Jacket BCD and trim

[claymore]

The biggest drawback for travel to the jacket BCs is the bulk and weight. I am not going down the jacket, back inflate, bpw debate. Generally equipment does not make a good diver but some equipment can make it easier to be a good diver.

The other issue I have seen with the current Aqualung BCs is that the trim weight pockets are located so low on the back of the BC that they do not really move the weight high enough to do much good, they are just slightly higher than the main weights not up near the shoulders where they would do the most good.

 

[Centrals]

A simple no frill jacket bc is NOT that heavy. The bells and whistles are the culprit.

 

[Bom]

I would say "try to dive with bp/w and compare with jacket for yourself" You will know what you want most so that you can spend money on what you like. Each type has pros and cons depending what your preference is.

 

[dmaziuk]

The biggest drawback for travel to the jacket BCs is the bulk and weight. I am not going down the jacket, back inflate, bpw debate. Generally equipment does not make a good diver but some equipment can make it easier to be a good diver.

For some the drawback to the jacket BCD may be the fit. By most size charts I am of L height, have M chest and S waist, so with jackets I mostly get to choose between "Jessica Simpson in skimpy crop top" fit or "just lost 200lbs and can't afford new pants" fit.

 

[BDSC]

Question: Is it possible to achieve proper horizontal trim with a jacket BCD?

You betcha. Folks have been doing it for years. When you go to Roatan, watch the DM's and see what they are using. The majority of DM's I have seen in the Caribbean dive jacket BC's and they are usually spot on with their trim and such. You can become an excellent diver in pretty much any type of BC you decide to use.

 

[Storker]

Is it possible to achieve proper horizontal trim with a jacket BCD?

The guy in the bottom left of the photo had about 30 logged dives when the picture was taken. And he was in rental gear, not his own that he was dialed in with.



So, I'd probably say that it is possible.

 

[seeker242]

Question: Is it possible to achieve proper horizontal trim with a jacket BCD?

I can. But not without weight trim pockets. If I put all the weight on my waist area, I struggle to not be a "45er". But I found that if you are out there struggling to not be a 45er, that pretty much means you are one already!

 

[spectrum]

I am a newly certified diver and am thinking about purchasing an Aqua Lung Pro HD BCD. I be will traveling to warm water locations once or twice per year for a total of 15-30 dives per year. After reading many threads on SB I am now concerned that the jacket BCD will make me a poor diver (a "forty-fiver"). Question: Is it possible to achieve proper horizontal trim with a jacket BCD?

I would like to try different BCD types (back inflate, hybrid) but do not have a location close to home for that to happen. In addition, the dive resort in Roatan where I am going in May only uses Jacket BCD's in their rental fleet.

For single tank recreational diving you can dive as well as anybody in a jacket BC. It's all about getting something that fits you, then taking the time to get your weight amount and placement right and then becoming one with the rig. I like my BP&W rigs for other reasons but they did not improve my buoyancy control or trim one iota.

Pete

 

[Jim Lapenta]

When I became a DM one of the things I did was try to dive as many different bc's as possible. Jackets, back inflates, and bpw's. Even went so far as to dive as many different sizes from smalls (normally wear a med/large-large) to xxxl. Doing that allowed/forced me to work on skill with buoyancy and trim.

I can now take any BC and with a bit of fiddling depending on how the weight system is set up or not on the BC get in trim within about five minutes in the water.

That said some do lend themselves more readily to distribution of weight and make them less likely to require a great deal of messing with. The worst ones are the ones with trim pockets on the back that end up at the level of the kidneys when in the water.

Trim pockets need to be at shoulder blade level or a bit higher to be useful if you're going to have any weight low like around the waist or in front/low as integrated weights tend to sit.

A bpw puts the weight where its most useful but you can still
screw that up with being over weighted or not distributing the additional weight when diving dry or in a heavy wet suit.

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Tapatalk

 

[Diver0001]

Question: Is it possible to achieve proper horizontal trim with a jacket BCD?

Click through my profile and look at two pictures there. The one you see when you open the profile and the one of me diving with a dolphin if you go to the photos.

I'm wearing a jacket in both of those pictures. In both cases my trim was perfectly horizontal.

The jacket will by no means STOP you from getting comfortable in a horizontal trim. What you hear on the internet about that usually comes from people who managed to get horizontal in a BP/W despite not knowing how to trim and then thought that the BP/W was somehow magic.

Never substitute gear for a skills problem. learn how to trim and you'll be good even if you carry your tank in an old rucksack and use milk-jugs for buoyancy.

R..