BC/Wing Plate vs. Jacket-style BCD

[vladimir]

I promise it'll be my last Haiku on the Scubaboard.

 

[roakey]

Scubadiving succinctly summed it up:

Our conclusion, after diving with 10 different recreational systems? While they are not for beginners, backplate systems offer a number of advantages including stability, simplicity and the ability to customize your rig... ...and their extra-sturdy construction, multiple D-rings, and the ability to add options and upgrade lift capacities make them a natural choice if you plan to expand your horizons into heavy recreational areas like deep diving or wreck diving, or eventually into full-on tech diving.

Can someone explain why a simple, stable, extra-sturdy and upgradable rig is "not for beginners..."?

I wish folks could get it thorugh their heads that the reason technical divers use a BP&W is not because it's "technical" but because it's simply better. We do more demanding dives and need better gear than the typical "color-is-your-most-important-equipment-choice" marketing-department-designed gear that's foisted on the recreational dive market.

A BP&W is not the least bit technical... but it allows you to go there if you want....

Roak

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

for ocean diving, wings can be a pain in the *** on the surface
every damn time i do a drift dive i end up on the surface, low on air, and no way to keep my head above water while the boat is cruising around picking up other people
just words of caution

you really dont need wings in your not A) caving or B) wreck diving

Hi ... my name is Bob and I'm a BP/wings diver.

I dive mostly in Puget Sound, where we have cold, salt water and loads of current. I've done hundreds of dives in a backplate, mostly in singles, often from a boat, many times in drift dive conditions ... and never ... not once ... have I ever had any issues keeping my head above water while on the surface.

I don't cave dive, and I only occasionally dive wrecks ... but I wouldn't trade my BP/W for any of the three traditional style BCD's (TUSA Imprex Pro, ScubaPro SuperHawk, or Dive Rite TransPac II) that I wore out before I made the switch.

All pieces of gear come with trade-offs ... and BP/w are no exception. But many of the statements I've seen made in this thread simply do not match my diving experiences. The "pushes your face in the water" myth is tops among them.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[roakey]

Hi ... my name is Bob and I'm a BP/wings diver.

Hi Bob!

 

[The Kraken]

You know, it seems to me, as addle brained as I am, that the conventional jacket style and back inflate B/C's more likely be geared to the "tech" divers because of all the added buckles, hooks, snaps, straps, loops etc. than the back plate and wing. I mean with all that stuff hanging there it has to increase the task loading trying to remember where everything is!

A B/P-wing is the simplest of B/C's. There is one buckle, and that's it.

Hi! I'm the Kraken and I'm a B/P-Wing user.

the K

 

[Puffer Fish]

Can someone explain why a simple, stable, extra-sturdy and upgradable rig is "not for beginners..."?

How about the following:

1. It has to be assembled into a rig.

2. It costs more.

3. You have to make a lot of choices - many of which a beginner is not going to know.

There is a place for jacket BC's.

It might be better to say that - you should get B/P-Wing when you know why you should use one. If you have to ask why - the time is not now.

I'm not a jacket fan, but there is a place for them. What I have never understood is the tendency to try to make a jacket BC look like a B/P system, only with 10 D rings, 6 pockets and enough nobs and levers to require a 2 hour instruction class and then sell it to a new diver.

As a side note, spend a couple of days bobbing in the ocean like a cork and those old horse collar units can seem really nice.

 

[jonnythan]

How about the following:

1. It has to be assembled into a rig.

No more so than a Zeagle Ranger. They come assembled, yanno.

2. It costs more.

No more than a typical high-end recreational BC in any dive shop.

3. You have to make a lot of choices - many of which a beginner is not going to know.

There are MANY MANY MANY MANY times more options in the jacket BC market than the bp/wing market.

 

[Puffer Fish]

jonnythan - your are correct about B/P versus a Ranger, and the cost of a high end BC. But there are some special setup and balance issues one has to understand and take the time to do with a B/P, and not everyone has the interest or the technical skills to do that.

I suspect that most of the BC crowd just add or subtract weight when needed, and some likely just over weight themselves and fill the jacket

I would agree, that if you need all of the features of a Ranger, then you most likely are B/P material. But is everyone in that group? Uncle Ricky had it right when he said there is a place for each.

If you look at the reason for why people buy high end equipment, it comes down to:

1. They actually need the features (really small group - but real)

2. They can afford the most expensive and expensive is better, right?

3. They are technical geeks and just like it for the technical aspects (OK, I can get into that one)

4. Somehow, it makes them feel better, somehow bigger and smarter because they own stuff (ever hear of "limited addition")

I've been guilty of all of the above at one time or another.

Most people would do just fine with a good, well made, good fitting, well taken care of $250 BC. (OK, it has to be on sale for that price).

When someone asks "what should I get", the answer should be what is best for them, not you, not me.

One last, somewhat different point of view - spend 6 years dealing with SCUBA accidents up close and personal. The new guy, with $5,000 worth of equipment is a whole bunch more dangerous (to himself and others) than the someone taking the time to grow in the sport. I would rather have 100 divers on a budget, worrying about their equipment, than 5 divers who think having the best equipment makes them supermen.

 

[cyklon_300]

But there are some special setup and balance issues one has to understand and take the time to do with a B/P, and not everyone has the interest or the technical skills to do that.

equipped to deal with adjusting the harness straps on a BP, then you probably need someone to drive you to the dive site. Cars are pretty technical things, too....

 

[Puffer Fish]

CYKLON 300 - its not the driving, it's the oil change/tire pressure thing, and I do know a fair number of people that have "issues" with this sort of thing.

I would hope there is room for more than just one type of person in the water.