Dive Rite Stainless Steel Backplate

Greg Flanagan first invented the metal backplate using aluminum in 1979 for North Florida cave divers. He realized that a back-mounted buoyancy system gives a diver natural balance in the water, due to the diver's center of gravity (tanks) being surrounded by the center of buoyancy (BC wings). Plus, the diver gains a clean chest area with room for gear attachment points on the harness. Bill Hogarth Main went on to popularize the backplate and harness and dive purists who follow the DIR philosophy have come to embrace what is known today as the "Hogarthian Rig." Dive Rite began manufacturing backplates for the public in 1984 and pioneered 11-inch on center bolt spacing creating an industry standard that is still followed today.