DGX SoftPack vs BP&W

[Chavodel8en]

A BP is probably more geared for your local, 7mm wetsuit diving - the BP will allow you to take some lead off.

For travel diving, it depends on the person. For myself, a BP is too much ballast for tropical diving. I also dont like the idea of a ~5lb BP when airlines have ~40lb bag limits. Other folks are fine traveling with and using a BP in warm waters.

Myself, I have a BP/W for my local diving, and I have a cheap travel BC for travel. If I wanted to use one BC for all my diving, it'd probably be a softpac like setup, or maybe a back inflate BC. I dont plan on getting into tech.

 

[fredericoramos]

I own both a BPW and SoftPack. I bought the BPW first and got the SoftPack right before I started DM training so that I would have something that looked similar to the shop's rental equipment. In the water, they feel exactly the same.

If you do get into tech diving you'll need a backplate - the SoftPack is not suitable for doubles.

If you get into teaching, you may want to look at the SoftPack or TransPac or similar (but that's another can of worms). One advantage of the SoftPack is that the shoulder strap buckles make it much easier to demonstrate rescues.

I was worried about the SoftPack's durability before I bought it, but that hasn't been a problem. It's definitely not as bullet proof as a BPW with a single piece harness, but stands up to normal diving just fine.

This was super helpful.

I’m wondering how much more lead you have to wear when diving the SoftPack vs your BPW setup

 

[happy-diver]

Have you checked the weight difference between the SoftPack/BackPlate in the repository dude

BCs

Backplates, Harnesses, Wings and Accessories

www.divegearexpress.com

This was super helpful.

 

[Smache]

This was super helpful.

I’m wondering how much more lead you have to wear when diving the SoftPack vs your BPW setup

Thank you!

As far as weighting is concerned, the DGX softpack is almost the same as an aluminum backplate. The softpack is neutral, whereas an aluminum backplate is usually less than 2 pounds negative. Steel is heaver of course.