Ayisha
Contributor
I will need to replace my BCD this summer and am contemplating going to a backplate and wing. I have a Small Genesis Athena BCD which I love and have had no issues with, but I believe it is no longer manufactured. Last summer, I looked at a short backplate and I think it was a 30 lb wing, and I thought this would be a good way to go. The owner of the shop, who wears a backplate and wing himself and caters to a lot of tech and rb divers, told me that you have to be somewhat of a contortionist to get in and out of the backplate, it would be set specifically to me, and I might not like fighting with it. I was confused by this, since I always hear many positives about backplates and wings.
The LDS owner recommended instead the Scubapro Ladyhawk, and I knew from the past that I did not like the old inflator/deflator buttons on the Scubapros. He showed me the newer easier button and said he could put a Sherwood style grip on it instead if I wanted. He gave me a rental Ladyhawk to try, and it was the older button version, which I found to be very hard to press and not intuitive, and it was difficult to vent, though manageable. Fighting with the buttons weren't fun, and I went right back to my Athena BC after the first dive. I returned the BC after-hours, and it is in a popular dive area not that close to where I live, so I didn't see him again or get or give feedback.
I am just a recreational, single tank diver. I have been diving in caverns and sometimes do light penetration of wrecks, but most of my diving is o/w, no overhead, no deco, simple diving.
Does a backplate/wing setup have to be difficult to get into?
The LDS owner recommended instead the Scubapro Ladyhawk, and I knew from the past that I did not like the old inflator/deflator buttons on the Scubapros. He showed me the newer easier button and said he could put a Sherwood style grip on it instead if I wanted. He gave me a rental Ladyhawk to try, and it was the older button version, which I found to be very hard to press and not intuitive, and it was difficult to vent, though manageable. Fighting with the buttons weren't fun, and I went right back to my Athena BC after the first dive. I returned the BC after-hours, and it is in a popular dive area not that close to where I live, so I didn't see him again or get or give feedback.
I am just a recreational, single tank diver. I have been diving in caverns and sometimes do light penetration of wrecks, but most of my diving is o/w, no overhead, no deco, simple diving.
Does a backplate/wing setup have to be difficult to get into?