Need a little advice on BC selection

[ekremer]

You can add weight pockets to a BP/W. They are fully customizable

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Ok, I was checking out the Dive Gear Express site and was looking at the Dive Rite TravelPak and VoyagerPak as well as the standard packages. Lots of variables to consider when choosing the system. I'll definitely need to take a trip to their shop. The advantages of the BP/W do look promising though. My curiosity is getting the best of me.

 

[ams511]

To a new diver a BP&W may look daunting, but it really isn't. A basic package with a steel backplate is around $350. You can add whatever you want in the way of pads and pockets etc. You can also get a complete regulator package for around $400 with 2 second stages, 1 first stage and a spg. Buy what you want but be an educated consumer. Many of us were not all that educated starting out and purchased the wrong gear or were taken advantage of by dive shops.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Do not buy a steel backplate if you think you may be diving with big steel tanks..

 

[JohnN]

Do not buy a steel backplate if you think you may be diving with big steel tanks..

Doesn't this need a little qualification. . .

If you dive in a thin wetsuit in warm water. Yes, you're going to be overweighted with no ditchable weight.

If you dive with a thicker wetsuit or a drysuit. You're going to need extra weight (in addition to your BP and tanks), make sure you have redundant buoyancy (like a drysuit) or have enough weight that can be ditched if the s**t hits the fan

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Doesn't this need a little qualification. . .

If you dive in a thin wetsuit in warm water. Yes, you're going to be overweighted with no ditchable weight.

If you dive with a thicker wetsuit or a drysuit. You're going to need extra weight (in addition to your BP and tanks), make sure you have redundant buoyancy (like a drysuit) or have enough weight that can be ditched if the s**t hits the fan

NO he dives in palm beach with 84 degree water...

 

[EL Pistoffo]

NO he dives in palm beach with 84 degree water...

This is true. I dive a 3mm shorty. The water isn't always that warm though.

I do want to have the capability of using a steel 120. They are common to some dive ops in Cozumel.

Just how heavey are the steel bp's? Wouldn't it be easier to travel with the aluminum BP?

 

[zrsteve]

I used a Zuma for a year and really liked it. Went on the SB Invasion to Bonaire and saw many divers using the BP/W and was intrigued by the kit. After returning home and through some Q&A PM's with Insta-Gator I purchased the Dive Rite SS BP/W. With some e-mail coaching from Gary I got the kit dialed in for weighting (I think) in the pool. Headed to Maui in 2 weeks and I'll see how close I am in salt water. I did like the BP/W while in the pool and no regrets.

 

[Colliam7]

I do want to have the capability of using a steel 120. They are common to some dive ops in Cozumel. Just how heavey are the steel bp's? Wouldn't it be easier to travel with the aluminum BP?

Steel BPs are generally 5-6 lbs. I travel with them a lot - take two of them to Bonaire each year (for my wife and for me) without problems. But, when we go to Bonaire, we go to dive, so we don't carry much except dive gear. This year, I put one of the SS BPs in my backpack (in the laptop pocket), so it was carry-on, not checked (and weighed) baggage, and that worked out well.

AL BPs are usually in the 2lb range. I use them for diving doubles with a wetsuit. I have also used an AL plate with a 1 mm full suit and a steel 120, and I prefer a SS plate - I need the weight.

So, what is your buoyancy profile? Are you inherently negative, positive? With a jacket BCD, in your 3mm shorty, what amount of weight do you need? If I dive in salt water with a 1mm full suit, and a steel 120 and an AL backplate, I still need to add weight. But, that is me, it may or may not be the case for you.

---------- Post added October 18th, 2013 at 09:19 AM ----------

I was checking out the Dive Gear Express site . . . . Lots of variables to consider when choosing the system. I'll definitely need to take a trip to their shop. The advantages of the BP/W do look promising though. My curiosity is getting the best of me.

Some additional thoughts on the BCD selection process:

Good divers become good through skill development, NOT through equipment. As many have stated in a number of threads, a good diver can use a jacket BCD, a soft back-inflate BCD, or a hard back-inflate BCD with equal success.

Many newer divers go to a jacket BCD, or a soft back-inflate, because that is what they train in. Many shops use these soft BCDs for training (and rental) because that is what they are used to, or simply have readily available.

When a newer diver goes to their LDS to buy a BCD, and tries on a jacket style, or a soft back-inflate like a Ranger, the unit feels great. (It reminds me of a scene in the movie, Ocean’s Eleven, where Carl Reiner – as Sol – is being fitted for a suit, and remarks, ‘This is very nice material’, to which the George Clooney character replies, ‘It’s imported silk, Sol.’ Trying on a BCD on the sales floor is like that – it feels good, and the material is very nice.) Trying on a BCD is like trying on a new coat – it feels great on the sales floor (and even smells good), which has nothing to do with how it feels and functions underwater.

Fabric BCDs are positively buoyant. The diver generally (unless their body has notable inherent buoyancy) pays a price for this, in the additional lead that they must carry to offset the unit’s positive buoyancy (in addition to buoyancy of an exposure suit). Not infrequently, that weight goes on their waist, or in integrated weight pockets that are positioned toward the bottom of the BCD – at the waist, which tends to pull the lower body down.

Many newer divers do not develop a good understanding of trim during their OW classes. For divers unaware of trim, swimming with their body at a 45 degree, head-up, angle feels good / natural / proper. A jacket (or soft back-inflate) BCD with a weight belt, or weight-integration - and, possibly, with just a bit too much weight - facilitates this position very nicely. The diver generally is unaware of how they look in the water, and they think it is natural to have to regularly dump or add air to their BCD while swimming underwater (to compensate for the effects of finning, or stopping finning, when swimming at a 45 degree angle). With experience, some divers put weight pockets on their BCD cam bands, or even dive with 1-2 ankle weights clipped around the cylinder valve – to move weight up toward their head, and away from their waist. What if, instead, they used a SS or AL BP which moved weight up toward their head, and away from their waist?

So, it is good to hear that you are going to at least consider a BP/W. It is good to hear that your curiosity is getting the best of you. But, do not confine your ‘trial’ to the sales floor at DGE or elsewhere. Borrow one, rent one, try it out in the water, then make a purchase decision.

 

[ronscuba]

If you go BP/W, I would get an aluminum BP and a small wing. I had no problem with steel 120's in Coz with my Transpac and Travel wing.

Like others have said, a good diver can use anything. Jacket, back inflate, BP/W. I shoot video and photo. It's nice not to have clutter around my rib cage and chest.