Do I actually need a womens specific BCD? Oceanic/Zeagle/Bare?

[ams511]

Political correctness aside, if you don't have big breasts then it's probably not an issue

Even if you are well endowed, it may not be an issue with you wearing such a thick wetsuit with a hooded vest. Your "girls" are protected with 10mm of neoprene.

 

[chs8084]

It is also about where it hits your hips. I had (actually have and am selling) a hera bcd which I really liked, but my bp/w fits even better because I can customize the fit.

 

[halocline]

a big complaint of men's BC on women is the fact that the straps comes down to the front like suspenders, instead of toward the rear like backpacks. Even when trying a suspender type in the shop might not feel uncomfortable, when loaded up with tank and weights, they could start squeezing you in the wrong places. Also, the sternum strap should right higher up so as not to have to pull the place where it attach to the shoulder straps toward each other, which also causes discomfort.

Since women have a shorter torso, the cummerbund/waist strap has to run a bit higher than men's. This might cause the BC ride a little higher than on a man (could cause the bladder to ride higher or start wrapping over the shoulder), thus some brands has torso length adjustment that's independent of the front strap adjustment. Also, with the higher cummerbund, the pockets attached to it will be a bit higher, making it harder to reach. Some women's BC has pockets that attaches below the cummerbund. Or even have cummerbund that contours out toward the bottom, etc.

My points exactly:
1. Tank and weight loading are TOTALLY different in the water. What are you buying, a backpack to carry tanks on land or a piece of diving gear?
2. and 3. Sternum straps and cummerbunds are totally useless appendages, designed to look/feel useful while the BC is being tried on in the store.

If dive shops showrooms were underwater, dive gear (BCs especially) would probably be a lot different.

The standard webbing harness doesn't go anywhere near boobs, it goes over the shoulder and then under the arms. This is because it attaches to the plate on your back , not to a vest-type device on your front. One of the worst things about the jacket BC design is the clutter of useless crap in the front.

Getting back to the D ring issue brought up by the OP; you do realize you can clip multiple items to each D ring, right? Technical divers with lots and lots of gear typically only have 4 D rings on their harness. The advantage is that it's easy to find anything clipped in because there are only a few spots, and they're far enough away from each other so that there's no confusion about where exactly something is clipped. Often you can't easily see the D ring, so you're working on feel and familiarity.

There are two things from the hogarthian crowd that are great for recreational diving; the use of a rigid backplate/webbing harness, and the idea of a longer primary 2nd stage hose with bungied alternate. Eventually many recreational divers (most, hopefully) will be taught with this configuration.

 

[Peter_C]

Getting back to the D ring issue brought up by the OP; you do realize you can clip multiple items to each D ring, right? Technical divers with lots and lots of gear typically only have 4 D rings on their harness. The advantage is that it's easy to find anything clipped in because there are only a few spots, and they're far enough away from each other so that there's no confusion about where exactly something is clipped. Often you can't easily see the D ring, so you're working on feel and familiarity.

Probably just a written error, but that would be 5 d-rings. One on each shoulder, one on the left hip, one at the front of the crotch strap, and what is commonly called the butt d-ring at the back of the crotch strap.

There are two things from the hogarthian crowd that are great for recreational diving; the use of a rigid backplate/webbing harness, and the idea of a longer primary 2nd stage hose with bungied alternate. Eventually many recreational divers (most, hopefully) will be taught with this configuration.

My gal after having dove around others using not hogarthian gear goes, "I REALLY like my bungee backup as I always know right where it is". Me too! A long hose in kelp is nice too as it stays close to the body so the kelp monster doesn't grab it. Nor does errant swimming hands. Plus if in an actual OOA situation it is much more comfortable to be able to have a little space and sort things out, without having to be in their face. Of course you can be in their face if you wanted to.

Unfortunately non of our local dive shops actually sell BP/W's and do not train with that style of gear. Yet most everyone that continues to dive the North Coast eventually winds up with a BP/W. Buying gear twice never makes sense, but unfortunately I got to buy much of my gear twice, because no one pulled me aside before the local dive shop sold me a bunch of junk I don't use now.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The other issue with storing items is that you also do not need to store them on D-rings. If you are or plan to dive colder water or really any at all that requires a full suit, wet or dry, get one with or put pockets on the thighs. Right now I have 4 wetsuits and a dry suit. All of them have thigh pockets. I would not willingly dive any suit that does not have them. You can also add a storage pouch the bottom of the plate on a BPW.

And coldwater regs have already been covered. The HOGs are easy to get parts for. In fact I can sell them to you directly. How's that for easy to get?

 

[halocline]

Probably just a written error, but that would be 5 d-rings. One on each shoulder, one on the left hip, one at the front of the crotch strap, and what is commonly called the butt d-ring at the back of the crotch strap.

For some reason I was under the impression that the front crotch D ring was only for scooter use; I do without it because I don't scooter. Am I mistaken about that? But, 4 or 5, it's still the same principle.

I've seen jacket BCs, in particular some Mares monstrosity being sold as a 'technical' BC, with rows of D rings on the chest as if it was somehow useful.

 

[victorzamora]

My fiancee is not what you would call flat-chested and has voiced concerns about "mens" vs "womens" BCD's. I tried sticking her in a BP/W, but that's not what she wanted. She never dove one, but she appreciated the simplicity. She ended up with an Aeris Ex Lite (close enough) and is much happier than she was. I mention this not trying to talk you into an Aeris, but because she found that style BCD much more comfortable than the typical jacket BCD's. It is very much like a prettier BP/W with a soft backplate. If you look at it, the shoulder straps go to the back kinda like on a hogarthian harness. She wears a 7mm full and sometimes a 2mm shortie over it and has expressed more comfort in the new setup. So: if you like the Excursion, good for you. Don't let any titles detract....BUT, at least look at a BP/W. My fiancee ended up with the "prettier" version of one.

As far as regs go: I've never liked regs more than my current Hollis regs. The Hog regs I dove with were very similar (can't say if better or worse, but definitely similar)....but they have some benefits. Namely: you can reverse what side the hose is on. Not a big deal for 1 tank backmount, but I'd love that flexibility when sidemounting. The other benefit is that you can buy a parts kit for it and put it in your save-a-dive kit and whenever you need to fix it, you can. This isn't true for the Hollis regs. Another note: my fiancee is NOT a technical diver. I don't know if I'll be able to convince her to do dives outside of the Caribbean. She is still wholeheartedly in love with her long hose setup. After her first longhose dive, she told me she thought people were stupid to still be diving short hoses when that was an option. Something you should definitely look in to, and would only cost you like $20 to try.

As far as D-rings go: I bought a harness with 2 shoulder d-rings and an extra "ring" (Hollis Elite 2, so you can see what I mean) and it got really busy really quickly. I removed some D-Rings and everything got easier. There's more on a single D-ring, but that's easier because now you don't have two layers tangling up. You grab one piece of gear, follow it to the snap and unsnap it.

About the scooter D-ring: one of the instructors at my shop uses his to clip off instructional materials. I use mine to clip off whatever I need to get rid of quickly to free up my hands. A while back I had a light in my hand, but needed both hands to help my fiancee who was having issues (inflator hose broke). I fumbled at my shoulder for a second before clipping it off to my scooter d-ring. I guess it'd be "temporary storage".