Anyone dive a "Travel" BCD all the time?

[Marie13]

Marie13, I follow your posts on another board in the scuba forum as well . You're actually the one that led me to this board, so thanks! You might be able to guess which board from my forum handle, not sure how firearm friendly it is here or I'd mention it.

Haha. I know which one. There are a few crossover members between the two. . Yeah, wouldn’t mention the hobby much here. Some start foaming at the mouth.

 

[spc751]

There are many of us here with the that same hobby and it often seems safer than diving. For a travel BCD I just use a smaller bladder on a bp/w and vary the weight on a weight belt or in cam band pockets.

 

[OKgunguy]

Good to know Marie and spc

yep just like diving it’s safe as long as you keep your head on straight, think about the rules and watch out for “that guy”!

Jason

 

[drakcheslav]

Most of the travel BC's I've seen have more lift than a regual dir single tank wing.
So in my opinion, travel BC's are more than enough if you're correctly weighted.

I dove an 30lbs wing with a 5+5mm wetsuit w/o no problem.

The trouble I've seen with travel BC's is thah they're are not quite log lasting,

So maybe get an aluminum or soft backplate and a wing. That travels great and packs up flat.

 

[rhwestfall]

There are many of us here with the that same hobby and it often seems safer than diving. For a travel BCD I just use a smaller bladder on a bp/w and vary the weight on a weight belt or in cam band pockets.

^ This is one of the "gems" of a modular system configuration. Really warm water, and compact for travel? An 18# wing on a plate with a basic harness.... Moderate water? 23# - 25# wing on the same rig and some more weights. Cold water and heavy weighting? 30# - 40# wing. It all goes on the same plate/harness. You also know how it all works and nothing changes....

Brilliant idea.....

 

[rhwestfall]

If I don't drop a grand on a full feature BCD like a Hydros Pro

overpriced....
proprietary.....

 

[Wibble]

One tip: buy a second-hand BCD, don't buy new. If you've bought the wrong one (like the awful i3), sell it for what you paid for it. If you later want to change to something else, such as a backplate and wing, sell it for what you paid for it.

BCD's only need to keep inflated. OK, the inflator and dumps need to work. They're incredibly simple and staggeringly overhyped.

Second hand. Cheap. Save money!

 

[rongoodman]

Yes.
Halcyon Eclipse BC System

 

[Wibble]

Yes.
Halcyon Eclipse BC System

But second hand. Save money.

(I've two Halcyon Evolves which I bought separately for under half price. I've one Halcyon Eclipse which I also bought at less than half price and the stitching had perished. Halcyon sold me a replacement outer for a fraction of the full price, so it's a new wing for half the price of a new wing!)

Backplate & wings are great. Probably your second BCD though.

 

[Searcaigh]

Although I've been diving a BPW for years when I first started using doubles, I actually bought a DiveRite TravelPac to use when I discovered how great back inflates for travel. After my trip to the Philippines I used it consistently for non travel also when diving single tanks.

However, I still had to wear a weight belt and eventually changed to a SS backplate and another wing.

Occasionally I lend it to friends visiting the country who come diving with me, and rarely use it myself as I now carry the SS BP with me on my overseas dive trips.