This has to be a first for this subject matter. Sixty replies of reasoned discussions explaining characteristics and personal preferences instead of dogma and demeaning statements. Well done ladies and gentleman.
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If you want to keep using the harness, you can add quick release buckles that may improve your ability to get into and out of the harness. You are allowed to modify the harness so it works for you.
When I got my first one, i immediately changed it and made the shoulder straps slide smoothly, so i could get the thing on and off much easier. Just because a Hog harness does not work for you, doesn't mean you should avoid a BP/W.
To be honest buoyancy wise I did not see a big difference between the jacket and BP/Wing the only reason I changed to the BP/Wing setup was so I could switch to doubles and be ably to hang my deco bottles, if I had not decided to go this route and stick with rec dives I would still be using my Genesis Cobra 2 BCD. As for the weight belt slipping off problem I find my crotch strap alleviates this.
Buoyancy probably not, but for trim, I tend to think the bpw helps poor new divers to stay horizontal. A Back inflated BC being better than a pure jacket.
Back to my previous post, there are also condition where you may not care too mcuh about trim ;-)
An experienced diver can have equally good trim in a jacket, back inflate, or BP/W because the small amount of air you may add in the bc is first going to the back area anyway.
That may have been years ago, but it no longer is. The jacket BC was an invention of the dive gear industry that's emblematic of many of the bad qualities that plague modern recreational dive gear design. It's basically a life jacket with tank straps that feels nice and cozy in the dive shop, where purchasing decisions are made, and mostly serves beginners in class who are spending half their time on the surface. It was designed to sell, not actually perform well while diving.
internationallegendsofdiving.com:Dick Bonin is one of the most famous Navy UDT/SEALS and equipment manufacturers in diving. Bonin got his start as a Navy officer assigned to some of the earliest UDT/SEAL teams. He was Submersible Operations Officer active in demolition and testing the latest dive gear for the Navy.
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It was January 3, 1963 that they opened the doors of SCUBAPRO with just partner Gustav Dalla Valle's $20,000 European credit line. Bonin surrounded him with the smartest engineers he could find and pushed his Research and Development Department to produce the next great piece of diving equipment that would be the envy of every diver.
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Beauchat, a good friend of Gustav, was making Jet Fins, and asked Gustav if they could sell them for him in the United States through SCUBAPRO. Dick took some to a scuba show and immediately sold all of them. Later the next week he was discovering the fins were classic. He was embarrassed that he did not know. From that day on, he insisted that Research and Development and himself do a thorough inspection and test on every item they produced before introducing it to the public. He would never again market a piece of equipment without knowing it inside and out. He went on to form a panel of dive experts that would try the products before selling them to the general public. This reputation for quality propelled SCUBAPRO to the number one position of dive equipment manufacturers in the world.