back inflation or other style

[SCUBADOG82]

Hello everyone. Im thinking of buying a bc for me and my wife we both only have used the wrap around inflation bcs and my wifes bc didnt realy keep her up so well. Im just wondering how bc with back inflation work. If they would make you float higher out of the water or if they push your front towards the water more. Also iv never bought a bc is it normal for a scuba shop to let you bring it back and trade it out if you dont like it or are you kinda of stuck or is it just up to the scuba shop. any info would be great thanks for time......

 

[gfisher4792]

I would recommend visiting different scuba shops and see if you can try out different pieces of equipment, what they're satisfaction policies are, etc. And since you are located in Florida, I will go out on a limb and guess that they're could be at least a handful of stores in your (relative) vicinity.

As for some of your specific questions, a jacket BC (wrap-around) will generally float a diver higher up at the surface than other styles. The tradeoff is lack of comfort as some people (myself included) feel constriction when the BC is inflated. A backinflate BC will float most people just fine at the surface, but it does take some getting used to, and some weight adjustments. Good luck.

 

[DiveMaven]

The back inflate BC will tend to push you face forward on the surface if you over inflate it. If you want to float high up out of the water, stick with the jacket style BC.

 

[BabyDuck]

inflate a back inflate style just enough to float you, and lean back on it like you're in a recliner and it will keep you out of the water just fine. it won't hold you straight-up-and-down like a jacket, but if you can understand how to float on it, you won't have any problems.

 

[tlawler]

I think back inflation is the way to go. You don't get any squeeze like a jacket BC, so there is greater range of motion. Once you get used to compensating for the slight forward positioning that is somewhat inherent of back inflation BC's, it is not a problem. I say "somewhat inherent" because I think this is blown way out of proportion by LDS's wanting to sell a lot of jacket style BC's. You'll pay a little more initially, but in the long run, most back inflation BC's are made of more durable material and will last longer. A couple other pluses are that they are way more adjustable and have a lot of rings for mounting accessories. I have a Zeagle Tech and would never go back to a jacket style. My next BC purchase will be a back plate and wings setup.

 

[Damselfish]

If your wife's jacket BC doesn't keep her up, there is something else wrong. My first guess is that it doesn't really fit her and the jacket is basically floating up without her. When she is on the surface with it inflated, does it look like the shoulders are sneaking up around her ears? Whatever type of BC you use, if it doesn't fit properly you will have problems with it.