Last week we had three divers in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos, using the new VDH back plate. We were all using different wings and different regulators, but we were all very happy with our kit.
My high school dive buddy was using the plate with a newer Oxycheq wing and a new Pegasus regulator I built for him. He brought a Scubapro Mk-5 that he wanted to try, but he liked his new DH so much he used it for all his dives.
He may add some comments, but last I know he said that this plate will replace all his other rigs.
My next door neighbor borrowed a plate from me with an older single bladder 30 Lb Oxycheq wing. He used his Aqua Lung Titan/ Scubapro 109 second stage regulator. He also had very positive comments about this back pack/ plate. The plate also works great with a single hose regulator.
I used a Zeagle 24 Lb horseshoe wing with my new Phoenix XTC regulator (more on the regulator later). I can honestly say that this is probably one of the most comfortable, best performing kits I have ever dived with.
The double hose regulator and the plate are a perfect combination. They fit together like a matched pair. I do the final adjustment of the plate after the double hose regulator is in place. That guarantees that the plate position is just under the regulator.
With the Phoenix, the regulator just barely sticks past the plate. This position guarantees that the flat face of the regulator is just touching my back. “For a regulator to breathe any easier it would have to be surgically implanted.”
When I was head down I could feel the air bubbles run under the plate, between the plate and my back. It was a very neat feeling.
For those wondering, there will be more details on the new Phoenix XTC to follow. For now I’ll just mention that it has a newly designed second stage with enhanced venturi flow. The venturi flow also has the potential of being easily adjusted.
The most attractive feature of this second stage (following its performance) is its user friendliness and ease of service. The second stage is extremely easy to adjust and fine tune. It is designed to use the single stage diaphragm (there is no need to line up the tabs of the original RAM diaphragm). Theses are all very important design requirements for a modern double hose that will see a lot of use.
The second stage is designed as a complete replacement of the RAM second stage, but it is ideal with the Phoenix RAM (making it the Phoenix XTC).
The reason for holding back on details and pictures is because at first glace the design looks very simple (and therefore it is easy to make a poor copy of it). The key to the design is in the details. Therefore, I am again giving Bryan full rights to produce my design. In the past he has invested a lot of his money to produce high quality parts and I trust that this will be another great project.
More information to follow soon.
The bottom line is that the trip was a great success. For starters, the diving was great. And all the new gear (regulator, plate, wing, rental tank) worked together as an ideal dive unit… It truly exceeded my expectations.