Hello,
I'm a newly certified PADI OW diver. (With a massive 8 open water dives in total!)
I've been using the standard rental ScubaPro jacket style BC provided by my local dive shop. it seemed OK. On my last dive, one of the DM loaned me his Zeagle Convert BC, and I found the back inflation awesome. It felt much more comfortable in the water, was easier to balance, and I like have my chest area more open. Felt "free-er".
So, that led me to reading about different BC setups, and I stumbled on all the interesting stuff about a back-plate and wings. From what I've read online, and watched on youtube, this seems like a great way to go. Also, most of my dives will be travel dives, so a bp/w setup should be lighter to carry on the plane. Lastly, I really like the idea of a minimalist setup. It fits how I approach a lot of things in life.
That leads to a few questions for the group:
1) Does the brand matter much for things like harness and backplate. I've seem some by Diving Express that are rather inexpensive, and some by Zeagle that cost a ton more. Is this a case of "you get what you pay for", or is the quality mostly equal?
2) Aluminum or Stainless back plate? 90% of my dives will be in SE Asia oceans with a 3mm wetsuit or even a shorty wetsuit. I'm 6'1" and weigh 185 lbs. With the rental vest BC and rental tanks, I used 9 lbs on a weight belt. (Note: I like the idea of a weight belt, over a heavier BP, so I can ditch weight in an emergency.)
3) Thoughts on using a "pure" harness (single piece of continuous nylon) verses some of the comfort harnesses I've seen? My intuition is that a backpad and some padding on the shoulder straps would make for a more comfortable dive.
4) I don't really plan on becoming a cave diver or super technical diver. A lot of the BP/W setups I've seen focus on this pure approach, the long hose regulator setup, etc. Any thoughts on using a BP/W with a standard recreational setup? (shorter hose, yellow octopus, etc.)
5) From what I've read and seen, a full doughnut style wing seems like be best option. Something without bungee cords. Thoughts?
In short, I want something minimalist, light weight for travel, and ideally back inflation. Looking for something comfortable, but simple. (And, hopefully not too expensive - buying dive gear ads up quickly)
I'm going on my first dive trip, 5 days in The Philippines, in about 4 weeks. Am debating if I should rush to purchase a new setup before I go, or wait until I return. I hate the idea of rushing, but it would be nice to dive with a new rig instead of the rental gear. If I wait until after the trip, I'll have more time to shop, but also don't know when the next trip will be, so the gear will just sit in the bag unused for a while.
Apologies for the long list of questions. I live in Hong Kong, and the local dive shops here all aggressively push the recreational ScubaPro and Cressi vest BCs. Hard to get any real advice on alternative setups. It is almost like ScubaPro has close to a monopoly over here.
Any and all feedback welcome.
Thank You