cool_hardware52
Contributor
Current teaching from PADI is that it is unsafe to dive without a BC. I assume other agencies teachings are similar.
Some divers nonetheless dive without a BC, at least some of the time, either because they are vintage equipment enthusiasts or for reasons of simplicity and streamlining.
Under what circumstances, if any, do you believe it is safe without a BC? What skills or knowledge do divers need before undertaking this style of diving?
If you are actually 8 lbs positive in your swim trunks and don't carry more than 8 and dive with a total gear load that is less than 8 lbs I don't see it being any more dangerous than swimming without a PFD.
Most people aren't +8 however.
When I learned to dive nobody was using BC's for the simple fact they didn't exist. It was all about very careful weighting. Of course the typical tanks were small and there wasn't much hovering going on. The early days of scuba was seen as an extension of free diving.
We'd weight ourselves to be neutral to very slightly positive with a full tank at the surface, typically in a 1/4 inch neo wetsuit and most often a steel 72. At the end of the dive we would be a few more lbs positive when we reached the surface.
I clearly remember wondering *what* the guys on the "cattle" boat were wearing when the first horse collars started showing up.
I loved following the cattle boats around after that because it was almost certain that you'd find weight belts and spear guns etc. when these guys panicked and dropped their belts.
The evolution of the BC lead to less education and understanding of weighting, and more people that weren't really all that comfortable in the water starting to out number the genuine watermen.
Elevator going up!
Tobin