vjongene
Contributor
I am in the process of buying a new BC, and pondering the relative advantages of BCs without a backplate but with a back-mounted bladder, and a "real" BP/W setup. So far, I have to admit that the back-inflatable BCs seem to make more sense, given my requirements, but I am willing to listen to contrary opinions.
Here are a few pieces of relevant information:
- I regularly dive in a cold freshwater lake. I wear a two-piece 7 mm wet suit in summer, and a dry suit in winter. I need about 15 lb of weight with the wet suit, and 22 lb with the dry suit. I dive with a single 15l steel tank, occasionally a 12l.
- At least twice a year, I go diving in a tropical location and bring my gear with me. I do not want anything too bulky or heavy in my bag. Diving salt water in a 3 mm suit and with an AL80 I need about 14 lb of weight.
- I have no intention to move to doubles in the foreseeable future, or to carry side-mounted stage bottles.
- Given my type of diving, I do not think I need more than 30 lb of lift.
- For my last 200 dives or so, I have been using a Scubapro Master Jacket, ca 1990 vintage, with an internal harness and an independent jacket-style bladder. It fits like an old shoe, but it forces me to put all of my lead on a belt, it doesn't provide an ideal trim, and it is rather bulky.
And this is what I would like to achieve:
- Dive a more streamlined configuration, with lower drag in the water.
- Move some of my weight (about 10 lb) to the rig, in a form that I do not have to pack when I travel.
- Achieve a better trim (weight distribution) overall.
I bought a Mares Morphos Twin BC a couple of months ago, hoping to acheive these goals. I dove it only about half a dozen times, and it disappeared during our recent trip to the Marshalls, but anyway I was not entirely happy with it (shoulder straps too far apart, D-rings difficult to reach, performance of the Airtrim system, etc). However, I really liked the feel of the bladder on my back, and I want to stick with a back-inflated BC.
Given all of the above, I see three possible paths I could take:
1) Find another back-inflated BC with non-ditchable weight pockets in the back. I am thinking about the Zeagle Ranger or Brigade, ot the Tusa BCJ-5900 (the latter highly recommended by a local diver).
2) Get a harness and wing without a BP, along the lines of a Dive Rite TransPac or an OxyCheq O-Pac, and add weight pockets to the cam bands.
3) Get a BP/W setup with a stainless steel BP. In this case, I would probably also need a lightweight BP for when I travel.
The cost for options 1 or 2 would be around $450 (plus shipping, VAT and customs). The cost for option 3, if two backplates are required, would be substantially more (at least $600 AFAICT). Also, option 3 would require that I re-thread the harness from one BP to another every time I leave for a trip and every time I come back. Additionally, option 1 would provide me with some pockets on the BC where I could store things like deco tables, an SMB, a digital camera, etc. So all in all, this is where I am leaning.
Given the overall enthousiasm on SB for BP/W configurations, I expect that some members will have good arguments why I should choose option 3 (or others that I may not have thought about). Opinions welcome!
Victor J.
Here are a few pieces of relevant information:
- I regularly dive in a cold freshwater lake. I wear a two-piece 7 mm wet suit in summer, and a dry suit in winter. I need about 15 lb of weight with the wet suit, and 22 lb with the dry suit. I dive with a single 15l steel tank, occasionally a 12l.
- At least twice a year, I go diving in a tropical location and bring my gear with me. I do not want anything too bulky or heavy in my bag. Diving salt water in a 3 mm suit and with an AL80 I need about 14 lb of weight.
- I have no intention to move to doubles in the foreseeable future, or to carry side-mounted stage bottles.
- Given my type of diving, I do not think I need more than 30 lb of lift.
- For my last 200 dives or so, I have been using a Scubapro Master Jacket, ca 1990 vintage, with an internal harness and an independent jacket-style bladder. It fits like an old shoe, but it forces me to put all of my lead on a belt, it doesn't provide an ideal trim, and it is rather bulky.
And this is what I would like to achieve:
- Dive a more streamlined configuration, with lower drag in the water.
- Move some of my weight (about 10 lb) to the rig, in a form that I do not have to pack when I travel.
- Achieve a better trim (weight distribution) overall.
I bought a Mares Morphos Twin BC a couple of months ago, hoping to acheive these goals. I dove it only about half a dozen times, and it disappeared during our recent trip to the Marshalls, but anyway I was not entirely happy with it (shoulder straps too far apart, D-rings difficult to reach, performance of the Airtrim system, etc). However, I really liked the feel of the bladder on my back, and I want to stick with a back-inflated BC.
Given all of the above, I see three possible paths I could take:
1) Find another back-inflated BC with non-ditchable weight pockets in the back. I am thinking about the Zeagle Ranger or Brigade, ot the Tusa BCJ-5900 (the latter highly recommended by a local diver).
2) Get a harness and wing without a BP, along the lines of a Dive Rite TransPac or an OxyCheq O-Pac, and add weight pockets to the cam bands.
3) Get a BP/W setup with a stainless steel BP. In this case, I would probably also need a lightweight BP for when I travel.
The cost for options 1 or 2 would be around $450 (plus shipping, VAT and customs). The cost for option 3, if two backplates are required, would be substantially more (at least $600 AFAICT). Also, option 3 would require that I re-thread the harness from one BP to another every time I leave for a trip and every time I come back. Additionally, option 1 would provide me with some pockets on the BC where I could store things like deco tables, an SMB, a digital camera, etc. So all in all, this is where I am leaning.
Given the overall enthousiasm on SB for BP/W configurations, I expect that some members will have good arguments why I should choose option 3 (or others that I may not have thought about). Opinions welcome!
Victor J.
