Equipment Trends: The BCD

[danvolker]

I would expect that many here would LOVE to be able to do a 1 hour dive, to 60 or even 90 feet, with no tank and no BC( or bp/wing).....
In the most perfect form, we would have a small mouthpiece that would be some type of James Bond like gill system.....and there would be ZERO need for that huge bulk and discomfort of a BC or bp/wing.
Without the tank and BC, we would be much slicker in the water, everything would be more effortless and more comfortable....even getting in and out of the water becomes much easier

The Tooka or Hooka concept is a direction that has advantages, but it has failings that will never allow them to win out over the independence of scuba....But a clear advantage, is the much greater comfort and ease of moving around without the nasty BC or wing system with tank on your back....

What I am suggesting, is the perfect system is going to have us being more like a freediver, and you ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT want some stinking BC or wing on your back, with this perfect system.
For now, a few of us think the small wings and minimalist harness concept is the tradeoff we can best live with....but really, none of us should want any BC if it could be avoided. And high tech fabrics ( 100 times more evolved than Goretex) could be developed to create a thermal suit with ultra low drag, and zero buoyancy or buoyancy change with depth.

And with the ideal gear, you WOULD BE SWIMMING UP, OR SWIMMING DOWN--- there would be none of this elevator nonsense, and there would be zero reason to have a surface breathing vest any more than you would see today's freedivers thinking that they need an air vest they can blow up for their surface swim.....it won't happen, because freedivers have swimming and surface skills....and far too many scuba divers do not!!!

The BC is really an "equipment solution" for bad gear choices. What we need, are better choices !

 

[ams511]

Another option would be to leave the tank on the surface and dive with an umbilical instead. It takes some getting used to but greatly reduces the stress on your back. I do this diving from a kayak so the tank follows me but there are other products on the market that do the same thing.

I would be worried using surface supplied air because of risk of having the kayak or float capsized. Unfortunately many people do not understand what a dive flag means, especially in Florida.

---------- Post added February 28th, 2015 at 01:52 PM ----------

It's well to remember that the early days of scuba were accomplished without BC's. Of course the early scuba divers were drawn from the ranks of skin divers. Fit, well acquainted with the sea, and comfortable in this environment. Some how we survived.

Having said that there wasn't much hovering going on, and the available tanks were modestly sized, repurposed fire bottles or 2250 72's The fact remains however that bc's have become ridiculously huge, and are too often used an equipment "bandaid" for inadequate education about buoyancy and weighting.

Tobin

From what I remember, The big wings (over 60 lbs) were marketed primarily to technical divers for using big doubles with terrible buoyancy characteristics and/or carrying stages and other equipment. At the time there was very little formal education about buoyancy and weighting because the established Scuba industry wanting nothing to do with this diving segment. While there was cave training, education always seemed to be a few steps behind what divers were doing.

If you are talking about recreational jacket BCs, the modern ones don't seem to be any larger than my late 80s Seatec and my early 90s Beuchat Master Lift. I don't own them anymore but from what I remember the lift was in the mid-30s to low-40s range. I would have to think that for the big players, liability concerns are important so they oversize their BCs. I am sure the big players could design a compact 20 lb lift travel BC but then some idiot would use it with a 140 CF tank and die. Then their family will sue them.

 

[markmud]

My wife and I owned Dive Rite BP/W. They were not comfortable; however, nobody helped us adjust them properly. We were never trim. And we had to add pockets for different things. We were definitely ignorant about adjusting and trimming them correctly.

Knowing what I know now, I would have spent the time to adjust the BP/W correctly, trimm it correctly with plate weights, and bought pockets sized for the gear I like to carry.

However, my current BC fits me fine and it is far from being worn out. So, I will skip the latest fad and continue to look like a newb when I dive with my jacket BC. Maybe, I will catch the next fad

I am not being a jerk here--I am just way too cheap to keep up!

10 years ago when I was diving with the Dive Rite, some people asked questions about it. "Hey, are you a tech diver?" Or: Hey techie wanna-be, we want you to buddy-up with this guy!"

Different strokes for different folks. Viva la deference.

markm

 

[rx7diver]

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[ams511]

However, my current BC fits me fine and it is far from being worn out. So, I will skip the latest fad and continue to look like a newb when I dive with my jacket BC. Maybe, I will catch the next fad I am not being a jerk here--I am just way too cheap to keep up!

Let me see if I understand you correctly. You purchased a piece of equipment that you didn't know how to use and didn't want to spend the time learning how to use it. When there were plenty of websites (BAUE, UK Gas Diving, GUE, etc.) discussing the proper adjustment of backplate and wings plus BBSs like Scubaboard and The Deco Stop. So it was too difficult to master and people made fun of you, so you got frustrated and purchased a conventional BC. Now you want to say it is a fad and your not a jerk. Well I disagree on both counts. First, BP/W have been around for a long time, so they are definitely not a fad. Second, it doesn't matter what you look like, what matters is how well you dive.

 

[Rich Keller]

For real scuba divers, this can make sense to maybe 65 feet deep or so..but at some point, the length of the umbilical becomes drag....so high current dives like we have in Palm Beach don't make sense much deeper than 65 or so feet.

I am working with limited space diving from a kayak so my umbilical is only 50 feet, it has a life line along with the hose so I am towing the kayak with the line not the hose and it is heavy enough that it does not float. My range is more like 35 feet for this type of dive. High current drift dives are not an issue as everything is moving at about the same rate and in the same direction.

 

[danvolker]

I am working with limited space diving from a kayak so my umbilical is only 50 feet, it has a life line along with the hose so I am towing the kayak with the line not the hose and it is heavy enough that it does not float. My range is more like 35 feet for this type of dive. High current drift dives are not an issue as everything is moving at about the same rate and in the same direction.

I like the set up you are using
What I meant about current, was that when we want to stop and grab lobsters, or stop for photos or video, at some point, the power of the current can act on the length of hose....the kayak, or even the Tooka raft, actually have less drag than pretty much ANY jacket BC, so they are not so much of an issue for this.

I used a Brownies 3rd Lung on many of our 60 foot reefs like the Breakers, Horseshoe and Pauls for a couple of years...the 3 man unit would actually deliver fine for 2 divers to 60 feet....try it with three and everyone is pulling too hard for air at 45 feet. The plus was a 3 hour air supply, and with a gas can, you have an entire day of u/w fun.
The Tooka concept works better at 60 feet or deeper, but untill Brownies delivers on it's new fiber Optic link to the surface, so you can always see how much air you have left ( along with perks like gps and voice communication between divers and including boat), the potential exists for accidental OOA ascents, or the need to carry a 13 cu ft pony bailout ( which starts to eliminate the no-drag and maximally slick benefit of the surface supplied air diving ). We just figure that for a trained freediver using a Tooka or Brownie, that if the unit stops delivering air when only 30 feet down, it is a complete non-issue to make it to the surface easily -- and when limited to 30 feet, the quick ascent/no stop issue is nearly moot.

 

[Rich Keller]

You should look into using a commercial diving harness for this type of dive. It will give you a place to attach your umbilical and a bailout bottle of whatever size you choose. The umbilical attaches to the quick release snap shackle and the bailout goes on the back of the harness. This one is from the 80s but newer ones have larger openings that cam bands can be used with instead of hose clamps.



---------- Post added March 1st, 2015 at 08:42 AM ----------

I would be worried using surface supplied air because of risk of having the kayak or float capsized. Unfortunately many people do not understand what a dive flag means, especially in Florida.

I am diving off a tank not a compressor, everything in the kayak is always secured and the dive flag is floating behind the kayak so even if it capsizes while I am down there is no problem. I lose nothing, the air supply is not interrupted and the flag is still floating right side up. Plus the umbilical does not float so it is almost impossible for it to be cut by a prop.

 

[danvolker]

You should look into using a commercial diving harness for this type of dive. It will give you a place to attach your umbilical and a bailout bottle of whatever size you choose.

This is actually what I have.... Brownie's Patented Drop Weight Cummerbelt |

But I don't like the drag.....so I am actually inclined to rig a rubber freedive belt with a hose connector I can take off of a brownie belt.
I want to stay as slick as we are when we freedive, and obviously get max benefit from my big DiveR freedive fins....huge glides after each kick,,,,,Think barracuda doing one big tail kick, then a 20 foot glide

Also, I could see making a pvc torpedo float that two scuba tanks could fit in, length wise, so the 6 foot long or so ultra streamlined surface float with flag, has the tanks in it, is narrow, and pulls with the kind of a drag you would have with a racing surfski.... technically I could just mount the scuba tanks on a racing surfski ( which I have done, and it is awesome), but that is a pretty expensive "accessory" to be suggesting to anyone.


( A 19 foot long racing surfski can be paddled to about 8 mph, or roughly more than twice as fast as a Scupper Pro Kayak....the much faster hull speed and ultra low drag, make it a spectacular platform to use for dragging tanks )

In the "evolution" of dive gear I care most about, I would like to drastically eliminate all the drag we have when compared to fish or dolphins...They kick and get a huge glide--versus the high drag gear of today's divers....
Our wetsuits need much less drag....our head and mask need to be more of a "fairing" concept, that has hydrodynamics much better than our current head and mask ( see dolphin and evolution).....obviously we dont want a big stinking BC ....And as of now, the DiveR freedive fins are as close to ideal for High speed propulsion as I have seen...

[video=youtube_share;n-R1fmnOwwk]http://youtu.be/n-R1fmnOwwk[/video]

start this video at about 5:27 in to it....at full 1080p of course...
The scooter ( my camera was on top of) was pulling at around 3.5 mph..maybe 4....to keep up with these dolphin, I kicked with maximum thrust with the diveR fins, getting to maybe 5 mph --the Dive R's allow you to essentially "change kick shape and change gears" like a bike...
I don't want to have to use a scooter though....I want to eliminate drag, and then use optimal propulsion to accomplish something more like fish or dolphins.
Point being, if we could cut our drag to a fraction of what it is, the DiveR fins would allow you to travel in the water more like a dolphin


As to how fast SHOULD we want to go....Like dolphins, sometimes you cruise slow, looking for things slow..sometimes you cover ground faster, because it works better for finding somethings.

 

[Rich Keller]

Also, I could see making a pvc torpedo float that two scuba tanks could fit in, length wise, so the 6 foot long or so ultra streamlined surface float with flag, has the tanks in it, is narrow, and pulls with the kind of a drag you would have with a racing surfski.... technically I could just mount the scuba tanks on a racing surfski ( which I have done, and it is awesome), but that is a pretty expensive "accessory" to be suggesting to anyone.

You might be better off using oxygen tanks instead of scuba tanks for this. They are made to be as light as possible so they are too buoyant for scuba but perfect for this as you will need less lift to float them further streamlining you surface float.

---------- Post added March 1st, 2015 at 10:46 AM ----------

In the "evolution" of dive gear I care most about, I would like to drastically eliminate all the drag we have when compared to fish or dolphins.

The best way I have found to do this on solo shallow water dives is to use the harness with a 30 cu/ft tank, no BCD, one second stage and a SPG both with short hoses. The difference between full and empty on the tank is only 2lbs so I split the difference and weight myself 1lb heavy at the start and end 1lb light eliminating the need for the BCD. The tank is only 4.75" wide and 1/4" away from my back so there is very little drag, the drag from the hoses is as low as I can get it and the only things that hang down a few inches are the SPG and a knife that are both clipped to my harness. I usually cradle the SPG in my left arm with my left hand holding the knife so even those are out of the way. I use a pouch weight belt with lead shot weights that have a little less drag and I can drop just some of the weight or all of it if needed.