Double Tank Setup??

[9supratt4]

In order to dive on doubles.....do you have to have a BP/W setup or do any Back Inflates allow for doubles??

 

[H2Andy]

no, you can dive doubles with back inflates

just make sure the model in question supports doubles

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

But the question is do you really want to? It might seem logical until you realize you need a special adapter or find out how uncomfortable or unstable the tanks are. I looked at it a long time ago with nighthawk and walked away from conventional bcd's in favor of the BP/W.

 

[H2Andy]

well, yeah

i would definetiley (or however the frag you spell that) recommend a bp/wings

but it can be done with doubles

 

[9supratt4]

I've been researching a lot so that I can know what I am getting when I go to buy my BC. The reason I keep leaning to a Back Inflate is that I like all the pockets and D-Rings that are on them. In particular I am looking at the Bare Voodoo, but then I want to ultimately get into diving wrecks and diving doubles and I keep hearing the BP/W is the best for that type of stuff.

I'm so confused!!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If you are going to be inside a wreck, you do not want all those pockets and d-rings - they are essentially potential entanglement hazards, reduce your streamlining and are almost always in the wrong place anyway.

The basic BP/Wing in a Hog/DIR configuration works very well and if you add anything to it, it needs to be for a very solid reason. For example I bungee a lift bag to the bottom of the plate for offshore diving and in a cave I carry a (very non-DIR to the purists) D-ring behind the can light an inch or so from the plate for jump reels as it keeps them higher and out of the way compared to the left hip d-ring.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I've been researching a lot so that I can know what I am getting when I go to buy my BC. The reason I keep leaning to a Back Inflate is that I like all the pockets and D-Rings that are on them. In particular I am looking at the Bare Voodoo, but then I want to ultimately get into diving wrecks and diving doubles and I keep hearing the BP/W is the best for that type of stuff.

I'm so confused!!

Pockets? D-rings? you can add any number of these items to a normal hogarthian harness on a backplate. Generally you dont need more than the pockets on your drysuit but I have 1 of the 2 zipper dive rite pockets which turned out to be pretty handy though I dont use it in the conventional way...

Here is just some of the pockets you can buy and attach to your rig:

SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - Pockets

OMS Backplate & Harness Accessories http://www.OMSdive.com

BC System Accessories | Halcyon Dive Systems

XS Scuba Pocket Weight Belts

XS Scuba Pockets

and thats a fraction of the companies who product pockets for scuba use. you need not even buy scuba pockets, lots of other outdoor activities require pockets and most fit on standard 2inch webbing so it shouldn't be hard to make the system fit your specific needs. Somewhere around here there is a thread from a guy who spent like $800 on pockets for his bp/w and though it seems like way overkill it is after all possible to create a system made almost entirely out of pockets. Please dont be that guy though...

And D-rings isn't even a good excuse. I could put more D-rings on 1 strap of a bp/W harness than any conventional BC will have on the entire rig. But unlike a conventional bcd I only need a few D-rings because they can be positioned exactly where I need them to be ergonomic and streamlined.

Anything a conventional BCD comes with can be added to a BP/W including padding, pockets, D-rings, and knife sheaths. Dont sell yourself short, go try out a hogarthian BP/W.

 

[D_B]

Yep you could do it in a BC, and there are even old photos of NASA divers doing so in the training water tank in their Knighthawk BC's
Your also going to need the specialbands to go around both tanks that mount to the BC


BUT ... If you want to dive wrecks, or advance your training in any other area, get a BP/W
I have a Knighthawk, and I have those special bands, but I'm going to get a BP/W if I ever want to try doubles, or when I want to advance my diving and my training

For the price of the Voodoo ... http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-3/006362/Bare-Voodoo-BC.html

You could get one of Tobins outstanding BP/W's from Deep Sea Supply ... https://www.deepseasupply.com/

I like my Knighthawk, but for the money I spent on it, I wished I had bought one of Tobin's rigs

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I also want to point out that a bp/w works equally well for both double and single tank configurations (or more...).

If you intend to do wreck diving a bp/w is the way to go. They take no more time to learn on then a conventional bcd and can be adapted to fit any size person and for any diving environment.

 

[Cave Bum]

I also want to point out that a bp/w works equally well for both double and single tank configurations (or more...).

If you intend to do wreck diving a bp/w is the way to go. They take no more time to learn on then a conventional bcd and can be adapted to fit any size person and for any diving environment.

Most BP/W's requires a special adaptor to use them with a single tank. Another option, the one I use, is a Dive Rite Transpac, which is basically a soft backplate. Also, I disagree with the asumption that D-rings and pockets are entanglement hazards. You have D-rings on a BP/W and ususally I see overstuffed pockets on the dry suits.