Good BCD under £300

[EL Pistoffo]

Ok, went for the dive rite deluxe harness, and went for an aluminium backplate.



Been googling balanced rig, and I get the weighting part, but why does a rig need more lift to float in cold water?

Anyway, decided to go for just a warm water, single tank wing, so should 25lbs lift be okay ?

I've been looking into the same subject myself. Some sources say the 25lbs of lift my be questionable if using steel tanks. For this reason I've been eyeing Dive-Rite's VoyagerPac BC. Very light for travel and 35lbs of lift. You can select a Voyager wing with that added lift for any of their BP/W sets.

 

[duppy_conquerer]

Yeah I was looking at the voyager as well. I use rented cylinders so not sure how much selection I'm gonna be getting regarding which one I use

 

[ams511]

One misconception that new divers have is that all steel cylinders are the same and that is not the truth. This view gets promoted on SB because people parrot the information and some keep passing on older information. A 25 lb wing should be able to float a small steel tank (say an FX-100) with an steel or AL backplate. The question is whether it will compensate for wetsuit compression. For EL, diving in Palm Beach, (I assume he will never be more than a 7 mil 1 piece wetsuit) it will. For Duppy diving in the North Sea with a 7 mil 2 piece, I am not sure. My gut feeling is that it would be close and probably a 30 - 40 lb wing would be better.

---------- Post added November 11th, 2013 at 07:14 PM ----------

Been googling balanced rig, and I get the weighting part, but why does a rig need more lift to float in cold water?

Anyway, decided to go for just a warm water, single tank wing, so should 25lbs lift be okay ?

For warm water the 25 lb lift is fine. In cold water the rig doesn't need more lift to float but more lift to compensate for the changes in buoyancy due to the thicker wetsuit.

 

[Tortuga68]

In cold water the rig doesn't need more lift to float but more lift to compensate for the changes in buoyancy due to the thicker wetsuit

...plus you'll be wearing more weight in cold water as a result

 

[EL Pistoffo]

One misconception that new divers have is that all steel cylinders are the same and that is not the truth. This view gets promoted on SB because people parrot the information and some keep passing on older information. A 25 lb wing should be able to float a small steel tank (say an FX-100) with an steel or AL backplate. The question is whether it will compensate for wetsuit compression. For EL, diving in Palm Beach, (I assume he will never be more than a 7 mil 1 piece wetsuit) it will. For Duppy diving in the North Sea with a 7 mil 2 piece, I am not sure. My gut feeling is that it would be close and probably a 30 - 40 lb wing would be better.

---------- Post added November 11th, 2013 at 07:14 PM ----------



For warm water the 25 lb lift is fine. In cold water the rig doesn't need more lift to float but more lift to compensate for the changes in buoyancy due to the thicker wetsuit.

So would 25lb lift be sufficient for steel 120 in my case? You are correct, I have no plans for cold water diving or thicker wet suits. I normally use a 3mm shorty.

 

[Tortuga68]

Search on SB for the ultimate wing lift calculator thread

 

[buddhasummer]

Link:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...ems/158370-ultimate-wing-lift-calculator.html

 

[duppy_conquerer]

just looking at all the bits an bobs needed for the bp/w set up. Can't believe how much cam bands cost. Does anyone happen to know whether these would be okay?
Cylinder Cam Band | Kent Diving

They're suppose to be for jackets but they look pretty much the same

 

[ams511]

just looking at all the bits an bobs needed for the bp/w set up. Can't believe how much cam bands cost. Does anyone happen to know whether these would be okay?
Cylinder Cam Band | Kent Diving

They're suppose to be for jackets but they look pretty much the same

You should come to the US and buy your rig here. Many Europeans do. But yes a plastic cam band will work. Besides being cheaper they are also lighter.

---------- Post added November 12th, 2013 at 02:15 PM ----------

So would 25lb lift be sufficient for steel 120 in my case? You are correct, I have no plans for cold water diving or thicker wet suits. I normally use a 3mm shorty.

As others have mentioned look at the calculator. One thing to think about is can you swim up a 120 tank from depth in case of a wing failure?

 

[duppy_conquerer]

You should come to the US and buy your rig here. Many Europeans do. But yes a plastic cam band will work. Besides being cheaper they are also lighter.

Yeah, Will probably order my wing from the US as well - even when you add uk taxes & import duty it still works out
way cheaper.