What happens if you come up unconscious with a wing-style BC?

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Now all the manufactures are and have been aware of emergency flotation design criteria for several generations-- I would seriously doubt if a modem diver would encounter a floatation devise that float them face down-

That is why the ScubaPro BCs have this warning in the users manual, and will be found in other brands manuals.

! WARNING

THIS BC IS NOT A LIFEJACKET OR A RESCUE DEVICE.
Emergency face up floatation may not be provided for all wearers and in all conditions (except for Master Jacket).


The issue with NED was that they were selling life vests. Now BCs are sold, not life vests, the warning is to remind the buyer.


Bob
 
A couple days ago my buddy was taking a little extra time getting ready on the shore, and I casually lay back on the surface, quitely relaxing while he was making his final preparations. I was wearing my customary BP/W. I started thinking about this thread and how what I was casually and easily doing was supposedly impossible.
 
Thank you. This is not a priority either, however I do like making choices based on tangible arguments, and when it comes to wing vs jacket BCs, there is not much going on in terms of killer pros or cons for one or the other. Better trim and lower air consumption on one side vs plenty of pockets on the other, that's about it. I guess that's why the two types of BCs continue to exist!
That's one of the things I love about my wing: when I lie back to relax, all of my flotation is below me, making me float noticeably higher than if the bubble is wrapped around my torso.

And if I'm unconscious, I'd better have a half-decent buddy. No matter if I'm in a jacket bcd or using a wing.
 
I use a back-inflate BC, and I have never felt like my face was pushed into the water. If I was unconscious, maybe slightly tilted forward, and not riding high like a jacket may do, but not so that I would have my face submerged. Someone mentioned that thicker wetsuits tended to avoid the face pushed forward -- I am mostly a California diver, so maybe that's the case.

Interestingly, Im like you (the OP) -- I prefer to keep things in accessory pockets, one of the reasons I prefer a BC as opposed to BP/W. Id recommend mine (2 big pockets), but its a discontinued model
 
The warning labels on BCDs - at least in the US - specifically say they are not a lifesaving device and will not hold you face up, or something along those lines. If this is an overwhelming concern, perhaps diving should be reconsidered.
 
I feel like my sidemount bc tries to push me face down in the water on the surface (dry suit with two heavy steel tanks). Didn't have that problem in backmount.
 
prefer to keep things in accessory pockets, one of the reasons I prefer a BC as opposed to BP/W.
Most trilam drysuits have these nice, big cargo pockets. Much more room in those than in any jacket BCD pocket, IJS :cool: And as a bonus, they usually have bungee loops or D-rings to fasten bungee loops in, which is really nice to have to avoid losing stuff when you rummage through the pocket to find whatever it is you want.
 
@Bob DBF
The issue with NED was that they were selling life vests. Now BCs are sold, not life vests, the warning is to remind the buyer.
Bob
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bob
Life vest was a generic term at that junction in dive history for what has become known as a Horse collar

The nomenclature of Horse collar would have been impossible to market to the diving community . but now it evokes
the daring do of yesteryear and is prized by the current vintage & double hose aficionados.

So the term was a standard term used by many -- I can recall when as an instructor I began using the term PFV- probably around 1970s

Sam
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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