BC Advice

[REVAN]

I've always been kind of a fish, but I started out with a basic harness (no BC). I just did some simple shore dives to get my weighting figured out and dove that harness for a couple years before collecting the money for a better harness and a wing. After a few more years diving that setup, I eventually dropped the wing because I mostly dive 3mm suits down to skin and don't usually dive past 30m. With those parameters, the BC part isn't really necessary. I find I have better dives when I just use my good harness and leave the BC at home.

Learn to use proper weighting early in your diving career. Get OCD about proper weighting even. It's better than being a part of the crowd that learns to habitually overweight and then compensate for a lack of attention to details. You'll know you're doing it right when you never use your BC, at which point you can ditch it.

 

[lerpy]

Another vote her for going with BP/W. I started with BCD and a techie buddy quickly corrected that for me, well first it was a soft harness and wing, then I moved to the BP.

 

[Neilwood]

I've always been kind of a fish, but I started out with a basic harness (no BC). I just did some simple shore dives to get my weighting figured out and dove that harness for a couple years before collecting the money for a better harness and a wing. After a few more years diving that setup, I eventually dropped the wing because I mostly dive 3mm suits down to skin and don't usually dive past 30m. With those parameters, the BC part isn't really necessary. I find I have better dives when I just use my good harness and leave the BC at home.

Learn to use proper weighting early in your diving career. Get OCD about proper weighting even. It's better than being a part of the crowd that learns to habitually overweight and then compensate for a lack of attention to details. You'll know you're doing it right when you never use your BC, at which point you can ditch it.

Those parameters might allow you to dive with no BC but they don't apply to a lot of divers. I certainly can't dive 3mm or skin at any time of the year without hypothermia seeing in within minutes. With 7mm wetsuits or drysuits the situation changes completely with more weight being a requirement with buoyancy becoming variable with depth.

Ditch the bc over here or anywhere with colder conditions with the right weighting for offsetting the buoyancy of the wetsuit and it will not end well.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Those parameters might allow you to dive with no BC but they don't apply to a lot of divers. I certainly can't dive 3mm or skin at any time of the year without hypothermia seeing in within minutes. With 7mm wetsuits or drysuits the situation changes completely with more weight being a requirement with buoyancy becoming variable with depth.

Ditch the bc over here or anywhere with colder conditions with the right weighting for offsetting the buoyancy of the wetsuit and it will not end well.

Not entirely true.
people dove in 1/4" (6.5 mm) wetsuits all the time in the cold waters of California way before BC's were invented. I dive all the time with no BC in Northern California in a 7mm wetsuit which is just a tad more than a quarter inch but not enough to matter. Water averages 50 degrees.
I freedive with no form of depth compensation, and I can scuba dive with no form of depth compensation. You have to understand what minimalism is and how it works.
You have to learn it and understand the weighting and the limitations. If done right it's simply wonderfull and entirely safe. Many new age divers think "no BC" means sinking directly to the bottom and fighting like hell to stay floating. This is because all they know is the modern way most agencies teach weighting and the current climate of overweighting, plus some of it has to do with how modern jackets are designed and lend themselves too easily to be abused.
For deeper dives coming up against NDL's where you know a stop or two will be needed, minimalism may not be the best idea. A wing would be needed and it's one of the benefits or modern gear. The BC has changed how divers dive and has widened the parameters and increased profiles that were difficult prior to the BC's. That's the upside, unfortunately BC's and their proper use has also been mis interpreted and abused.

For shallow hunting dives where speed and maneuverability are needed and the diver doesn't get anywhere NDL, diving with no BC is a great way to dive. It only gets easier the thinner the suit gets. If I can make it work in a 7mm then a 5 or a 3 are no problem.

 

[REVAN]

Not entirely true.people dove in 1/4" (6.5 mm) wetsuits all the time in the cold waters of California way before BC's were invented. I dive all the time with no BC in Northern California in a 7mm wetsuit which is just a tad more than a quarter inch but not enough to matter. Water averages 50 degrees.I freedive with no form of depth compensation, and I can scuba dive with no form of depth compensation. You have to understand what minimalism is and how it works.You have to learn it and understand the weighting and the limitations. If done right it's simply wonderfull and entirely safe. Many new age divers think "no BC" means sinking directly to the bottom and fighting like hell to stay floating. This is because all they know is the modern way most agencies teach weighting and the current climate of overweighting, plus some of it has to do with how modern jackets are designed and lend themselves too easily to be abused.For deeper dives coming up against NDL's where you know a stop or two will be needed, minimalism may not be the best idea. A wing would be needed and it's one of the benefits or modern gear. The BC has changed how divers dive and has widened the parameters and increased profiles that were difficult prior to the BC's. That's the upside, unfortunately BC's and their proper use has also been mis interpreted and abused. For shallow hunting dives where speed and maneuverability are needed and the diver doesn't get anywhere NDL, diving with no BC is a great way to dive. It only gets easier the thinner the suit gets. If I can make it work in a 7mm then a 5 or a 3 are no problem.

I second that. I've dove 1/4 inch and 7mm wetsuits with no BC. It takes a little more attention to planning, but it's still a great dive within proper diving constraints. I've also done a bunch in a dry suit. That's even easier to plan, but I can't stand diving dry suits any more. I find the drag they create to be infuriating and not worth it. My 7mm open cell wetsuit is actually warmer than was my dry suit at the depths I like to dive now days anyway. I have since sold the dry suit.

 

[timz]

This is how backplate and wing looks like. It's basically a harness weave through a stainless steel or aluminium plate with an aircell attached to the back of the plate.

When i was looking for my BC, SB is where i got my information. So I bought the Dive Rite Travelpac XT4000. It has almost sinilar configuration with backplate and wing except they sewed a plastic/nylon backplate into the wing(aircell) for light travel purpose.

Because i was trained to use jacket style and had abt 20 confined water in the pool with jacket BCD, i have a little trouble esspecially on the surface where the wing keep pushing ur head forward and while diving, u have to keep heading up and causes some neck pain because ur body is horizontal.

However, now having about 15 saltwater dives and 5 pool dives with it, i kinda get used to it and like it. On the surface, i am able to lay on the wing and have no issue with it.

If you are going to get a backplate and wing, get used to it in the early stage and enjoy the dive later.

Using a backplate and wing allows u to have a better streamline profile.

Just sharing my personal experience because i went through the same dillema of bcd selection like you do.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

With a plate and wing the wing does not actually try to keep your face in the water on the surface. Improper use of it does that. Coupled with being overweighted and/or that weight not being properly distributed. This results in excess air needed in the wing to get the chin out of the water. Overfill the wing with all the weight towards the front or even the hips and of course you are going to feel like it's pushing you forward. Having the crotch strap too loose will also exacerbate the issue. What's actually doing it though is not the gear. It's a lack of skills and knowledge.

 

[Diver0001]

I agree with Jim. I sometimes play "victim" for the rescue course and what I've noticed is that if I go totally limp and let myself drift to the surface from a few feet under is that the orientation you're in when you reach the surface, and the amount of air in the BCD at the time, will determine whether or not you are held "face down" in the water. The type of BCD seems to be irrelevant. I use both. A jacket will hold you face down in the water too if that's the way you reached the surface.

When I learned to dive my instructor was very explicit in his dislike for BP/W due to the risk of being held face-down in the water if you were unconscious. He saw it as a major safety risk. That said, at the time many divers were still using horse collars and those *will* hold you face up almost every time. Given the the context of modern gear, however, the face-up/face-down discussion is pretty much a non issue in terms of safety.

R..

 

[CuzzA]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the use/creation of a BCD primarily due to the buoyancy characteristics of aluminum tanks? In other words when the transition went from steel to aluminum tanks divers had to overweight themselves to compensate for the positive buoyancy at the end of a dive so since they were overweighted they needed buoyancy compensation from becoming a negative sand bed rocket. Neoprene being the second issue, but my understanding is that could be mitigated by being properly weighted and climbing down an anchor line until your suit compressed and you were then neutral. If a problem came up, you ditched weights and up you went. This of course was before safety stops, etc.

Anyway, not sure a harness alone is a good idea for the new diver or any diver, IMO. If you're only diving on vacation you'll be diving aluminum tanks and while warm water diving may not require neoprene I still wear a 1 mil in the summer here in Florida. Mainly for protection against things that sting and have spikes and teeth (hunter). And I would imagine that the best time to take a vacation for those who live up north is during the winter. And the water in Florida, if that is where you were traveling to for example, can still get chilly in the winter so that is something to take into consideration.

To the OP, I think the BP/W is the best BCD for all the reasons already mentioned, but I can offer a biased review of an alternative. I own the Dive Rite HunterPac. Now, you may have no intentions of being a hunter, but remember it's just a made up name. This BCD is what I would describe as a harness and integrated "soft" back plate with wing. It's function is nearly identical to a traditional BP/W, however it's obviously much lighter (no hard backplate) and can be folded up small in a suitcase (perfect for travel, weights can be rented for cheap). There's no cumbersome jacket around your body like many of the vest style bcd's. It's a minimalistic design, like a BP/W, gives you a very free range of motion. You can add pockets, d rings, accessories or whatever you like to the harness. For me, I have ditchable tank mounted Armor weight pockets on the cam straps, a Dive Rite pocket and PLB canister on the waste harness and a titanium knife on my chest strap. If I want to add or change something, it's as simple as sliding it off and on the waist harness. For example, on a recent night dive I just slipped a flashlight holster on the waist harness to add a backup light. And finally the best part is it's less than $400. With proper care, silicone spraying, freshwater dunking and bladder flushing it will last me decades I'm sure.

Hope this helps.
Good luck.

 

[timz]

With a plate and wing the wing does not actually try to keep your face in the water on the surface. Improper use of it does that. Coupled with being overweighted and/or that weight not being properly distributed. This results in excess air needed in the wing to get the chin out of the water. Overfill the wing with all the weight towards the front or even the hips and of course you are going to feel like it's pushing you forward. Having the crotch strap too loose will also exacerbate the issue. What's actually doing it though is not the gear. It's a lack of skills and knowledge.

Like said. I felt it i the begining. I have no problem now. Because with jacket bcd, there is no problem at all. It's all about getting use to the equipment.

Once u know the equipment, it's better than jacket bcd in alot of way.