Buying My first BCD

[stonefish35]

Hi,


I have been diving with a jacket style BC until I bought my halcyon Pioneer in 2004. The feeling when I switch over from a jacket BC to a bp/w is like a young man, who had been wearing briefs all his life, made the switch to wearing boxers !!

It more comfortable for me, as I do not feel the squeeze when I inflate, The donut shaped wing helps me to maintain any weird positions much easier underwater while i'm shooting with my camera.

Another thing about bp/w is that, being modular, any parts that broke or thru wear and tear, you just need to replace that part. The bp will last you decades, so only the wing / harness need to be replaced when they are due.

I have recommended to my frens, get the Hammerhead bp + STA + harness kit and top it off with a OMS 35lbs wing from Amazon. And you can have a bp/w setup for about us$400, that will last you decades.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Triple-L is a decent idea. They do not have the best customer service or warraty support, but you get what you pay for. I used an Orion for a year or so before switching to BP/W. It's a good BC. If you need a lot of weight, it can't really handle it because the pockets are velcro. Also, the bladder separated at a seam after less than a year...clearly a manufacturing defect, and I had to pay some portion of the replacement costs.

My brother has one with 100+ dives on it and it's going strong.

 

[jfoster33702]

There is nothing wrong with buying current dacor products... they are supported... but I would tell you not to bother with a condor. You will want at least want a weight integrated BC, and with your sb discount, you could move up to a Talon for about 50 bucks, and that would be with metal d-rings, and front and back weight pockets.

Or if you wnat to get into the 300 range, there are options from some back inflate BCs as well.

Im going to be in the same boat next month - not to hijack the thread, but is the SB discount available on package deals too?

Thx
Jeff

 

[Schtirlitz]

There is nothing wrong with buying current dacor products... they are supported... but I would tell you not to bother with a condor. You will want at least want a weight integrated BC, and with your sb discount, you could move up to a Talon for about 50 bucks, and that would be with metal d-rings, and front and back weight pockets.

Hi Larry,

What is the SB discount you are talking about?
BTW, i am on the market for a cold water regulator / ocy / console mounted computer package, and i was thinking to stay with the Aeris products. Do i have to purchase a BCD to qualify for their Bag-mania promotion or could it be a "regulator" type package? And do you know how long this pronmotion will last?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jfoster33702]

Ttt

 

[AaronR103]

Well am considering buying my first jacket type BCD, i have a limited budget. I have noticed the dacor condor and sherwood slihouette but some have posted that they dont recommend dacor these days because it might be closing down or sth....would that be a good choice, what about lift capacity? i am 190 lb, and i dive with 20 lb weight belt....would appreciate your advice. thanx

Whatever you buy, don't buy your "first," buy your "last" (hopefully). It's worth spending a little extra money on something you really like that you're going to stick with for years rather than throw money away on something cheap "to start out with" that you're ultimately going to replace, usually sooner than you think.

A

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

We sell a million of these: Weight Integrated BCD. It's basically the same as a Dacor Nautica reviewed here: http://www.sportdiver.com/article.jsp?ID=1081 If you need to go to an even lower price point, you may want to look at an old style horse collar BC. I think you can pick one up in the $170 range.

Rap

 

[Wael]

Thanx all al ot of useful informtion i a will keep that in mind. I will go on renting for a while and will definitly try out the back infalte. thanx again for you all. am going diving this weekend....yepeee hihihi.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Thanx all al ot of useful informtion i a will keep that in mind. I will go on renting for a while and will definitly try out the back infalte. thanx again for you all. am going diving this weekend....yepeee hihihi.

Have Fun!