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

[EireDiver606]

Well, with 5 mm suits you might want wings with 20+-ish lbs lift, so this is moot... But many of us dive in rashguards/shorties and for that 15-18 lbs of lift is enough. In that range there's VDH #18 @$225, Oxycheq #18 @$400, and Apeks D18 @ $365. I guess that may be why VDH ones go out of stock the moment he gets a new batch in.

Stay away from Apeks wings, hose too long, kidney dump in wrong place, bladder not cut great

 

[EireDiver606]

Stronger, more reliable, and with enough lift"? Have you ever been to a tropical reef? Have you ever seen bladder size on a jacket BCD? Any jacket BCD?

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....

 

[ams511]

Thank you @Eric Sedletzky for chiming in. If we would choose to go with BP/W, I'd for sure get in line for one of your making. I did read the Rolex thread (OK, I'll be honest, not all 60 pages of it...) but did pick up that you were looking for a new machine.

From what I gathered so far the preferred BP/W setup would be just what you described. The VDH 35# wing currently goes for 225 (before taxes and shipping though).

Last month, VDH was offering a full setup for $300.00 I would recommend going with that if offered again and then adding a Freedom Plate when they become available.

If you want to add weight pockets for ditchable weight the least expensive ones that I know of are these and these. You can also watch eBay for deals from time to time.

 

[ams511]

Maybe over in the land of milk and meadows. Here in murka there is any number of BCDs, including Covert, that cost as much or less than the cheapest wing. Wing only.

The cheapest wing that I am aware of is $160.00, I don't know of any BCs that regularly sell for this price. Also Zeagle sells a few BCs in the $800 range as do most other manufacturers. The Hydros BC that people keep talking about is around $900 or so.

"Stronger, more reliable, and with enough lift"? Have you ever been to a tropical reef? Have you ever seen bladder size on a jacket BCD? Any jacket BCD?

I have no idea what you mean. The advantage of a BP/W is that you can use the proper size wing for the dive. I have been on many a tropical reef and most jacket BCs have way more lift than needed. However, with that said a narrow 30 lb wing can be used for both warm and cold water diving.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I think Eric has said it perfectly. Here is a few of of thoughts on wing:
1. definitely donut wing. while difference maybe small as someone may claim, but you are starting new, no reason to go with horse shoe. Myself can feel the difference.

2. inflator should come out from the left side, not center ( like xDeep ghost or DSS). Again difference may not small, but with smaller diver who most likely needs tank to be as low as possible, the center inflator hose outlet could make setup harder.

3. Most wing model mentioned here are quite good. I have used Oxycheq, Halcyon and HOG wings. No experience with VDH. Mostly, you are trading some toughness for pack-ability. If you can take a look at one in real life, it helps to decide. Amongst those I have used, Oxycheq the toughest, difficult to pack due to how thick and stiff the shell is. Halcyon is reasonable tough, but very pack friendly. This wing requires a STA, so if you are going with Eric's plate, H won't be compatible.

Actually, the H wing and newest model Freedom Contour (V4) are compatible. That was one of the design changes. The plate has 11” center holes and the wing can be bolted onto the plate with the new rail system going over the wing, then cam bands can be run under the rail bars instead of through the wing and plate (Halcyon doesn’t have slots).
I thought of everything and still thinking of more...
Oh god! make it stop!!!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Good to know your opinion of your AL version. Why don't you like it?

Because it’s too soft, it can crack without warning in high stress areas, it corrodes when exposed to more noble metals (disimilar metal problems), it clogs all my burr bits and files, it scratches easily and the high polish gets ruined quickly, it has a huge weight differential from dry land to salt water ( a two lb plate almost goes neutral in salt water so there isn’t much ballast benefit, instead you get added suitcase weight for a plate that does you no good weight wise in the water.
The one benefit with aluminum being soft, is that it’s a dream to hammer into the complex and multiple curved contour shape.

 

[eelnoraa]

Actually, the H wing and newest model Freedom Contour (V4) are compatible. That was one of the design changes. The plate has 11” center holes and the wing can be bolted onto the plate with the new rail system going over the wing, then cam bands can be run under the rail bars instead of through the wing and plate (Halcyon doesn’t have slots).
I thought of everything and still thinking of more...
Oh god! make it stop!!!

Good to know, keep me up dated on your next production run. I am very interested in one

 

[dmaziuk]

The cheapest wing that I am aware of is $160.00, I don't know of any BCs that regularly sell for this price.

Right. They're more like $180.

As for "sufficient lift", that was exactly my point: most jackets' aircells are ridiculously large for a single Al80/rashguard diving. Last I looked, "sufficient" strongly implied that the alternatives are "not enough": the opposite of what's happening here.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Right. They're more like $180.

As for "sufficient lift", that was exactly my point: most jackets' aircells are ridiculously large for a single Al80/rashguard diving. Last I looked, "sufficient" strongly implied that the alternatives are "not enough": the opposite of what's happening here.

The reason they do that is because with the integrated weight systems in virtually every jacket and crossover design, they have to account for the highest weight scenario and make sure the rig will float on the surface. So your typical jacket needs to support the biggest steel tank and weights for cold water, or an aluminum 80 with a LOT of weights stuffed into all the pockets, and it needs to float.
If they made a smaller streamlined version jacket BC with minimal lift, you know some goofball would still try and use it for max weighting and cold water. And so being that Jackets don’t have changable wings the huge air cell becomes the standard for all applications.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Good to know, keep me up dated on your next production run. I am very interested in one

You got it.
I see you’re a local. We could meet up at Breakwater some Saturday and you could test drive one.
I’d need to know your height to make sure I bring the correct size.