Anyone dive a "Travel" BCD all the time?

[kelemvor]

I think you just called me old.

FWIW, I use a BP/W myself, I am just not blindly biased and I see that there are other viable options.

I apologize. I did not intend to be insulting but I obviously was. Please forgive the transgression.

 

[Hoag]

I apologize. I did not intend to be insulting but I obviously was. Please forgive the transgression.

No worries. I actually thought it was kinda funny. No harm done and no offence taken.

 

[Chavodel8en]

Looks like folks have already mentioned to make sure you have enough lift.

For 15 years (until it died), I used a Genesis "Tropic" as both my local & travel BCD. It had 34 lbs of back-inflate lift, enough for my local No. Califas, 8mm wetsuit diving. Actually, it wasnt really that compact, so the only thing "travel" about it was its misnomer name. I bought it bc it was cheap - $220 on closeout.

You may have noticed the SB bias to BP/W. And you make a true point that many SBers dont recognize - a cheap lightweight BCD is often cheaper than a BP/W (see above).

However, I would suggest the Dive Gear Express BP/W setup at $350. 30 lbs of lift & an aluminum backplate may be fine for your local & travel diving. But if you're only using a 3mm wetsuit locally, you may prefer a soft backplate instead of the aluminum one - it probably depends on your weighting & preferences

Because BP/W has switchable components, you can customize and grow it. For me I now have a BP/W with a steel BP locally, and will switch out to a soft BP when I go to warm water.

 

[OKgunguy]

Thanks everybody for the warm welcome and all the replies. I really appreciate it...I will definitely wait until the class is over with to buy anything major. I've got a class scheduled in June with Scubabros in OKC. Sounds like I will get to try some different gear there, at least different ScubaPro gear. I'll probably pony up the extra 25 for rental gear just to try other fins and masks too. I've done all my E Learning and am ready to try it again in the water.

Jason

 

[jonhall]

Meant to reply when I first saw this thread but let it slip. I have exclusively used a travel BC - Aqua Lung Zuma - since 2010. Make a couple of trips each year (except in 2020) averaging about 20 dives mainly in the Caribbean. No problems with it.

 

[Centrals]

I would not recommend any jacket bc/back inflated because I am NOT familiar with their latest designs.
I have no problem to use rental equipment and they are exclusively all jacket bc!