BP/W phenomenon

[Mike Veitch]

Ahh fellas your not reading the lines or perhaps i am not expressing myself the way i want. Its not the BPW that bothers me, its the people who express it as the only way to dive....and yes "pants" my nethers are all knotted in a bunch, must be a year of keeping my "Yap" shut!
Rec Diver, definitely not,advanced through instuctor in the lovely 48 degree water of Vancouver allowed me to learn wisdom a long time ago

Jepuskar, i didn't say not good for everyday diving, just not the be all and end all that the big pushers of BPW keep going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about. Seems to me just by reading SB that about 85% of divers wear one, tis actually less than 5% i would say.
Have to love the attention i get when i actually argue against it eh? WOnder how many more replies i have received in the time it took to write this?

 

[jepuskar]

I somewhat get what you're saying, but in your post it was a little misleading...

The only thing that aggravates me and this goes for all equipment..is when some asks about a type of BC and then someone says...why dont you just get a BP/W....that aggravates me...

Also, someone in the Exposure Suit section asked what a good neoprene drysuit is and it didnt take too long for people to start pushing trilam on them......thats what aggravates me....but thats still not what why I started this thread.

I just wanted to know if others think there is a growing trend with BP/W.

 

[Otter]

Ahh fellas your not reading the lines or perhaps i am not expressing myself the way i want. Its not the BPW that bothers me, its the people who express it as the only way to dive....and yes "pants" my nethers are all knotted in a bunch, must be a year of keeping my "Yap" shut!
Rec Diver, definitely not,advanced through instuctor in the lovely 48 degree water of Vancouver allowed me to learn wisdom a long time ago

Jepuskar, i didn't say not good for everyday diving, just not the be all and end all that the big pushers of BPW keep going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about. Seems to me just by reading SB that about 85% of divers wear one, tis actually less than 5% i would say.
Have to love the attention i get when i actually argue against it eh? WOnder how many more replies i have received in the time it took to write this?

What the downside to BP/W for the avg recreational diver?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Nothing odd about that at all. Rodales reviews are thinly disguised "infomercials". Most of the manufacturers write their own product-reviews and the amount paid for the spot has a big influence on the outcome. Halcyon didn't anti-up so they simply don't play in Rodale's world (in any event, I suspect the people at Halcyon would be mortified to be reviewed in Rodales).

Maybe Rodales were, or were not, I can't say but ScubaDiving is no longer a Rodale Publication.

My goods were top rated in the referenced review, and I have never purchased any advertising in ScubaDiving Magazine. My experience with the folks at ScubaLab was very good. They were professional in every sense of the word.

I will say that manufacturers can have a variety of reasons for choosing not to participate in a review.

In no particular order:
Bad past experiences
New model not quite ready to release, and don't want to have current soon to be old model reviewed.
Don't think the objective of review (in this case a "recreational" BP&W) is consistent with their target market.
Don't want to risk not being number one.......

I faced the same choices in years past in other industries.

Regards,


Tobin

 

[The Kraken]

Jepuskar,
I think there is a growing trend in the use of B/P's and wings in the recreational diving environment, but I don't think it as pronounced in the global diving population as it is here on the ScubaBoard.

the K

 

[cool_hardware52]

What the downside to BP/W for the avg recreational diver?

Hi Otter,

Recreational Diving is almost exclusively single tank diving, which means that almost all Recreational BP&W users will be using gear that was originally designed for doubles, and Adapted for single tanks.

Some of the earlier adaptations were less than ideal. Take for example some body that bolted a single tank adapter to a Plate and wing desinged for doubles. The result is a major wing taco around the single tank, and a unshakeable opinion that a BP&W is terrible for "Recreational" diving. Remember that wide availablity of wings specifically designed for single tanks is a fairly recent development.

More recent efforts, i.e. BP&W's designed from the start to be used with single tanks, have over come some or most of these problems.


Regards,



Tobin

 

[jepuskar]

K,

I agree with you 100%.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Growing trend? I don’t see much of a growing trend…not yet…not in my diving circles.

At my shop I’m the only one that uses a BP/wing for all of my diving. Lately, however two other instructors have started to use them…but only infrequently and only for specific reasons. I think one reason that I don’t see more of our divers in them is because of the limited use the BP/wings get from our staff and I think that one of the biggest reasons that our staff does not use them much has a lot to do with merchandizing…selling name brand BCs…quality gear that is perfectly fine for recreational diving. The other important reason that our staff doesn’t wear these has to do with the fact that they are just plain not that familiar with this type of gear.

We carry Oceanic and Seaquest and a few other brands. The staff is responsible for wearing and advertising this gear. Our only source for BP/wings is OMS. Unfortunately, this makes selling BP/wings problematic for many reasons. For instance, how can you sell this stuff if you can’t get it from the manufacturer? Try getting an STA from OMS. They don’t have them in stock…because of the “metal shortage”. It’s always some problem when dealing with them…back order, vapor wear, etc.

I don’t use the shop’s brand so I’ve had to cut off all the labels on my gear so that it appears generic.

Downsides of using this gear for rec diving?
They are definitely not as easy as a BC to adjust for fit. Yes, once adjusted they are cake getting in and out of. But if you use different exposure suits on a frequent basis, you either have to live with a less than perfect fit, readjusting with each change in suit, or purchasing several different plates.
They don’t look near as attractive to many customers and they appear techie and uncomfortable.
On land, if diving without an exposure suit, the straps can rub the skin a little.
They don’t have all the pockets and stuff that some folks like.

I think the downsides are pretty minimal. But to some customers they apparently are very important.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

I think that if the major manufactures like Oceanic and such would make a BP/wing combo, then more shops would carry them and as a result more of their staff would dive in this setup. At least, wearing this gear would become a more viable option for the staff. If the LDS staff wore this gear more often, then it would follow that more and more of their customers would wear this gear, as well.

As it is, this gear is somewhat difficult to get…from the perspective of a LDS. You either have to deal with OMS, Diverite or Scubapro…or maybe a few others. If you don’t carry these lines you’re pretty much without a source for this type of gear. Unfortunately, some of the better gear out there is made by smaller companies or individuals…sources that are not…or appear to me, at least…not a viable option for the LDS.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I think that if the major manufactures like Oceanic and such would make a BP/wing combo, then more shops would carry them and as a result more of their staff would dive in this setup. At least, wearing this gear would become a more viable option for the staff. If the LDS staff wore this gear more often, then it would follow that more and more of their customers would wear this gear, as well.

As it is, this gear is somewhat difficult to get…from the perspective of a LDS. You either have to deal with OMS, Diverite or Scubapro…or maybe a few others. If you don’t carry these lines you’re pretty much without a source for this type of gear. Unfortunately, some of the better gear out there is made by smaller companies or individuals…sources that are not…or appear to me, at least…not a viable option for the LDS.

I'd be happy to speak to your LDS.

Pm me if you like.


Tobin