BCD for 12 year old son?
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pollywogg
Guest
There is no problem with your son wearing a women's BC persay, but where I believe you would see a problem is the fact that he is 12, and will be growing like a reed shortly. My buddy is a NAUI instructor, he certified me, and now we're certifying his 12 yeart old son. After much discussion, we decided that a BP/W setup would be ideal. It is a setup that can grow with a diver. Also, because he is 12, we try to keep him as uncluttered as possible, the BP/W let's us do this, quickly and efficiently. My girlfriend is on the small side and I have been considering getting her one to make her more comfortable. Just my $0.02
I was faced with the same situation as you... My 13 yoa daughter was getting ready to hit her growth spirt, and the last thing I wanted was to buy a BC which would only last maybe a year or so. She did her training in a jacket style BC, and then switched her to a BP&W set up. She absolutely loves it, and wished she had it during training.
Another vote for the BP&W, My son use one since he start diving 4 years ago. At the time he was 13 years old and quite small,now he's 6ft tall at 175 pounds all I had to do is change the harness, which cost about $15.
Cheers
Al
Cheers
Al
What is the difference from a BCD and a BP&W? Is it because of price and/or because he will outgrow it. I don't mind buying another when he grows out of it, I just want what is best for him. Thanks for all information, it is greatly appreciated.
pollywogg
Guest
Quick read, non-technical, non biased:
BP/W: Backplate and wing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancy_compensator_(diving)
Now, you've kinda opened up a whole can of worms here. The Backplate and Wing setup will not be a copout or a shortcut because he can grow into it. Instead, you have all the pros of a traditional bc( buoyancy, clips, storage, trim), but the system is completely modular. Need to clip more stuff? Add some D-Rings. Need more lift? Add a larger wing. It's really nice to be able to take a step back and think,"I'm only going to need x lift, so use this wing."(though they can be expensive in themselves)or,"I'm not going to need all of those rings, let me take some off and streamline." It also helps new divers feel less cluttered, and no squeeze like you get in the old school stab jackets. Do your research, but know that your son won't be less safe simply because he is in a BP/W instead of a traditional BC.
BCD's from Scubapro XS,S,M,L,XL,XXL and some styles from Aqua Lung and Zeagle offer comfort by offering many sizes that fit the diver. BP&W (Back Plate & Wing) is a more primitive, and rough and ready to take on the extremes of diving. A metal plate has slots cut into the aluminum, or steel. Usually two inch nylon webbing is slowly threaded in and out to wrap up the diver. This allows tightening up, or loosening the webbing. Very strong for divers carrying multiple tanks. The Wing is an inflatable bag wrapping around the tank, and offers big or small bags for lift.
Rigs from Cousteau in the 1940's, Mike Nelson's "Sea Hunt" in the 1950's to today's cave and ship wreck divers have used variations. . . and I have used such rigs when I dove with double or triple tanks.
Almost all dive shops teach with BC's because if you have the right size they are comfortable. Emphasis on the right size. A poor fit will let the tank flop around on the back. BC Jackets don't have as much variation of fit, so setting one up for a beginner is easier. Putting the plate on your son's back, then running the straps is time consuming,then the straps must be fixed not to move very much or the fit is affected.
At your son's age, no one will teach him to dive caves, or multi tank ship wrecks, ease him into single tank, shallow water, easy dives. . . then with experience, he can choose any style rig for comfort, or heavy duty diving.
Dry_Diver
Contributor
If you are looking for a great BCD not BP/W set up. Then I would say to look into a Seasoft. Their Seasoft Pro only comes in two sizes. I have seen the large put on a 300lbs plus man over 6' be taken off adjusted and put on a kid that was around 5' and could not have been 150lbs soaking wet. This amount of ajustablility will offer quite a bit of room for your son to grow and still allow the bcd to fit him well.
Good luck
Good luck
shoturtle
Contributor
Very well said.
Also a BP/W is more difficult to get the trim correct for the surface. They then to lean you forward with the face in the water and requires some work to keep your face out of the water. And it tend to keep you afloat to the neck only. While a bcd has more lift, so it lift you out of the water higher. Which allow the boat to see you better.
This is a total fallacy. BPW 's only lean you forward when they are overinflated. Many times this is a result of not being properly weighted in the first place. Properly set up a BPW is no more likely to face plant you than any other bc. You simply put enough air in to get your head above water, lean back, and relax. A BC that will lift you that much higher is also likely to ride up around your armpits and be very uncomfortable. The crotch strap on a BPW keeps the bc where it is supposed to be. If you are that far away from the boat that the 2-3 inches of extra lift is needed to be seen it's time to deploy the safety sausage and hit the dive alert. And in any case if the seas have 1-2 ft of chop a bc that lifts you a few extra inches makes no real difference. If the top of your head is ten inches out with a BPW and 14 with a jacket bc those 2 ft waves are still going to be higher. And since when is surface trim more important than trim under water? It is much easier to get horizontal when the weight is where it is supposed to be. Generally that is over the largest air space which happens to be the lungs.
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