Need help to buy new BCD

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Cald

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Hi everybody,


I'm really a novice with only 70 dives under my belt. After a few hours on the forum i decided that is probably the best choice for me "invest" in a BP/w. The back plate and wing BCD is considered by many the most versatile of BCD’s.
In few weeks i will start my DMT and i need to buy my own gear.

The question is, what BCD do you suggest I get? Is the BP/w a good choice? and what should I watch out for?

By the way, I read really good review about DSS. Someone knows if they have a Store in Australia?

Thanks in advance!
 
I dive with a Hollis SS plate and Hollis S25 wing and a Dive Rite harness (don't really need an STA). I prefer the BP/W set up since I dive colder waters in 7mm wetsuit. The plate also allows me to shed lead from my weight belt and I really like the freedom, less-constriction around me (as opposed to a jacket BCD).
 
I am not a DM but from what I gather after training the shop you work for usually wants you to use the equipment they sell. So before making gear decisions I would check out if this is required where you want to work. DSS is mainly sold mail order here in the US, so you would need to contact them to see if they have a distributer or dealer in Australia.
 
what AMS said regarding DSS, best to email Tobin and ask him. The only way he can really keep his prices competitive is selling direct, so there are a very small handful of dealers he works with. Make sure you check with the shop to see if you can use a BP/W in your training, many shops want you wearing their brands of gear if you'll be working for them in which case they should be giving you key man discounts.
 
If the place you're doing a DM internship with insists that you dive with a jacket BC, find another place to do the DM course. Don't forget, the DM course is for YOUR benefit, not the shop's. There is zero reason for requiring that a student and customer (that's what you are as a DMT) use specific gear because it helps the shop sell that gear to OW students.

DSS set ups are excellent. Other great choices would be oxycheq, dive rite, and halcyon. Just keep it simple.
 
There is zero reason for requiring that a student and customer (that's what you are as a DMT) use specific gear because it helps the shop sell that gear to OW students.

My advice was to check out what the shop he wants to work for requires. There is no point to purchase gear for a DM class and then have the future employer insist that he wear whatever gear they sell while he is at work. Most of the big scuba players sell BP/Ws now, if he can wait and get a keyman discount then all the better.
 
When I did my DM course I used the shop's gear rather than my own. They got the students I worked with to see the gear they wanted them to see (though I do dive most of the same) and I didn't have to deal with wear-and-tear on my own stuff. Especially in the pool.
 
DSS makes some fine stuff...Halcyon as well but more on the pricey side...I'm partial to Oxycheq's Mach V wings...can't go wrong with a SS plate and a wing from one of those 3 manufacturers...

Cheers.

-J.
 
My advice was to check out what the shop he wants to work for requires.

He's not talking about working for a shop, he's talking about taking a DM course. Employment at a shop, for pay, is an entirely different situation. Using DM students for sales-demos is an unfortunate practice by some dive shops, and as such those shops should be avoided, IMO.

Getting a discount on gear you don't really want is not such a good deal, is it?
 

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