xDeep Zen – Stainless Steel Backplate & Wing System Review

Cold water focused, durable, and highly refined. This is a premium single tank backplate system that delivers stability, comfort, and visual polish. There are a few tradeoffs for warm water travel or cost conscious divers.

Price Tier: $$$
Ownership: Personally owned and used as primary cold water BCD
Overall Score: 8.7 / 10

Pros & Cons

Why I Chose the xDeep Zen

I was comparing several traditional backplate systems such as Halcyon, DGX, and some generics. The Zen stood out for its modularity, design polish, and skeletonized backplate that distributed weight across my back. That feature really appealed to me for cold water diving with steel tanks and a drysuit. I originally chose the deluxe harness but switched to a standard harness because the quick-release buckles interfered with my backup light storage. The standard harness has worked very well since.

I also liked the idea that I could reconfigure it for travel or doubles, but in practice, I found that swapping parts between dives is annoying and error prone. I now treat it as my cold water single tank rig and use separate setups for other environments. That isn’t a criticism of the Zen. The modularity works exactly as intended. It just isn’t practical for how I dive. I would have been fine with a more standard plate design, but I still very much like the Zen.

Performance in the Water

• Trim & Control: It locks me in solidly. I get a very neutral, well balanced profile, even in a drysuit and steel tank. The plate’s width does seem to help distribute weight across the back.
• Harness Comfort: With the standard harness and correctly adjusted D-rings, it’s secure but not restrictive. The deluxe harness was less usable in practice due to gear interference.
• Rigidity & Weight: The stainless steel plate is heavy, which is great for Midwest diving, but not something I would pack for travel. That’s why I eventually bought an aluminum plate setup as well.
• Modularity: While theoretically flexible, I found the practical value of modularity to be limited. I don’t change components often because it’s just not worth the fiddling between dives.

Verdict

The xDeep Zen is a well designed, cold water optimized backplate and wing system with more polish than most others in the category. If you like clean hardware, thoughtful weight distribution, and long term durability, it’s a strong contender. That said, you pay a premium for modularity and design touches that you may or may not actually use. I’m happy with it, but I no longer think of it as my do everything rig.

Would I buy it again? Yes, but I could probably save a couple hundred dollars by buying a generic backplate from DGX or similar and have 99% of the functionality of the Zen.

Deep Dive into the Score

Scoring System: Each category is scored out of 10 and weighted by importance. This model is used consistently across all gear reviews for transparency.

Rounded Display Score: 8.7 / 10

Deep Dive Score Explanations

• Function & Performance – 9.0: Extremely stable in trim, durable under load, and well matched to Midwest cold water diving.
• Ease of Use – 8.5: Once dialed in, the system is very clean. Initial setup and adjustments are slower than jacket BCDs, and the deluxe harness created problems.
• Versatility – 7.0: Heavy for travel, not ideal for wing swapping. Not a do it all system for me anymore.
• Durability & Build – 10.0: Flawless. Materials, hardware, and finishes have held up perfectly.
• Value – 8.0: Expensive for a single tank rig, especially if you don’t end up using the modularity.
• Brand Trust – 9.0: xDeep has a strong reputation in tech circles, and everything I’ve seen has matched that reputation.