No it doesn't.
There are divers who can get into perfect horizontal trim with a bcd. And there are divers who cannot with a wing and a backplate.
People need to stop pretending equipment is a big deal for trim and buoyancy. It's not. I was recently playing around with my bcd and was able to hold exactly the same position as I do with my twinset and one piece harness.
-not a boasting post, only an experiment to confirm a hypothesis-
Read this. Agreed. Stopped siding a shed. Went to my pile of borrowed gear for our students. Picked a random assortment of equipment I've never dove before (only criteria was a wetsuit that fit) and went into the lake (6 minutes equipment assembly and predive checks). Brought my camera along and kept a stick in frame elbows locked ( -+ 2 inches) neutral and trim for 5 minutes. No sculling or fanning.
Equipment :
XS Dracor enduto BCD
Dragor pursuit fins
FFM mask
XL 3mm hood
L 7mm farmer John bottoms only
Cave filled lp131 tank
It had been 1200 hours since my previous 'fun' dive in OC back mount, nothing fit and no predive weight check. The mismatched, poorly sized and outdated equipment made no difference in my buoyancy or trim.
To anyone using their personal experience or skills underwater to upsell gear to uninformed students please reconsider. Equipment doesn't substitute for technique.
I don't consider personal my mastery of buoyancy significantly greater than the standard I have for my PADI students upon course completion of the open water class.
Regards,
Cameron
Ps. After the foolishness I enjoyed an hour of actual diving.
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