BP/W vs Jacket style BCD

[cloudswinger]

I'm not positive on this one, but, I think this poster may have been referring to the urban slang definition of turtling or turtle head. As opposed to the nautical definition that was being used in this thread.

Well, for surfers, turning turtle is when you wrap the board with your feet and flip underwater so the breaking wave goes over the bottom side of the board, and then you quickly turn back up and paddle like crazy again. It's for when your board is too big to duck dive.

It seems that in diving, the negative bouyancy of the gear can cause you to end up facing the sky?

I've heard the turtle head term a lot in the theatre/circus world, especially when guys are wearing tights.

 

[SNorman]

Arg... I am so undecided about BCD vs BP/W that I haven't purchased either one yet and probably won't for a while.

 

[Daxter]

I think one thing to consider is what type of diving you do. Here most dive dry, with the Deep Sea Supply BP/W that I have it has the weight plates attached to the BP and I use very little weight on the belt. When I go on vac. I remove the plates and it is easier IMHO to pack then my Balance BC.

One other thing the BP/W fit me when I was 225lbs and it fits me now at 160lbs while my Balance now hangs in storage. As well it can adapt to doubles or any type of diving I want to try.

 

[Aquabear]

I have a BP Bac Jac. Great for diving in NY-plenty of life and real easy to pack for trips to warmer waters. my only downside is the roll up pockets are small and not that durable.
One day get an OMS type for doubles!

 

[ligersandtions]

Arg... I am so undecided about BCD vs BP/W that I haven't purchased either one yet and probably won't for a while.

You may just be in luck....you're in a great location with lots of bp/w divers who are more than happy to take you out and let you try their gear (just have to ask around and see who's available).

Once you've had the opportunity to dive the bp/w, you can compare that with your traditional BC experience you had in your OW class. Personally, for cold water diving (like you'll see in the PNW), a bp/w is nice because it is inherently negatively buoyant, rather than positively buoyant like many of the traditional, super-padded BC's you'll see in the LDS's....this means you get to take quite a bit off your weight belt!

Hop over to your local forum and see if anyone would like to go diving with you, talk bp/w's, and maybe even let you try it out for a dive

 

[Scubagolf]

Yeah, it's a perfect combination, allowing you to retain many of the drawbacks of a traditional BCD, without providing many of the benefits of a BP/W.