Beginner Equipment Advice

[inquis]

IIRC, the harness was not well adjusted (admittedly I was trying it out once) and it was very loose. So it felt like the BCD was floating a bit above my back and I was constantly holding on to it.

Also on the surface, it was a bit weird as my weight belt was pulling my down, the BCD riding up and the crotch strap digging into my groin.

A bit of background info: the shoulder straps on a one-piece harness should be adjusted to be quite loose (at least a fist of space between strap and chest), but the waist tight.

It shouldn't float away from you. Your exposure suit makes you positively buoyant and the gear is negative, which presses both together and is neutral overall. Even with a weight-belt, you should be slightly positive. (This lets you be neutral with an empty wing and reserve gas.)

My first impression is you may have had more lead than necessary, leading to the tug of war between wing and weight-belt with your groin in the middle. A steel BPW, for example, probably requires 2-3 kg less lead than a traditional BCD.

 

[FreqFlier]

BCD Choices - mainly looking at back inflate BCDs

You're in EU - I'd check Seac EQ-PRO bcd, I use it when teaching and I like it very much. My main is Xdeep Zen bp&w