BP/W..... one BC to rule them all??

[halocline]

Q. What happens if you sing a country song about scuba backwards?

A. You get your dog back, your truck back, your girlfriend back, your BC failure fixed, your dive buddy back, you are no longer overweighted, and your leg cramp disappears.

 

[ams511]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great replies. For my local lake I was wearing 12 pounds of lead with a jacket and Al80 and a 2:1 shorty. I'd consider myself a "lean" diver at 7% body fat. My wife was wearing only 8 pounds in her jacket but was diving a HP80 with a shorty. For reference when I was diving in cold Cali waters I was wearing 16-18 pounds of lead for a 7mm and AL80 in a jacket bc. While the shorty suits where fine for the ~75* surface water for the 100* day, what another poster said was pretty accurate. "you won't stay long past the thermocline". I haven't dove tropical waters yet, and see why no suit or a shorty would make sense on the surface, but do people rock thicker suits to go deeper?So far I am thinking an AL plate with some trim pockets and a ditch able belt looks like the best choice as adding or subtracting lead seems a lot easier than limiting what tanks and suits I can jump in with, especially when I am going from fresh to salt and plan on flying my gear. What say the board?

I think you were referencing my post. When diving lakes in Pennsylvania the surface water temperature was in the low 70s but past the thermocline the temperature was in the 50s. For wetsuits most people wore a 2 piece 7 mil along with a hood (very important), gloves, and thicker booties. With that I was comfortable down to 90 ft or so. At around 120 ft the suit compression made my cold to the point of chattering teeth. I was in my late 30s at the time but most of my partners in the club were in their early 20s and they felt the same way. This setup is why I recommended a wing in the 30 lb to 40 lb class.

As far as tropical diving goes, it depends on the time of year and the location. In South Florida depending on the season and depth you go from wearing just a swim suit to a 5 mil 1 piece. I personally prefer a full suit in the ocean to protect against stings and such.