kneptoon
Contributor
I moved over to BI a couple of years ago. The fit is great and it feels more streamlined. But I don't understand this business of how much more the BI assures good horizontal profile as opposed to a jacket. How much air do you actually add to the BC at depth. This is as an argument for BI over a jacket is moot. There are two negatives with the BI from my experience. As a rescue diver you cannot float high enough at surface to administer mouth to mouth resuscitation. Yes sometimes it helps to float like a cork. The other issue are pockets. BI are pretty sparse with pockets. Jackets have big deep pockets. Take an inventory of things you want to carry. Will the pockets hold it all? Or is everything festooned off D rings, adding to drags & snags. I am not passionate about either. When I went to buy my BI the local LDS suggested a Backplate w/wings, the issue was pockets and integrated weights. But really the pockets. It seems to be an ongoing issue as I read threads on SB regarding storage and BPW. The simplicity of the BPW is much appreciated but compromised with what to do with all the stuff we carry. Good luck, I see I haven't made up my mind yet.