BP&W with Integrated Weights?

[Quarrior]

Hi All,

I thought DIR would be the best place to ask this question. I'm in the throes of buying my first BC. I'm either going to go with the Zeagle Ranger or a BP&W setup. The reason I'm looking at the BP&W is that I plan to go tech when I am qualified and don't have the extra cash for having multiple BC's right now, one for rec and one for tech when I get there.

I have been diving with back inflate rental Zeagle Escape and am quite comfortable and actually prefer the back inflate.

My normal diving environment in fresh water with temps in my 40's and 50's below 25ft. So, gloves are the norm. Consequently, unless the pockets are huge, they are useless to me. I prefer "D" rings.

Now, the question, I have a lot of problems with keeping a weight belt in place because I basically have no hips for it to ride, so, I slides down after it gets wet and my wet suit gets compressed. Do they make a BP&W with integrated weights? If so, who?

Thanks

Brian

 

[dajmitch]

First off, I'm pretty sure integrated weights are not DIR, however, if you simply can not dive with a belt here are some possible alternatives.
Halcyon ACB
Dive Rite Transpac Weight system I'm pretty sure this mount on 2" webbing
Zeagle Tank Mount at LeisurePro
DUI Weight and Trim Harness

Also, remember that your harness will be over the top of your belt, and will aid in keeping it in place. Combined with a depth compensating buckle, is should be pretty secure. Respectfully, if your midsection is such that it is going to precude you from wearing a belt, you should really consider the risks involved with Deco and higher percentages of body fat in the diver. Don't mean to flame here... just MHO. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Hi All,

I thought DIR would be the best place to ask this question. I'm in the throws of buying my first BC. I'm either going to go with the Zeagle Ranger or a BP&W setup. The reason I'm looking at the BP&W is that I plan to go tech when I am qualified and don't have the extra cash for having multiple BC's right now, one for rec and one for tech when I get there.

I have been diving with back inflate rental Zeagle Escape and am quite comfortable and actually prefer the back inflate.

My normal diving environment in fresh water with temps in my 40's and 50's below 25ft. So, gloves are the norm. Consequently, unless the pockets are huge, they are useless to me. I prefer "D" rings.

Now, the question, I have a lot of problems with keeping a weight belt in place because I basically have no hips for it to ride, so, I slides down after it gets wet and my wet suit gets compressed. Do they make a BP&W with integrated weights? If so, who?

Thanks

Brian

 

[Mo2vation]

Hi All,

I thought DIR would be the best place to ask this question. I'm in the throes of buying my first BC. I'm either going to go with the Zeagle Ranger or a BP&W setup. The reason I'm looking at the BP&W is that I plan to go tech when I am qualified and don't have the extra cash for having multiple BC's right now, one for rec and one for tech when I get there.

I have been diving with back inflate rental Zeagle Escape and am quite comfortable and actually prefer the back inflate.

My normal diving environment in fresh water with temps in my 40's and 50's below 25ft. So, gloves are the norm. Consequently, unless the pockets are huge, they are useless to me. I prefer "D" rings.

Now, the question, I have a lot of problems with keeping a weight belt in place because I basically have no hips for it to ride, so, I slides down after it gets wet and my wet suit gets compressed. Do they make a BP&W with integrated weights? If so, who?

Thanks

Brian

You'll get many different views on this one - weight belt v. ACB with a BP/W. For me, I started out diving 16# (8 pounds a side) on the ACB - and going from a weight integrated BC it just made sense. I dive a drysuit.

I'm down to diving 8# now - with only a 4 pounder in each side. They've been great for me. I hated weight belts before, and I don't see the point of going back to one for a mighty 8 pounds... when the ACB are a perfect solution.

As to them "not being DIR..." well, whatever. The DIR police won't take back their decoder ring and my kool-aid because I dive the ACB. Thousands of us do. Don't get hung up on that.

I love the BP/W and can highly recommend it for recreational guppy and weenie diving (like me) or for the tech monster stuff like a lot of people here dive.

K

 

[kidspot]

I came across this earlier today http://www.cyber-strategy.org/pers/WeightPockets.html They have made their own weight integrated pockets for their BP/W rigs and include directions. Just another thought.

 

[ElectricZombie]

Integrated weight systems like the ACB are not DIR if you care about that aspect.

If you're diving doubles, you could could just look for a V-Weight.

 

[fins]

OK, maybe this is a really dumb question (from a relative newbie and owner of a new bp, eclipse wing and ACB pockets) but here goes anyway:

The home page of the Halcyon website says "Halcyon DIR Dive Systems" and they sell the ACB's. So does this mean that the ACB's are DIR, or does it mean that Halcyon sells not DIR approved gear?

 

[Doc Intrepid]

OK, maybe this is a really dumb question (from a relative newbie and owner of a new bp, eclipse wing and ACB pockets) but here goes anyway:

The home page of the Halcyon website says "Halcyon DIR Dive Systems" and they sell the ACB's. So does this mean that the ACB's are DIR, or does it mean that Halcyon sells not DIR approved gear?

It isn't a dumb question. On the other hand, the answer is not quite as simple as you put it. I hope that a GUE instructor will respond for greater specificity. Until then...

Short answer:

Halcyon sells gear that is not strictly DIR approved (by some elements of the DIR world).

Longer answer:

"Doing It Right" is not always consistent in every detail when discussing two utterly different diving environments. Instead it means thinking about what you're doing, and bringing with you only what you require for a given environment. Clearly, however, different environments may require different items of equipment. A cave might require a drysuit with C400 undergarment. A dive in Palau wouldn't. Both dives can be performed DIR.

The WKPP, for example, operates in a reasonably static environment. They require, for multiple reasons, rigorous equipment standardization. OTOH, for this same reason, they don't dive with single tanks. Ergo, they have bouyancy and trim options other than ACB - and ACB may not be "DIR".

A DIR diver who frequently dives on remote liveaboards may often use single tanks, because these are what the liveaboard offers. V-weights, P-weights, and other trim weight options available to trim out sets of doubles don't apply to diving with single tanks. Ergo, issues involving potential use of ACB may arise.

Just because they do not make sense for one environment does not mean that they don't make sense for any environment.

DIR is less a rigid set of approved equipment and more a philosophy. There may well be a rigid set of approved equipment for one particular DIR environment - Wakulla is one example. But it is not universal. You can be diving DIR in different environments, and you may find that different things make more sense.

Don't get wrapped around worrying whether things are DIR. Think about what makes the most sense for your given environment. If you haven't read Jarrod's book, you are strongly encouraged to pick up a copy. It's well worth your time to read it. You can find it here:
http://www.gue.com/classroom/manuals.shtml

Hope this helps.

 

[reubencahn]

I put two of these on my wife's lower tankband.

http://s1059kxm.leisurepro.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=72782&prmenbr=946

She hates weightbelts as they sit right on point where she had back surgery a few years ago. I imagine you could also place them on your waistband.

 

[Wendy]

I put two of these on my wife's lower tankband.

http://s1059kxm.leisurepro.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=72782&prmenbr=946

She hates weightbelts as they sit right on point where she had back surgery a few years ago. I imagine you could also place them on your waistband.

Can you ditch that weight in an emergency?

 

[reubencahn]

Can you ditch that weight in an emergency?

Nope. Nondicthable. Though I guess you could ditch if you put them on the waistband. Even then it wouldn't be ideal if you need ditchable weight. They're also pretty small pockets, so if you need a good bit of weight, they wouldn't be useful.