Do you anything other than your opinion to support this contention? ...While I do not accept your premise that safety issues caused the 70's BP&W to be "commercially unsuccessful" I will point out that there are many reasons for any product to fail to gain popularity and safety is usually near the bottom of the list.
Hi Tobin,
Perhaps you should investigate the history of the At-Pac (made by Watergill) and followed by the Dacor Nautilus and later CUDA Systems. The At-Pac was the first of the wings. I tested this buoyancy device while stationed at DCIEM in 1973; this design had a tendency to roll a diver over face-down in the water.
I subsequently gave evidence in court (as an expert witness) regarding the death of a diver in Tobermory, Ontario. It was held by the court that this unit caused the diver to roll face-down in the water and it was directly attributed to his death. The lawsuit was successful. These and other "events" led to the company selling it's assets to Scubapro. Everything old is new again....
Funny how those that consider a BP&W "specialty equipment" usually either have no clue about them, or have a financial incentive not to sell them.
Given that BP&W's aren't widely stocked, and few LDS know anything about them, how do you explain their rapidly growing popularity? Anecdotal evidence reveals many more on boats and at popular dive sites, and the number of brands offering BP&W's seems to increase daily.
Perhaps you have some hard and fast statistics to support your statement?
To equate a BP&W to a Kirby Morgan Superlight is ridiculous.
The BP&W is a very simple modular BC, widely used by recreational divers, new divers and tech divers. A BP&W is cost competitive with recreational BC's
A KM Superlight OTOH is commercial dive gear. Use requires specialized training, other specialized equipment, and tenders.
If you prefer not to sell BP&W's don't, but your continued contention that they are unsafe, in the absence of any facts, is getting old.
First of all my comment was in tongue-in-cheek; but what do you have against a Superlite? Your comment about tenders shows that you don't know much about them, as they are often used with SCUBA.
There are many types of full-face masks that have been used over the years by recreational and scientific divers worldwide (outside of the commercial field). They are just another tool which has the advantage of offering verbal communication between the diver and others. They also have their use in in-water recompression of DCS victims in isolated locations where a chamber is not otherwise available (as discussed on another thread).
I also don't recall that cost-effectiveness was a requirement for the selection of equipment. There are several recreational divers on this forum that have invested much more money in rebreather equipment. Like a rebreather, divers do require additional training, but each are within the realm of recreational diving and provide several advantages.
I no longer sell diving equipment, so I don't see the point you're trying to make. "DeepSeaSupply Innovative Backplates, Wings, Harnesses and accessories" Your vested interest in divers purchasing this equipment is clear.
I was simply trying to give the OP some possible reasons for the reception he has received. As this is supposition only, I've encouraged the OP to ask each individual Instuctor to explain his/her reasoning.
Your continued comments that I am suggesting that it is my "continued contention that they (BP/W) are unsafe," is what is getting old.
I admit that it is my considered opinion (of which I'm aware that you disagree) that a BP/W is not the safest piece of equipment for a new diver. As this is an opinion, I do not have any need to justify same to anyone.
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