Is the BP/W really the best BCD for recreational divers?

[WhiteSands]

We know that a BP/W is often almost universally recommended to new divers when they ask for advice on which BCD to buy.

However, I'm starting to have my doubts that it's the best setup for a purely recreational diver who only wants to stay that way throughout their diving "career".

I personally dive a BP/W with a Hog harness myself. However I do it with the end goal in mind, of one day progressing to Cave diving. Frankly for recreational dives, I think I'll prefer using a jacket.

My thoughts on why a BP/W may not be ideal for a purely recreational diver:
- A lot of time has to be spent on harness adjustments, shifting of D-rings, weight pockets, knife pouch, adjusting of crotch strap and so on, to account for different exposure protection.

- You do need to have quite in-depth knowledge of how to set up your gear properly to have it fit well. How high the plate should be, how tight the shoulder straps should be, how to make sure the plate is aligned correctly, correct position of D-rings, how tight the waist strap should be, how tight the crotch strap should be, etc. Not many people have this knowledge or are inclined to learn this to such detail. This is especially true when using a continuous piece of webbing.

With a jacket, none of this is necessary. It's a velcro waist band, waist strap, chest strap, and you're good to go.

- If you get the above wrong, you may be in for a lot of discomfort in the water.

- Backplates also need to be sized correctly to the person's back. One-size-fit-all plates do not work for people with shorter or longer backs then average. Size affects the angle at which the shoulder straps and waist straps exit the BP, and where they position the waist strap on your body. The problem is that most plates out there only cater to a "standard" size. The only ones I know who offer different sizes is Halcyon and DSS.

- Gearing up is much more involved, especially if you use a crotch strap and a continuous piece of webbing. If you dive a lot, especially off a boat, it adds up. Gearing up and doffing gear is much harder with a properly sized, HOG harness. No quick release buckles.

- Changing tanks is also more troublesome. Unlike jackets with only one camband positioned high up on the jacket, most BP/W systems have 2. If you have weights loaded into integrated pockets, it means pulling the heavy load off the tank. Welcome, lower back pain.

What are your thoughts?

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

My thoughts are that you have opened up a huge can of worms

 

[ekremer]

I am a pure recreational Backplate diver, and your points are nonsense.
-As a FL diver, who dives sometimes in a 3 sometimes in a bathing suit I have never had to change my webbings sizing. (however if that is really an issue Dive Rite makes their delux harness, and Halcyon makes their "Cinch Quick-adjust Harness")
- without any help minus a few websites it took me 30 minutes to get my harness setup the first time, and 10 minutes tweaking on my first dive. Since then it has been perfect.
-Backplate sizing is less of an issue than getting the correct size for a BCD wich tend to be only small/medium/large and don't really fit anyone in between.
- My Zeagle ranger had a cumberbund, a chest strap, two straps for my bladder, and two quick disconnect buckles I had to check before each dive. My backplate has a wait buckle and a crotch strap, tell me again which one is more time consuming? (getting into either one is less than a 1 minute ordeal)

Uhh my Zeagle Ranger has two cam bands.

I am not against standard BCD's in anyway. I will not bash them, I love my Ranger. But let's be honest please.

 

[doctormike]

- A lot of time has to be spent on harness adjustments, shifting of D-rings, weight pockets, knife pouch, adjusting of crotch strap and so on, to account for different exposure protection.

Not sure why you think this is the case. I was in St. Croix two weeks ago in a 3 mm shorty wetsuit diving an aluminum 80, and I'm going to our local quarry tomorrow with my doubles and my dry suit. I never change a thing on my harness, never have since it was set up a few years ago.

- You do need to have quite in-depth knowledge of how to set up your gear properly to have it fit well. How high the plate should be, how tight the shoulder straps should be, how to make sure the plate is aligned correctly, correct position of D-rings, how tight the waist strap should be, how tight the crotch strap should be, etc. Not many people have this knowledge or are inclined to learn this to such detail. This is especially true when using a continuous piece of webbing.

That's true, although the knowledge isn't THAT hard to come by... but I agree, if you buy a BP/W, it's a good idea to have a knowledgable instructor or dive shop owner help you set it up the first time. Not sure why that's a negative, I would much rather have my expensive dive gear set up correctly than just buy a one-size-fits-all piece of gear to avoid doing it right...

With a jacket, none of this is necessary. It's a velcro waist band, waist strap, chest strap, and you're good to go.

If you had the choice between wearing a custom tailored suit (that the tailor could make for you in less than an hour) or something off the rack that was pretty close to your size, and the price was about the same, which would you prefer?

- If you get the above wrong, you may be in for a lot of discomfort in the water.



- Backplates also need to be sized correctly to the person's back. One-size-fit-all plates do not work for people with shorter or longer backs then average. Size affects the angle at which the shoulder straps and waist straps exit the BP, and where they position the waist strap on your body. The problem is that most plates out there only cater to a "standard" size. The only ones I know who offer different sizes is Halcyon and DSS.

Yes, I'm in favor of selecting and setting up my gear correctly. So I would definitely recommend that if you buy dive gear, you buy the correct size. A BP/W is much more likely to be able to fit a "non-standard" sized person correctly than a jacket BC that comes in small, medium and large.

- Gearing up is much more involved, especially if you use a crotch strap and a continuous piece of webbing. If you dive a lot, especially off a boat, it adds up. Gearing up and doffing gear is much harder with a properly sized, HOG harness. No quick release buckles.

Again, not sure where you are getting this from. When I put my BP/W on in warm water configuration, it feels like I'm throwing on a sweater. I'll bet I can get geared up just as quick as you can, even including the crotch strap. Buckles are mainly an advantage if you have shoulder mobility issues, not really for speed, IMHO.

- Changing tanks is also more troublesome. Unlike jackets with only one camband positioned high up on the jacket, most BP/W systems have 2.

Well, you can certainly leave out one of the cam bands if you feel that the extra one is a negative instead of a positive. I have seen many divers with jacket BC's struggling underwater when their tank slipped out of their single cam band, so when I dive single tank, I'm happy to have two bands...

If you have weights loaded into integrated pockets, it means pulling the heavy load off the tank. Welcome, lower back pain.

I'm not sure why you think that this is a BC issue. A weight integrated jacket BC would be just as heavy as a BP/W with weight pockets, and either type could be used with either pockets or a weight belt. The difference of course would be that the BP/W would have the weight spread out between the backplate and the weights. And the jacket BC would need more weight because it is positively buoyant and you need weight to sink that padding, etc...

 

[Pullmyfinger]

My thoughts are that any BC is fine for recreational diving.
There's nothing wrong with a jacket BC; I've rented them and was alright with it.

My preference over a jacket BC is a back inflate BC. I like the Scuba Pro Knight Hawk, and the Zeagle Ranger LTD (I currently own one).

I also own a few backplate wing setups, and use them for the majority of my diving.....which is my preference.

I agree with you....they all are fine.
I think most people should just throw their money on the counter, and buy something....then go diving.

In my travels.....I rarely (can count on one hand, and have fingers left over) see a back plate wing set up.

In my local diving community....most of us have back plate wing setups.

I suggest buying whatever one likes....and then go argue online about HOG regulators!

 

[gcarter]

My thought is that you probably need some help setting your rig up properly. It should not require that much work / fiddling.

 

[Steve_C]

Discussing BP/W vs BCD is like talking religion (or politics). Few ever change their minds about what the one true religion is.

 

[Bob DBF]

We know that a BP/W is often almost universally recommended to new divers when they ask for advice on which BCD to buy.

You must be talking about Scubaboard, 'cause any LDS in this area barely know what a BP/W is, never mind recommend one.



Bob
------------------
I may be old, but I'm not dead yet.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Maybe I just don't care enough about how exactly dialed in my rig is, but using the basic H harness and plates (SS for single tank, AL for doubles) I can go from t-shirt and shorts to 7mm or drysuit without adjusting anything. It's a hair looser with nothing on for exposure pro and a tad tighter in thicker pro, but neither one is a problem for trim or donning/doffing. Then again, I only learned how to set it up by buying a used BPW and looking at a couple online resources about how to put it together. I'm probably doing it all wrong

If I was never going to dive anything other than tropical rec dives, I would surely stay with my basic plate and harness approach. I'd ditch the storage pak I use for the backup SMB, ditch the can light, and maybe put a H pocket on the right side to hook the long hose under/hold my SMB/spreel. Probably I'd stick with my Irikonjis for storage and just tuck the LH or go to a 5' LH since I (as a rec diver) wouldn't be going into overheads.

The analysis doesn't change for someone who dives cold water, IMO. While I don't like having them on the harness unless they're needed, it's the work of maybe 2 minutes to remove the buckle and left d-ring, put on the ABC weight pouches, and rethread the buckle. BFD. And that lets you drop the weight out of the rig to change tanks just like a jacket.

As for the two cam bands are more of a pain than one...I've used regular BCDs with one and then bought a Zeagle with two before going BPW. I wouldn't own a BCD with just one strap, though I'll admit it's easier for the tank to come out with just one band. That's sort of the problem.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

What are your thoughts?

They both suck!
Get a side mount rig.