BP/W for an 11 year old.... did I make a mistake?

[undefined]

Update - My son and I assembled the gear! It was actually a lot of fun doing it together and I sort of regret not taking mine apart and putting it back together years ago to better understand how everything works. Assembly took us a little under an hour, with lots of pauses to check fitment.

The dive shop we ordered from has been awesome, and I don't hold this against them. They've got all the missing parts ordered and on their way to us, and offered a substantial discount on my next purchase.

We'll be diving tomorrow to test it out. I expect to need to do some further adjustments on site.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

Update - My son and I assembled the gear! It was actually a lot of fun doing it together and I sort of regret not taking mine apart and putting it back together years ago to better understand how everything works. Assembly took us a little under an hour, with lots of pauses to check fitment.

The dive shop we ordered from has been awesome, and I don't hold this against them. They've got all the missing parts ordered and on their way to us, and offered a substantial discount on my next purchase.

We'll be diving tomorrow to test it out. I expect to need to do some further adjustments on site.

Excellent!

 

[lukeb]

To encourage you with my experience, I bought a BP/W for my ten year old and she absolutely loves it! Compared to a regular bcd it is night and day. Her trim in the water is great, and she only needs a couple of lbs (with a short steel plate) if we are in salt water or using a wetsuit in the springs. She wore this rig during her Open Water class and everyone commented on how effortless she looked in the water. I am so happy with how it all turned out!

Once you get the strap lengths all dialed in (it takes a few attempts and a few dives), I think you will be very satisfied with the results.

 

[undefined]

Update:
Today was a complete success. He absolutely loves diving the BP/W. His buoyancy control and trim was substantially better than with rental BCDs. He dove without a wetsuit, with no weights beyond the short SS backplate and unweighted STA. We did a weight check before and after the dive - he'll need some dumpable weight (or the STA weight) when diving with a wetsuit or in salt water, but for diving in the quarry at 0 - 30ft this was just fine.

He also loves the Hollis F1 fins paired with 5mm Bare Ultrawarmth boots I bought for him... go figure, I thought they'd be too heavy and was expecting to just eat the loss and find something else.

Now to find a regular set for him and he'll be all set. He has a hand-me-down Oceanic VT3 (it was a good excuse to buy myself a Teric), so he's all set once we pick out regs.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

Update:
Today was a complete success. He absolutely loves diving the BP/W. His buoyancy control and trim was substantially better than with rental BCDs. He dove without a wetsuit, with no weights beyond the short SS backplate and unweighted STA. We did a weight check before and after the dive - he'll need some dumpable weight (or the STA weight) when diving with a wetsuit or in salt water, but for diving in the quarry at 0 - 30ft this was just fine.

He also loves the Hollis F1 fins paired with 5mm Bare Ultrawarmth boots I bought for him... go figure, I thought they'd be too heavy and was expecting to just eat the loss and find something else.

Now to find a regular set for him and he'll be all set. He has a hand-me-down Oceanic VT3 (it was a good excuse to buy myself a Teric), so he's all set once we pick out regs.

Nice to hear! How did you solve the bolt problem when taking off the STA weight?

 

[undefined]

Nice to hear! How did you solve the bolt problem when taking off the STA weight?

We didn't

The bolts that came with the STA weight worked fine without the STA weight and I triple checked that they were not protruding far enough to touch his skin or cause any discomfort. The correct bolt kit is en route, and I will change them out later this week when the cinch system, bolt kit, backplate padding (which may go unused, he says he doesn't want or need it), and infinity storage bag arrive.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

We didn't

The bolts that came with the STA weight worked fine without the STA weight and I triple checked that they were not protruding far enough to touch his skin or cause any discomfort. The correct bolt kit is en route, and I will change them out later this week when the cinch system, bolt kit, backplate padding (which may go unused, he says he doesn't want or need it), and infinity storage bag arrive.

Hmm, the STA weight didn't have permanent bolts?

 

[stuartv]

I would not put him in a Short plate.

I had a female Intro to Tech student last week that is only slightly taller than 5'. I put her in a Short plate for the first day. The top of the plate was hitting her in a place on her shoulder blades (out of the water) that was causing discomfort.

I put her in a standard sized plate the next day and she was fine. And a standard sized plate was certainly not too tall or wide.

I also would not buy a back plate that had no slots for cam bands (thus requiring you to always use an STA), as I believe the Halcyon Short plates are made. I have never used an STA and would not care to. I like my cylinder to be as close to my body as possible. An STA just holds it up higher off the bank. STAs are simply a band-aid for having a BP that does not have slots for cam bands - as they used to be in the old days.

Similarly, I would not buy a wing that does not have slots for cam bands, nor a wing that only had one set of holes for placement on the back plate. Having slots for cam bands does not mean you can't use an STA if you want to. It just means you CAN ditch the STA, if you want to.

There is no downside to having cam band slots in a wing and BP. There is only a downside to NOT having those slots.

Wings with only one set of holes for attaching to a BP are similarly limited in their flexibility. Sometimes, you might actually WANT to position the wing higher or lower on the BP. Most wings have at least two sets of holes for that. I really don't even understand why Halcyon insists on continuing to make wings with only one set of holes and no cam band slots. But, they do, and there are numerous other options that are JUST as good, do have those extra features, and are less money.

Aluminum plates are fine for single tank. But, when you use them for doubles, the bolts eventually wallow out the bolt holes in the back plate. For that reason, if I wanted a lightweight plate, I would get one like the Dive Rite XT Lite, which is stainless steel, but skeletonized to make it lighter weight. Or scour the used market for a DSS kydex backplate (which is actually what I use for most diving that I do in doubles). But, if you know you are never going to use it for diving doubles, then AL is perfectly fine (in my opinion).

 

[undefined]

Hmm, the STA weight didn't have permanent bolts?

The STA weight bolts have extenders that go into the STA weight. When the weight is removed, they still stick out further than standard bolts but caused no issues.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

The STA weight bolts have extenders that go into the STA weight. When the weight is removed, they still stick out further than standard bolts but caused no issues.

Ah ok, that must be the older model. The new Weights have the bolts permanently attached to the weight. If you take the weight out there is no bolts.