BP/W phenomenon

[TeddyDiver]

What a thread! I've been fishing whole weekend (no, I didn't catch anything worth mentioning) But you guys have had a lot of fun here

To topic: Everyone here uses jacket style BC, and so far I'm the only one going to BP/W! My motive: It's for my doubles and wanna get rid of all those nonsense useless pockets...
Although PB/W is coming more popular there's a lot more new divers coming to use a jacket style BC..

My opinion: There's actually any BIG differences btw jacket/BP except the philosophy. With BP you got to selfdefine the combination of BP, wing and harness, with jacket you stucked with options the manufacturers offer you. Many of the modern jacket BC's got boyancy balanced very similar to wings, but wings got much wider range of volume.

 

[Jamdiver]

Has anyone else seen a growing trend with BP/W's in the recreational area? Do you see more of them at your dive sites?

Not really I've only seen about two divers with BP/W's (Halcyon). Both are avid/frequent divers and one of which is seriously into underwater photography. Besides them everyone else I've seen so far has been diving with Jacket BC's.

 

[Rick Inman]

Has anyone else seen a growing trend with BP/W's in the recreational area? Do you see more of them at your dive sites?

No.

I have dived with about 75 or so different people in the Spokane area, and I am the only one sporting the armor. I've seen a couple hundred divers around here, and never seen another bp/w.

90% of the divers I meet only know what they are told by their LDS, and no LDS in my area sells BP/W (a guy once asked about it and the LDS gave them my phone #). So, there is NO CHOICE offered.

Once a diver before his first dive with me looked at my rig and kindly suggested that he could help me "upgrade" to a real BC. After the dive, he also offered to demonstrate to me a "scuba diving" kick, called the flutter kick, instead of that strange swimmers (frog) thing I was doing.

When I travel 200 miles east to dive Puget Sound, most of the divers I dive with use a bp/w. It's like a different world over there.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

No.

I have dived with about 75 or so different people in the Spokane area, and I am the only one sporting the armor. I've seen a couple hundred divers around here, and never seen another bp/w.

90% of the divers I meet only know what they are told by their LDS, and no LDS in my area sells BP/W (a guy once asked about it and the LDS gave them my phone #). So, there is NO CHOICE offered.

Once a diver before his first dive with me looked at my rig and kindly suggested that he could help me "upgrade" to a real BC. After the dive, he also offered to demonstrate to me a "scuba diving" kick, called the flutter kick, instead of that strange swimmers (frog) thing I was doing.

When I travel 200 miles east to dive Puget Sound, most of the divers I dive with use a bp/w. It's like a different world over there.

I was once approached by a diver about this new fangled device that lets him eliminate an extra hose, he saw my setup, approached me and asked me if I was new, he figured that since I didn't have an Air 2 and since I had this obviously newbie looking 7 foot hose I had to be clueless because I didn't use an Air 2, it blew this guys mind why anyone wouldn't want to move to this system to eliminate a hose because everyone he knew was doing it, so I had to be a n00b.

Point is people will latch on to what they are exposed to and take it as the only way, again I think BP/W would be much more popular if the exposure was higher.

 

[MilitantMedic]

Yes I still endure the unrelenting torment of not having "proper"fins ...AKA split fins. And my fins (Jet Fins) are commonly refered to as "vintage" or "neolithic."

I do however know 4 count them 4 divers who use BP/Ws and they only use them on tech dives.

 

[kidspot]

Well after the get together in a couple weeks you should be able to up that count to at least 6 (OnFloat and me)

Similar to Rick (though no where near the experience) I had someone take pity on me because I couldn't afford a "real" bc (ie jacket like she was trained in)... however she now dives a bp/wing that I sold her ... same one she commented on actually - lol

 

[Captain CaveMan]

sat at the quary i had a guy ask me what the aluminum bp was for and why does my bcd have a blader on the back and what the long hose is for? i had to explane the entire thing to him. he said hes been diving for years and never seen that set up before.

 

[paolov]

sat at the quary i had a guy ask me what the aluminum bp was for and why does my bcd have a blader on the back and what the long hose is for? i had to explane the entire thing to him. he said hes been diving for years and never seen that set up before.

hmmmm, i wonder how long it was since he read a dive magazine or did a search on the internet on scuba diving?

 

[OE2X]

Here in Seattle there is a growing trend, but I would say it's say it's slow. It will be interesting in five years or so to see where it is.

One experience I will relate in reference to the trend: A new diver friend of mine came from Colorado to dive with me for a week. I loaned him my Ranger and my Knighthawk. Just for something different, Gratefuldiver loaned him a BPW. He immediately loved it. So much so, that even though he wasn't planning on buying one, the next day he dropped the cash and picked one up. To a certain degree, he might have been influenced by the people he was diving with (Uncle Pug, Shane, Gratefuldiver and a few other DIR trained divers), but I think he would honestly say the main reason was fit. The two BC's that I loaned him were perhaps a bit big on him and that was a factor. In Mike's case he will spend money only if he sees a very good reason to do so and not because of his friends pressuring him. Being part of a trend is not his makeup either. When it comes to tools, hunting gear, camping equipment and dive gear, it either works and is bombproof in real and hypothetical situations or he doesn't waste his money on it. Now if only he bought an HID instead of the cheesey c-cell light...

 

[jepuskar]

I saw a BP/W this last weekend at the quarry....then again it was mine. But I did see an OMS BP.....so thats two BP's. Growing trend....not sure....but im glad i started a somewhat meaningful thread.