COMPARISON: Backplate and Wing to Stab Jacket BC

[fdog]

Ralph, thanks for the very in-depth review and comparison. What a lot of work! Very appreciated.

I am a strong believer that all tools have strengths and weaknesses. Pick the tool that fits the task at hand, as you have.

All the best, James

 

[OE2X]

Great read and wonderfully done. You should do the reviews for all the diving magazines.
Thanks

 

[dajmitch]

I'll show off my vast scuba knowledge here and ask... can the SP be rigged for doubles? My desire to explore deep Great Lake's wrecks and the subsequent need for doubles was a huge factor in my descison to by a BP+W as a single tank begining rec setup. I won't have to buy as much different gear, and I will always be diving simialr equipment. Thanks

 

[rcohn]

I'll show off my vast scuba knowledge here and ask... can the SP be rigged for doubles? My desire to explore deep Great Lake's wrecks and the subsequent need for doubles was a huge factor in my descison to by a BP+W as a single tank begining rec setup. I won't have to buy as much different gear, and I will always be diving simialr equipment. Thanks

Sorry, I don't dive doubles and I have no intention of "progressing" to technical diving. Most scuba divers have no interest in technical diving, that's why there are so many more recreational divers who avoid obligated decompression and overhead environments.

There are ways to rig doubles to single tank BCs, someone may be able to give you information. If I was making the leap to doubles, I would also buy a BC designed for doubles. Technical diving is not a good place for shortcuts.

Remember too in the SP Classic the bladder is also the weight support "harness". It may not be a good idea to put the weight of doubles and stages on the bladder. It was disigned formsingle tank diving. It will probably shorten the life of the BC.

Ralph

 

[rcohn]

The United States Navy disagrees with you on the BC as a life jacket. They have rated the ScubaPro classic military version as a Life Preserver when used with a properly weighted tank. You either need a heavy tank or a weight added to a lighter tank about 6 lb with an Al80. I believe it is the only jacket approved for dives where a life preserver rating is required, all the other are horse-collar models. Of course the US Coast Guard PFD ratings are for a different purpose and no BC is approved as a USCG PFD.

I dug up a link to the [font=Arial,Bold]Diving Equipment Authorized for U.S. Navy Use (ANU) see: http://www.supsalv.org/pdf/ANU.pdf . Look at Section 1.1 for the Life Preserver Info.[/font]

Ralph[font=Verdana,Bold]
[/font]

 

[aseeker2]

I Quote rcohn "Here is my decidedly minority viewpoint on heads-up floatation for recreational diving. I believe that the BC is one of the few pieces of safety gear we have available and ideally it should support our basic needs both below and on the surface. A significant fraction of the deaths reported each year occur on the surface not at depth, although DAN does not provide a statistic in the 2004 Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration. I try to keep in mind thats**t can happen in the ocean that will disable any diver, stings from jellies, bristle worms, scorpion fish, etc.; medical conditions such as heart attack or stroke; waves slamming a diver into the rocks or a hit from a jet ski; exhaustion from fighting strong currents or drifting for hours if lost; and of course AGE or other dive related injuries. Many divers assume that their buddies will save them (usually the same divers that argue for self sufficiency in all other areas). I know I do not always dive with a reliable buddy. Some days I dive solo, or with beginners, or photographers, or any highly qualified buddy who doesn’t keep his or her eyes glued to me every second. None of us can breathe water. In some circumstances, it may only take a few seconds with your face underwater to inhale water, which has very serious medical consequences even if you are promptly rescued and revived."RCOHN

I also share your heads up surface position view and wonder if there is a BP/W design out there that will float a disabled diver face up? Anyone?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[rcohn]

I
I also share your heads up surface position view and wonder if there is a BP/W design out there that will float a disabled diver face up? Anyone?

Thanks,

Jim

Halcyon had one in their first year or so for public safety divers. It looked like a bit of a kludge, sort of combining the design of an inflatable PFD with the BP&W. I think I remember the PFD portion was supposed to inflate when the wing reached full capacity.



Your best bet might be to design some sort of PFD at the waist or on the chest to inflate with a CO2 cartridge. There is a USCG approved PFD that come in a waist pack. A clever design might be a good marketing opportunity for someone.



Ralph

 

[rcohn]

I'll show off my vast scuba knowledge here and ask... can the SP be rigged for doubles? My desire to explore deep Great Lake's wrecks and the subsequent need for doubles was a huge factor in my descison to by a BP+W as a single tank begining rec setup. I won't have to buy as much different gear, and I will always be diving simialr equipment. Thanks

I was just reading an Old thread People who don't like BP/W? and the answer is yes, Wlater uses his SP Classic for doubles. see:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=505966&postcount=4
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=507118&postcount=4

Ralph

 

[rcohn]

I was read through this old thread People who don't like BP/W? and found many useful and similar insites to my own. Here is the link for anyone who would like to peruse it.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=505865&page=1&pp=10

Ralph

 

[simbrooks]

Wow, Raph... what a great report!

Many thanks for sharing it with us. Maybe we need to make you the unofficial SB gear tester?

I thought Seajay became the unofficial SB gear tester (kind of like the Mr Wendy's guy) when he went around looking for/at stuff?

Back to Ralph's discussion, it is a great report, i have some questions/comments, some on the subject of BP/W vs SP Classic, some more on your dives:
Did cave diver tell you he was a cave diver or was he just dressed the part? I take it he and Buddy were same ocean buddies then?

I am surprised you needed all that neoprene for SE FL, its about 78F now isnt it? I was surprised at the little amount of weight you had for all that neoprene, i guess you are a lot more relaxed than me in that respect (therefore need less weight). If you used a SS BP that might have helped the trim out, although you pretty much wouldnt have had around 4# ditchable (or did you drop lower than 10# total in the end?). Due to its lack of extra padding, typically you can lose more than the just the buoyant weight of the plate (ie more than 2/6# for AL/SS) as noted elsewhere, i found the ranger to be a load of extra weight to get to stay down with compared to other jackets i rented before purchasing my BP/W. I understand your concern about wearing the weight belt inside your crotch strap (again dont have to wear the strap), i do that more for convenience than anything, easier to sit down with it on and buckle up than wait until i have buckled up and then put on the belt - personal choice and if i need to drop the weight (IF) then it pulls out fairly easily from within the CS area once the belt buckle is released. As for the rest of the strap, i am currently tightening up my shoulder straps and the belt (mostly due to losing 20# in the last 4 months). I find it easy enough to float on my back (face-up) on the surface and could probably sleep like that, i dont have that forward rolling thing going on - just have my BP and a few # in the back pockets of my weight belt - although thinking of putting some of that up on the tank straps. Oh and as for the surface area thing and drag, if you inflate the wrap around stab jacket, that would provide an extra 1-2" around your whole torso in the direction of flow, whereas the wing is only 1" across your back (and actually fills in that gap under your tank slightly too) so has less resistance. Your arms arent forced out to the side like stay-puft marshmallow man like the jacket, they can be streamlined behind your shoulders as they lie down your side - just a few places its more streamlined.

All in all, you highlighted some good points about both BC types, i saw that overall you gave the SP Classic more +'s, and if i wanted a stab jacket, that looks like a good choice (however most jackets i tried were nasty in the past - personal thing) i prefer it my way, you prefer yours, c'est la vie. At least you can say you tried it, lots dismiss it without even trying it

BTW, did you get any of the Conch divers out there with you over your time down here - we are always up for a dive.