BCD vs BP/W

[JeffG]

Here's the part the BP/wings devotees probably won't want to admit: Scubapro stab jackets (at least my Classic Plus, I haven't checked on all the models available) and the Scubapro Knighthawk CAN BE USED WITH DOUBLES!

Thanks for reminding me...I need to glue some wings on my car and call it a plane.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Thanks for reminding me...I need to glue some wings on my car and call it a plane.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm really not trying to pick a fight or anything here, but what is the basis for the comparison here between the "conventional" BC and the BP/wings? With my BC, I have never noticed all the disadvantages of the conventional BC that people mention. In my early diving with rental gear, the BC may not have fit well and been comfortable, but my Scubapro stab jacket does not give me those problems. It has stainless steel D-rings and a stainless steel buckle. It has pockets and integrated weights, but they aren't failing left and right. I have seen a lot of really old Scubapro BCs around the dive shop and on dive boats that are holding up really well. My stab jacket has a cummerbund (plus a waist strap), but there has never been a question about getting it to fit or be tight enough. It's a depth-compensating cummerbund, so the elastic in the back keeps it nicely adjusted. It's very close to neutrally buoyant, maybe just a little positive, and I certainly don't carry a lot of weight in the ditchable pockets or the trim pockets. Trim is really a breeze and the integrated weights and trim pockets put the weight in comfortable places, like your torso, where you are telling us we are most buoyant. Hovering, staying horizontal, and other skills people say are so much easier in a BP/wings are very easy. I have never seen a tank shift in a properly-adjusted Scubapro BC, which has the best tank strap in the industry. I have never had a problem with air getting trapped in the air cell. Because it is a continuous cell (not just underneath the arms) and has good dump valves, it is always easy to dump air. By the way, there was a thread just the other day about air getting trapped in a BP/wings, and it sounded from the discussion like it is not unusual (I wouldn't know, myself). A stab jacket tends to float you vertically at the surface, and it doesn't ride up around my ears. As all the instructors at our shop know, BC up around the ears on the surface means it is too big. In a properly-fitting stab jacket, the idea of a crotch strap is bizarre, even scary, because you don't need one to keep it in place. I would rather keep that area clear of possible entanglements, myself. Here's the part the BP/wings devotees probably won't want to admit: Scubapro stab jackets (at least my Classic Plus, I haven't checked on all the models available) and the Scubapro Knighthawk CAN BE USED WITH DOUBLES! I haven't done it, but know those who have. So what are you comparing to, the cheap rental BCs you often find at resorts? Have you switched from a well-made, well-designed, properly fitted stab jacket or back-inflate BC to a BP/wings, or from something else? I guess I just haven't seen this crappy jacket-style BC all the BP/wings fans seems to have tried and hated.

Well I haven't used the Classic Plus ... but I wore out an older model ScubaPro SuperHawk before switching to my first BP/W (a DiveRite TransPlate with Rec wing). I loved that BCD. It fit me great, felt good underwater, and did everything I wanted it to do. However, when the (at the time newly-released) TransPlates came in to the shop the owner offered to let me try one. Once I did, I bought it and kept my SuperHawk only for pool use.

Why? Well ... although I had no complaints whatsoever with the SuperHawk, the backplate simply felt more natural. It held the tank more solidly to my body ... which had the unexpected effect of making the walk from the parking lot to the beach (and vice versa) feel much easier. Maintaining horizontal trim felt easier ... not that I had any problems in the SuperHawk, it just felt more natural to hover horizontally in the BP. Instead of dropping the expected 6 lbs, I ended up being able to drop 10.

BTW - I will caveat what you said about the ScubaPro tank strap. It's great as long as you're using the same diameter tanks all the time ... but I use a combination of 8" and 7-1/4" tanks, and that tank strap requires you to manually change the length of the strap at the buckle to accommodate different diameter tanks. It's not a big hassle (I just marked the strap at the appropriate positions with paint pen) ... but it's more effort than using a standard cam buckle. Personally, I like the Dive Rite straps with the metal cam buckle better. The Halcyon straps are also good, but they tend to put chips in painted tanks because of the way the "cam" is built.

At any rate, I tend to agree with your premise that there's absolutely nothing wrong with a good-fitting recreational BCD for recreational purposes. I did enjoy the dives I put on my ScubaPro rig ... but I for sure wouldn't have wanted to use it for doubles, despite ScubaPro's claims that it would work. It's simply not the right tool for that job.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[djanni]

How? I can only "know" what you're talking about based on what you say.


On some things, Don, I am more informed than you are ... but I have never claimed expert status on anything.


I wouldn't know ... I haven't yet had a dive to 220' ... and I'm not sure I'll ever want to.


I know ... I used to work for a Dive Rite dealer ... I am familiar with their gear because I've used it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I wish I'd known you used to work for DR I might have asked you some questions earlier. My new Transpac is due to arrive Monday.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I wish I'd known you used to work for DR I might have asked you some questions earlier. My new Transpac is due to arrive Monday.

To clarify ... I didn't work for DR ... I worked for a shop that sold DR gear. Best of luck with the TransPac. Which wing did you choose?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[djanni]

To clarify ... I didn't work for DR ... I worked for a shop that sold DR gear. Best of luck with the TransPac. Which wing did you choose?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Okay... worked at a dive shop that sold DR.

I got the Dual Super Wing. I thought it's enormous lift and built-in redundancy would be an asset.
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Just kidding...... I got the travel wing. The 16lb weight pockets, small trim weight pockets for the tank bands (which will go on the top band) the Clipper pocket, the Deep Bellows pocket and the Mesh pocket. Maybe I can send the Deep Bellows back as I'm hoping I can settle on the small ones. I want a place to put a retractor to attach to my ProPlusII. The retractor is perfectly located and hidden away in a pocket on my Stiletto. I'm trying to figure out a way to do the same on the TP. I also switched to the 2" croch strap. If I ever wear, which I doubt I will, I think it'll look better than the 1".

Retractor Q: What about using the Retractor with the back plate that screws on and then mounting the retractor directly on the side on the waist belt?

Afterall, the only reason I'm buying this thing is because I think they look good. Cool. I would have gotten a red wing if they offered the travel wing in red.

 

[djanni]

Thanks for reminding me...I need to glue some wings on my car and call it a plane.

:shakehead What... and then dive with it????:shakehead

I wouldn't do that If I were you.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

So what are you comparing to, the cheap rental BCs you often find at resorts? Have you switched from a well-made, well-designed, properly fitted stab jacket or back-inflate BC to a BP/wings, or from something else? I guess I just haven't seen this crappy jacket-style BC all the BP/wings fans seems to have tried and hated.

... Oceanic Chute 2... a Zeagle Ranger... a SeaQuest Balance...

All high mileage and all "High-end" BCs. (I like that term)

Edit: I didn't "hate" any of them. But I probably will never again wear one of these.

 

[TheRedHead]

Stephen, you should try rec.audio.high-end. Very retro with lots of tubes.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Stephen, you should try rec.audio.high-end. Very retro with lots of tubes.

Yah... and CRT projectors at the AVS Forum.