Buying my first BCD - read a lot on SB, looking for advice/opinions

[BoltSnap]

The offering from Deep6 has lots of options and appears to be a good value:

Buoyancy

 

[dmaziuk]

... DGX pockets would be big enough and they're much less bulky than XSScuba ones ...

PS to the OP: someone just posted this elsethread: HOG 5lb Drop Weight Pockets Small Pair -- twice the cost of DGX ones but look very nice.

 

[Kensei]

I may post something in the Norcal forum about doing an FP demo at Breakwater one weekend. I’m sure the wife would love to go to Monterey for a weekend (not a lot of arm twisting needed there!..now that she’s retired).
I have two full rigs people can use, or they could bring their own wing if they wanted and I could set them up with a plate and harness. That way if they were set up with an Air2 on their wing (gasp!) then they could still use it.
I think it would be fun! I’d even give people a demo discount.

I used to do demo’s at BW back in 2004 when I first started making plates, but they were not terribly successful. People were too scared to try something different besides their jackets, and the people who were already using BP/W’s were set.

I'd definitely be interested in coming up from SoCal and participating in a demo weekend (or any other weekend). Like you, this would be an easy sell to the family.

jeff

 

[Zef]

• This is totally subjective, but I feel like BP/W seems like a fancy bike with suspension front and back, tires that grip on any surface, and frame with adjustable geometry to fit any road type from downhill to smooth road when a simple fixie with one break would fit my needs just as well. Not a perfect analogy but the bike is superior to the fixie in many ways (and may even cost less) but you first need to assemble it, set it up right and figure out how to use it correctly. What can I do/what can you tell me to overcome that feeling?
• I'm also a bit confused on what is needed for a full BP/W setup. I get the basics: Backplate, Wing (Donut), Webbing, Weight Pockets, D-Rings, Tank Band(s). But I also read of H-harnesses, Hogartian/DIR (not sure what the difference to other setups is), one-strap setups (I think the DIR belongs to those). Where would I start there?

The analogy to bicycle is good but you have it backwards....The BP/W is more akin to a fixie than anything else....a fixie/track bike is super simple, once it is setup properly (stem length, seat height, seat fore-aft and angle, they tend to be a dream to ride. When not setup properly they are a real pain the arse and neck (no pun intended)....The same is true of BP/Ws, once adjusted properly to your body they are great to dive, when they are not adjusted properly they feel restrictive and are a pain in the arse.

The biggest issue I had when I first started diving my BP/W was that I had the shoulder straps set too tight....I had incrementally loosened them but did not really understand how loose they should be until I set up my rig for use with my drysuit and migrated back to my wetsuit without re-snugging the should straps....The entire rig virtually melted away in the water and was wonderful to dive.

I would also recommend a 1 to 1.5 inch crotch strap...I have a 2 inch strap but I can understand that it is over-kill for the type of diving that I do....I don't use a scooter and don't intend to...if I was to invest in one it would be a minor thing to pick up a 2 inch wide webbing crotch strap....so save the possible wear and tear on your exposure suit and the possibility of the the wide strap causing discomfort and start out with a narrower one.

-Z

 

[MrBigfins]

Wings have sufficient lift would have been better wording.

A lot of BCD’s have too much lift it’s ridiculous... 40lbs for a single tank....

So if you are diving dry suit with 36lbs weights, 40lbs lift is rediculous? Or even an 8mil with steel tank and 20lbs weight, that pushes you well over a 32lb lift. So while it might be overkill for tropical diving, it's not ridiculous for all applications

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So if you are diving dry suit with 36lbs weights, 40lbs lift is rediculous? Or even an 8mil with steel tank and 20lbs weight, that pushes you well over a 32lb lift. So while it might be overkill for tropical diving, it's not ridiculous for all applications

That’s true. 40 lbs would or should be about max for a single tank BC.
But I’ve seen some recreational BC’s that cater to the macho types that have 50-70 lbs lift. They claim they can be used for doubles but I’ve never in my life seen one of those used for technical diving. By the time someone gleans the information training and gear to go tech they use a BP/W.
It’s the big badass monster truck single tank BC’s with all the studly names that are the joke.

 

[MrBigfins]

That’s true. 40 lbs would or should be about max for a single tank BC.
But I’ve seen some recreational BC’s that cater to the macho types that have 50-70 lbs lift. They claim they can be used for doubles but I’ve never in my life seen one of those used for technical diving. By the time someone gleans the information training and gear to go tech they use a BP/W.
It’s the big badass monster truck single tank BC’s with all the studly names that are the joke.

I can agree that a single tank would never need 50 to 70lb lift. Although I haven't came across any that stated that much lift. And 40lb is plenty lift for most doubles applications. Some people cant spend money on multiple setups and need something that can be used for multiple diving types though.

 

[EireDiver606]

So if you are diving dry suit with 36lbs weights, 40lbs lift is rediculous? Or even an 8mil with steel tank and 20lbs weight, that pushes you well over a 32lb lift. So while it might be overkill for tropical diving, it's not ridiculous for all applications

For single steel tank, the max you need is 35 pounds (if you’re going deep), no more.

I dive with a 7+5mm wetsuit, 5mm gloves, 7mm boots and 7mm hood in water as cold as 8 degrees Celsius (46 Fahrenheit). Steel 12L tank normally and in small swells of 3-4m at times up north in Donegal (no exaggeration). I normally use 20pounds of lead.

You’re wrong, it is ridiculous having 40lbs for single tank, (that’s what doubles are).

You tell me then: I dive thick wetsuit, cold water, big swells, 20 lbs (8 kg) with a 12L tank and have a 30 lbs wing and I’m fine.
You’re talking about a non balanced rig. You’re the one who’s ridiculous! I am a living testimony to the argument!

 

[MrBigfins]

For single steel tank, the max you need is 35 pounds (if you’re going deep), no more.

I dive with a 7+5mm wetsuit, 5mm gloves, 7mm boots and 7mm hood in water as cold as 8 degrees Celsius (46 Fahrenheit). Steel 12L tank normally and in small swells of 3-4m at times up north in Donegal (no exaggeration). I normally use 20pounds of lead.

You’re wrong, it is ridiculous having 40lbs for single tank, (that’s what doubles are).

You tell me then: I dive thick wetsuit, cold water, big swells, 20 lbs (8 kg) with a 12L tank and have a 30 lbs wing and I’m fine.
You’re talking about a non balanced rig. You’re the one who’s ridiculous! I am a living testimony to the argument!

First there is no need to call people names, I thought this was a congenial conversation.
Second if you are diving 13mm worth of suit with only 20lbs of weight then you must be tiny lol. I wear 22lbs in 6/7/8mm semidry with 8 mm hood and 5 mm boots and gloves, if I add a 3mm core for when it's really cold then I'm up to 26lbs plus a 120 steel at 9lbs and I'm using the majority of 40lbs lift. I'm 6'7 255lbs, not everyone is 5' 130lbs so your weight configuration doesn't work for everyone. Some of us have alot more sq footage of neoprene than others. I'm not saying everyone needs it, but as I stated it's not ridiculous for everyone. That's what's nice about the variety of dive gear, you can get what works for you and someone else can get what works for them.

 

[MrBigfins]

For single steel tank, the max you need is 35 pounds (if you’re going deep), no more.

I dive with a 7+5mm wetsuit, 5mm gloves, 7mm boots and 7mm hood in water as cold as 8 degrees Celsius (46 Fahrenheit). Steel 12L tank normally and in small swells of 3-4m at times up north in Donegal (no exaggeration). I normally use 20pounds of lead.

You’re wrong, it is ridiculous having 40lbs for single tank, (that’s what doubles are).

You tell me then: I dive thick wetsuit, cold water, big swells, 20 lbs (8 kg) with a 12L tank and have a 30 lbs wing and I’m fine.
You’re talking about a non balanced rig. You’re the one who’s ridiculous! I am a living testimony to the argument!

And to top it off you didn't even mention the weighting for drysuit diving, so again it's not rediculous. Do the math 36lbs weight for drysuit plus 9lbs for steel 120 and you have over 40lbs weighting at the beginning of a dive.