Why did Horse Collar BC's fade away?
- Thread starter Waterwulf
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Nah, it's easy...They had gas masks for their horses on WWI!
On a serious side: Here's a link to probably the most involved and definitive test of Buoyancy Control Devices and Buoyancy Compensators ever conducted.....at least up until June 1980! That's the date of the Navy tests but what's interesting, is that it's on the cusp of the jacket and back type BCD's taking over the market so the tests include Horse Collars, Jackets and Wings.
David Haas
Contributor
That's interesting and I recall such a test where many horse collar BCDs still let an unconscious diver flop over with face in the water, meaning they'd have drowned anyway 
Lots of problems how people wore the straps likely contributed to the variances too.
Last thing I'll say is this......
Last US Navy divers I've seen today use a Zeagle back mounted BCD likely for streamlining and simplicity (one set of straps.)
Don't quote me, I'm not a Navy Seal or Coustau diver.
I only play one in my mind while diving
DH
Lots of problems how people wore the straps likely contributed to the variances too.
Last thing I'll say is this......
Last US Navy divers I've seen today use a Zeagle back mounted BCD likely for streamlining and simplicity (one set of straps.)
Don't quote me, I'm not a Navy Seal or Coustau diver.
I only play one in my mind while diving
DH
Ooops sorry I forgot the link!
And according to that test, not a single Horse Collar BC drowned it's unconscious wearer while every single back or jacket type did unless there was outside intervention. This was at the end of the Horse Collar Buoyancy Compensator era so this test is probably the last real one that did a mass comparison like that.
And according to that test, not a single Horse Collar BC drowned it's unconscious wearer while every single back or jacket type did unless there was outside intervention. This was at the end of the Horse Collar Buoyancy Compensator era so this test is probably the last real one that did a mass comparison like that.
jadairiii
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I always wondered how an "unconscious diver" was able to inflate their BC?
Now, if that "unconscious diver" was diving a WaterGill At-Pac with a WaterGill FSDS 100 regulator in the 1970's, the regulator would auto-inflate the At-Pac after about a minute of the diver not breathing.....sending him/her to the surface, and upon surfacing the unit would start "honking" bringing attention to that "unconscious diver....pretty cool.
A BC is not a life jacket and I would not want a BC that is a life jacket. I do not think the functions of the two are compatible or without introducing compromises that are likely not acceptable in use by experienced divers.
I admire surfers. I am not a very good surfer. A few years ago, it got too windy to dive so I altered course and went up coast in Florida to a surfing hang out (such as there are in Flariduh). I paddled out among a group of surfers, each concentrating on finding a wave that had at least a little shape to it. And not a single one had a life jacket on. And the little boards most were on would not support their weight as a flotation device. You gotta be able to swim, imagine that. And, yes, accept the consequences of being hundreds of yards off shore without. And if in some circumstance you bonk your head on the board and knock yourself unconcious, well, sucks to be you on that day. Rugged individualism and maybe devil may care attitude is what I admire in them. Yes, sometimes safety is overrated, possibly way overrated even.
Oh yes those daring surfers in their creaky flying ...wait! Sorry, wrong advertising! So no surfers were wearing life jackets? In all my years on several coasts, I have never seen a surfer wearing a life jacket other than a little kid! So that means safety is overrated? So the next time I jump out of a perfectly good airplane, I should leave my Reserve Canopy behind because safety is overrated? Or maybe the next time I run my Rail down an Arroyo at 110+mph, I should leave my helmet behind because safety is overrated? If you think surfing with no life jacket is daring and safety is overrated, you would not want to visit my world!
You both have valid points but you don’t understand each other…
Safety is important for everyone but not everyone has the same limit.
Like for some people it might be important to have a bcd that works as a life jacket, for others it’s meaningless because the change they need it is to small.
Some people share their bailout others like to take personal bailout.
You have to find out for yourself what risk you want to take.
He is being purposely obtuse for sake of argument. But, I was reading the www and came across this:
A “Device” Does Not Control Your Buoyancy - Cave Diver Harry
Odds are, you learned that the object in the accompanying picture is called a Buoyancy Control Device or BCD. The funny thing is, most of the companies that make this equipment — not to mention the majority of dive magazines and training agencies — don’t call it that. The most commonly used name...
cavediverharry.com
And this fellow nails it! Dang, he is right and dang if I am not wrong. Wow! He says that the primary purpose for the BC is not buoyancy control but that it acts as a hub to integrate the scuba outfit into one manageable kit. YES! I have always thought this but never really said it that way. Because buoyancy control is not a primary function with a BC, but with weighting and breath control instead. Now he really does not address trim, places where jacket styles and back inflate or wings have a definite advantage but still, the BC is a collector and integrator that takes the diver, cylinders, weights and what not paraphernalia and puts it all together and the horse collar is especially poor at that primary function. And in any case, they are not life jackets. Your life jacket is your buddy and if you are a solo diver commonly then you better have the skills to swim (swagger, waddle, crawl) through that door.
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