots). I've run the webbing through the slots a lot when adjusting it, no abrasion. I put electrical tape in two of the bottom holes where I attached bungees for my smb. Dive rite's aluminum plate is the most similar to this one I've found, no clue about those edges.