Buy or rent BC for 14 year old

[Robert H. Diver]

Maybe 4x that much. Spot on, though.

If I ever spend over $1500 on a single BCD, someone please shoot me.

 

[Rob9876]

I wish I would have started in a BPW instead of the jacket/back inflate that I did. BPW is better in pretty much every way. Less cumbersome, more streamlined. There’s really no learning curve either…so idk what the big deal would be? You can get a BPW package for around $450-$457 with ALL the options. Some BCD’s cost twice that…

At least new, you really can't get a BPW set-up with a 30 lb. weight system, storage pockets, and 41 lbs. of lift (in size Large). Not everyone wants all of that, and some wear weight belts, wear technical cargo pocket shorts (still extra $) over their wetsuits, and have their SMB dangling around on their rear -- but if you actually wanted to add those weight and pocket systems modularly you would definitely spend over $500. But even if your $450-$457 were accurate, the Scout BCD I mentioned is $230 shipped for all of that ready to go out of the box with 10 seconds of strap adjustments.

Can you get much more expensive jacket BCDs? Sure, but you can also spend much more on BP/W set-ups. That $230 Scout BCD does everything just fine -- his buoyancy is dialed in great, and he has no problem swimming against current and controlling his buoyancy while taking tons of pictures under water.

 

[VikingDives]

If I ever spend over $1500 on a single BCD, someone please shoot me.

I've got to agree with you there. The BCD market is such a farce.

I've sold a total of one BCD in my lifetime. That was to a student who really wanted an affordable travel option and she wasn't really sized right for a standard BP/W.

Now that I've got the option of shorter plates (via subgravity, when they are in stock again) I don't see that I'll be selling anymore in the future.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

At least new, you really can't get a BPW set-up with a 30 lb. weight system, storage pockets, and 41 lbs. of lift (in size Large). Not everyone wants all of that, and some wear weight belts, wear technical cargo pocket shorts (still extra $) over their wetsuits, and have their SMB dangling around on their rear -- but if you actually wanted to add those weight and pocket systems modularly you would definitely spend over $500. But even if your $450-$457 were accurate, the Scout BCD I mentioned is $230 shipped for all of that ready to go out of the box with 10 seconds of strap adjustments.

Can you get much more expensive jacket BCDs? Sure, but you can also spend much more on BP/W set-ups. That $230 Scout BCD does everything just fine -- his buoyancy is dialed in great, and he has no problem swimming against current and controlling his buoyancy while taking tons of pictures under water.

Lol where can you get a zeagle scout for $230? And why do you need 40 lbs of lift?OP’s son it still young and growing, a BPW can grow with him. BCD that fits him now may not in a year or two.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

At least new, you really can't get a BPW set-up with a 30 lb. weight system, storage pockets, and 41 lbs. of lift (in size Large). Not everyone wants all of that, and some wear weight belts, wear technical cargo pocket shorts (still extra $) over their wetsuits, and have their SMB dangling around on their rear -- but if you actually wanted to add those weight and pocket systems modularly you would definitely spend over $500. But even if your $450-$457 were accurate, the Scout BCD I mentioned is $230 shipped for all of that ready to go out of the box with 10 seconds of strap adjustments.

Can you get much more expensive jacket BCDs? Sure, but you can also spend much more on BP/W set-ups. That $230 Scout BCD does everything just fine -- his buoyancy is dialed in great, and he has no problem swimming against current and controlling his buoyancy while taking tons of pictures under water.

Nevermind you’re talking about a different bcd than the zeagle.

 

[Rob9876]

Lol where can you get a zeagle scout for $230? And why do you need 40 lbs of lift?OP’s son it still young and growing, a BPW can grow with him. BCD that fits him now may not in a year or two.

I said the Scout BCD that I mentioned (and linked to) in my post above (not Zeagle). I also addressed the wide range of adjustability of sizing of that BCD in that post. And while you may not want 41 lbs. of lift, you would at least need to compare it to a 30 or so lbs. of lift wing. And someone diving wet in thick neoprene may appreciate having plenty of lift.

Again, one person can say they don't need this or that, but price per dollar even the bargain BPW packages do not compare if you actually match spec for spec, or even close.

 

[VikingDives]

At least new, you really can't get a BPW set-up with a 30 lb. weight system, storage pockets, and 41 lbs. of lift (in size Large). Not everyone wants all of that, and some wear weight belts, wear technical cargo pocket shorts (still extra $) over their wetsuits, and have their SMB dangling around on their rear -- but if you actually wanted to add those weight and pocket systems modularly you would definitely spend over $500. But even if your $450-$457 were accurate, the Scout BCD I mentioned is $230 shipped for all of that ready to go out of the box with 10 seconds of strap adjustments.

Can you get much more expensive jacket BCDs? Sure, but you can also spend much more on BP/W set-ups. That $230 Scout BCD does everything just fine -- his buoyancy is dialed in great, and he has no problem swimming against current and controlling his buoyancy while taking tons of pictures under water.

"At least new, you really can't get a BPW set-up with a 30 lb. weight system, storage pockets, and 41 lbs. of lift (in size Large)."

There isn't a diver in this world who needs 30 pounds of weight and 41 pounds of lift for a recreational dive. I'd strongly suggest that this is a fallacy that was put in your mind by poor instructors.

When I was fat (read: morbidly obese) I didn't need that much weight or that much lift. My guess is that the average, well-trained diver would, if very skinny, need 2/3rds of the lift and weights, assuming he or she was using a 7mm, a hood and gloves.

More isn't always better in diving.

 

[Rob9876]

"At least new, you really can't get a BPW set-up with a 30 lb. weight system, storage pockets, and 41 lbs. of lift (in size Large)."

There isn't a diver in this world who needs 30 pounds of weight and 41 pounds of lift for a recreational dive. I'd strongly suggest that this is a fallacy that was put in your mind by poor instructors.

When I was fat (read: morbidly obese) I didn't need that much weight or that much lift. My guess is that the average, well-trained diver would, if very skinny, need 2/3rds of the lift and weights, assuming he or she was using a 7mm, a hood and gloves.

More isn't always better in diving.

A bit of a strawman, as I didn't say everyone needs either of those specs -- though there are certainly divers who might need 30 lbs. of weight, and I also said that you should at least look at costs for wings with 30 lbs. of lift. I'm a big guy and I have used 24 lbs. in warm saltwater, and more in a 7/5 suit, when I was newer.

But even take that DGX system and add a 20 lb. weight system, and you are at $518 for that alone (still no gear pockets) -- more than twice the price of the Scout BCD, which works absolutely fine.

 

[VikingDives]

A bit of a strawman, as I didn't say everyone needs either of those specs -- though there are certainly divers who might need 30 lbs. of weight, and I also said that you should at least look at costs for wings with 30 lbs. of lift. I'm a big guy and I have used 24 lbs. in warm saltwater, and more in a 7/5 suit, when I was newer.

But even take that DGX system and add a 20 lb. weight system, and you are at $518 for that alone (still no gear pockets) -- more than twice the price of the Scout BCD, which works absolutely fine.

As long as you ignore all the counterpoints, then I agree with you - the cost of a BCD is less than the cost of a BP/W, but the lifetime cost of owning bcds is far higher.

The OP could have a higher quality BP/W that would essentially work for a lifetime, for under 500. Can you point to a bcd that has replaceable parts and can scale from warm water diving to complex tech diving for any price?

I'll answer for you, "No. You can't." Short-term cheap is long-term expensive.

 

[Rob9876]

As long as you ignore all the counterpoints, then I agree with you - the cost of a BCD is less than the cost of a BP/W, but the lifetime cost of owning bcds is far higher.

The OP could have a higher quality BP/W that would essentially work for a lifetime, for under 500. Can you point to a bcd that has replaceable parts and can scale from warm water diving to complex tech diving for any price?

I'll answer for you, "No. You can't." Short-term cheap is long-term expensive.

Again, you are changing the discussion. The question was: what would you buy for a 14 year old? And I answered with what I did in fact buy my 14 year old. And it's still what I would buy for a 14 year old today -- I would save money for other equipment and dive trips, and not spend hundreds more just on the off chance he wants to do technical diving at some point in his life.

For a hobby/industry that struggles to attract new people (as discussed on many threads here) perhaps the message that a $230 BCD works just fine for recreational diving is something that should not always be met with ire that people should spend more than twice as much for modularity that most never need.