Something like this:
DGX Custom - DGX Singles Harness / Backplate / Wing Package | Dive Gear Express® is a very good option. Very suited for beginner, intermediate, or advanced depending on what you do. Other similar systems are:
Deep 6 Single Tank Backplate and Wing Package, or DiveRite
BP/W Package Configurator. BP/W are a type of back inflate BC that is used by most technical divers, for several reasons including modularity, but it is very applicable to recreational beginner divers. If my relatives, including young nieces/nephews, wanted to dive, it is what I would recommend for them. Likely one of the packages above. A bit of a guide is here:
Beginners Guide To BP/W. See the women's sub forum for how women find the fit, apparently favorably. If your wife, or you, are short, there are short backplates that many report making a big difference. More in the women's sub forum, as most were women.
On 'Best'.... I think back inflate have many advantages, and, among them, PB/W are best. There are various threads on this. Judging among BP/Ws is more challenging.
- Webbing is standardized to 2" industrial strength, and robust. You can get different colors, and stiffness, particularly from
Webbing Piranha Dive Shop |, though black and medium are the defaults, with soft for the crotch strap.
- Steel or aluminum plates are all mostly the same shapes, and very robust. If you have lots of lead, as steel plate can be used for some of that ballast. If you're diving tropics, an aluminum plate gives you flexibility for there the little ballast you need goes. Some have a bit more rounded edges. A few, oddball super low cost, have a tad less stain resistant versions of stainless steel. Some you can get anodized colors. You could water jet cut designs in them at your local metal/artist shop.
- Wings are the main variation, they are the vulnerable bit as is any BC bladder, but are fairly simple. It is a robust bag with an inflator. Shapes vary a bit, which does influence ease of trim. Amount of lift vary. Some can come as super robust, like DiveRite SuperFabric XT. Some, Halcyon and others, have great customer service. Some, Deep6, have material that sheds water well so dries quickly.
- Some wings come in colors or monogramming,
Voyager EXP Wing Series, though often leaving the lower price ranges:
OxyCheq - Single Tank Wings - BCD's - Sport Dive Equipment, or
Get color SCUBA BCD, make it fully custom and personalized - XDEEP, or
https://www.diveseekers.com/Halcyon_Custom_Color_add_on_p/hal-custom.htm.
- Various D rings, buckles, etc that come or get added are very similar, or are just basic dog standard high quality stainless steel hardware. They are also rather interchangeable, so if you go a different way you can change them up.
- Some need/use an STA (see the Beginners Guide above). Some have built in tank stabilizer ridges.
- Some brands are premium, Halcyon is in this group; how much value that buys you is debatable. (I say that as someone with really expensive fins, and regulators that are separately: expensive but great/excellent (SP Mk25/S600), excellent (Deep6), or cheap but great/excellent (SP 156). Who tries to buy the best part for the job, plus a spare.)
You want a pair of trim weight pockets to hold a few pounds, say up to 4-5 each, nothing massive, 2-3 each is usually what you might want in them. The availability of holding that much lets you adjust where you put lead to get yourself trimmed out horizontal, which will make swimming and depth control easier, using less effort and air. I've liked these,
DGX Trim Weight Pocket (each) | Dive Gear Express®, and I just got some of these I like from SubGravity
Trim Weight Pocket.
Plus a weight belt. Or if you want your ditchable weights integrated to the BC, you can add these as well. There are some advantages to keeping some weight in a weight belt, in terms of making the BC easier to handle on land or manipulate if you need to take it off in the water. You can even do both, though that can get cluttered depending on your waist and height real-estate and how much you try to carry in each. The backplate helps with that a bit by providing some of your ballast, and along your back which usually helps with trim.
On 'Best'... integrated pockets: they vary, though all for BP/W fit on 2" webbing, so you should be able to use any of them on any BP/W. Some are (overly) huge, bulky, ugly, and accidental release would, if full, have a big dangerous effect on your buoyancy. (It's not as if I have a view on that...) Some, the 'medium/small' vs 'large' size, are decently modest sized. Most close with a variant of a big-fastex-buckle, which works fairly well. Some release forward, some release down. In just depends on what, you think, you might like. I have the Halcyon 5-ish pound ACB pockets, which I like. For a weight belt I have ones with pockets, or ones I made from webbing, a buckle, and trim pockets, which makes adjustment or travel easy.
Many of the power inflators are the same model, basically this:
45-degree Oral Power Inflator | Dive Gear Express®. That is fairly standard across many well regarded BC bladders. You want good flow from the power inflator, so adjusting/filling does not take forever. But also not huge massive flow, as then fine control is problematic, as you would get a huge increase of air which makes it difficult to add just the little bit of air that you needed. My xDeep, DiveRite, and OxyCheq BC wings all seem to have this same inflator and all of them give good control. I would step away from the Aqualung I3 lever systems as the mechanism adds extra complexity, complexity in gear in the ocean or on travel is not really a good thing.
Where you plan to dive (very cold or warm tropics) can have an effect as it influences how much lift you need to compensate for wetsuit compression. But around 30 lb. of lift is likely good to handle most modestly cold climates as well as not be too big for those idyllic tropics dives. I've dove a 30 lb. lift wing in Norther California, though my current main wings are 42 (for sidemount) and 45 (for tiny doubles) pounds, plus I have a very thick suit. See here for the factors that go into the question of how much lift, and more exact calculations.
Optimal Buoyancy Computer
Jay's post, in your where to buy thread, covers the usual shops people seem to get stuff from.
For Sale - For Sale
