Back Inflation BC is SUICIDE!!!

[JS1scuba]

Thats what my new instructor says!

I love back inflation BC but my instructor advises against them very strongly. His argument is as follows:

SCENARIO A - If a diver looses consciousness underwater, his dive buddy inflates his BC he will rise up to the surface. If he has not dropped the reg from his mouth there is chance of him surviving - provided he is wearing a jacket style as that would keep his head way up the water once on surface. If he is wearing a back inflation nstead then the BC will keep his head tilted below the surface raging surface water will beat the reg away from his mouth and Guaranteed drowning!

SCENARIO B - If you get drifted away into the ocean (like the characters in the movie OPEN WATER) and you are stranded in the ocean for hours you would not want to be wearing a back inflation BC. Unless you deliberately float on your back the back inflation BC will kill you just like in scenario A!

Who agrees / disagrees with this logic and why?

Scenario A .......... what moron inflates a diver and sends him to the surface unattended ? Sounds like your guy flunked "surfacing an unconcious diver" portion of his ITC.

Scenaro B............If that is the case and you will be out there a while -- most people will dump the weights, lose the tank and then flip the BC over and use it as a raft ....

Option 1 ......... find a new instructor or send him here and we will help him out.

---- using back inflated BCs for my last 3,000 dives ............ am i dead 3,000 times ?

Regards,

 

[CBulla]

Thats what my new instructor says!

-----

Who agrees / disagrees with this logic and why?

Uhhhhh.. scenerios aside, your instructor sounds like an inexperienced individual. The change to a bp/w set up was the best choice I made diving so far.. along with telling my original dive shop to take a trip!

scenerio a: Just a thought.. close your eyes, tilt your head back and stay there a second. Which direction is your jaw going? Your mouth opens, right? If your on the surface in rough water and your unconscious, and your flopping around with your mouth open, its going to collect water.

scenerio b: In 2 dives I figured out just how little air my back inflate needed to do a back swim comfortably... ironically very little since I don't wear much weight. A back inflate with a crotch strap to keep things down where it should instead of shooting up over your head is very comfortable in any position.

A year ago I wouldn't known that answer

 

[RICHinNC]

Apparently the store he works for does not sell back inflates and that alone makes them undesirable and not a product to endorse.

Plus....last time I checked even the big print on my old vest style ....it clearly says....do not use bcd as a life vest...not designed for that.

 

[Jason B]

My advice is to get another instructor.

best advice given in this thread.

Jason

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I'm an instructor, I use back inflation, I don't float face down.

Then again I understand proper weighting and it's placement.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

The US Coast Guard requires that life vests float an unconscious individual face up.

BCs are not USCG approved life vests. They have a panel on the inside that states as much. This applies to both jackets and back-inflate.

TwoBit

 

[fdog]

Ha Ha! I needed a good laugh today after shoveling the snow from my roof.

This Instructor seems to be a tad bit close-minded.

I use them both - a jacket and BP/W - and find that both are tools with strengths and weaknesses. Certainly, neither will be the "kiss of death".

All the best, James

 

[cool_hardware52]

I've been diving for over 35 years. Of those I used a back inflate or wing for about 25 of those years. In that time I've come back to the cut end of an anchor line which resulted in a +20 mile swim back to the beach, been parylized by a neurotoxin at 160' and been "left at sea" out of contact with the boat a great many times for various reasons. Given a choice in all conditions I prefer a back inflate, preferably with a steel tank. The ~ 10 years I used a jacket was simply because I couldn't find a wing bladder until the DIR crowd started developing them.

FT

Fred,

You need to write a book. I'm serious. You've lead an interesting life and have apparently cheated the reaper more than once.....


Tobin

 

[archman]

I've been diving for over 35 years. Of those I used a back inflate or wing for about 25 of those years. In that time I've come back to the cut end of an anchor line which resulted in a +20 mile swim back to the beach, been parylized by a neurotoxin at 160' and been "left at sea" out of contact with the boat a great many times for various reasons.
FT

Sweet petunias fred! Maybe you should write an autobiography. Or star in your own TV series!

 

[StSomewhere]

Did he say that applied to everyone, or just new students? AL80?