Finally got a bp/w

[drrich2]

IIRC, they floated (upright, barely protruding fin tips) in the freshwater quarry when I used them years ago. 2XL size. Same for my Deep 6 Eddys.

Richard.

 

[Kupu]

As a long time fan of a back inflate BCD, it took me 20 years to give in to curiosity and try a BPW.
Should have tried one earlier, love the clean feeling of the basic harness and how a 4-5lb steel plate puts me into effortless horizontal trim with no additional lead needed. Switching to a more buoyant fin is one easy fix for slightly heavy legs.

Buoyancy of fins mentioned in this thread, in fresh water...
Go Sport (bungee straps). Size L is 4 oz positive, Size SM is 3 oz positive.
Deep 6 Eddy (steel straps) Size L and SM neutral.
OMS Slipstream (rubber strap) Size L slightly negative (guessing 1-2 oz negative, they very slowly dropped to the bottom during my test)

 

[SlugLife]

Yea, still wet behind the ears compared to some of you old timers.

Hah, I'm not judging. You just have to pop into the right thread, or spark the right topic for "BPW is much better than jacket BCDs, and should replace 99% of jacket-BCDs" to come up.

Sometimes it helps to ask a "stupid question" in order to get a discussion started, and pull info out of more experienced people. That's how I got started with SideMount diving.

Cool thanks. I’m using some fiberglass spearfishing fins (think stiffer and slightly shorter than free diving fins). .... Most of my diving is in the open ocean and I like having the power to move against currents and cover lots of ground when needed.

Use the right tool for the job. There are probably a few fundamentals that are 99.9% true, however consider most advice to be general-use advice, where there are some exceptions.

A high-quality, high-dollar knife or precision cutting tool may be an amazing tool in general, but perhaps less useful if you're trying to mow a lawn. If your normal diving needs a lot of power, moving against currents, and covering lots of ground .... then fins designed for free-diving or other forms of diving may be FAR better for those purposes than "tech fins" which are perhaps better suited for cave/wreck dives and more precision work.

I have several pairs of fins myself. However, many of my dives are treasure-hunting dives and need to cover a lot of ground. I find myself using my SeaWing Novas simply because they're great for covering a lot of ground with flutter-kick, even though I can't manage to do a good frog-kick, or reverse-kick.

---

edit: Since this thread diverted into fin-recommendations, I STRONGLY suggest you ask people if they've used specific fins for diving in currents or covering a lot of ground. Some of these fin-suggestions are really good tech-diving fins, but I suspect may not be as good for your kind of diving. While I love the Seawing Novas I wasn't exactly suggesting you buy a pair. They may be approximately equivalent to what you already have.

But if you did get a pair, you'd probably want the "Gorilla" version which are stiffer. The normal Seawing Novas are designed to be flexible and work best with light-to-medium power kicks. Strong-kicks will end up wasting a LOT of energy.

I'm curious what fins you have if you're willing to share that info. (again, not judging, just curious)

 

[mcohen1021]

Why didn’t anyone on scuba board tell me about how good these are?

Maybe you missed the other 475 threads about how all of us using jacket style travel BCs are inferior divers not worthy of sharing a boat with wing/BP and back inflate divers...

 

[Bazzathemammoth]

Actually in starting to feel really smug now for some reason…

Maybe you missed the other 475 threads about how all of us using jacket style travel BCs are inferior divers not worthy of sharing a boat with wing/BP and back inflate divers...

 

[Bazzathemammoth]

Hah, I'm not judging. You just have to pop into the right thread, or spark the right topic for "BPW is much better than jacket BCDs, and should replace 99% of jacket-BCDs" to come up.

Sometimes it helps to ask a "stupid question" in order to get a discussion started, and pull info out of more experienced people. That's how I got started with SideMount diving.


Use the right tool for the job. There are probably a few fundamentals that are 99.9% true, however consider most advice to be general-use advice, where there are some exceptions.

A high-quality, high-dollar knife or precision cutting tool may be an amazing tool in general, but perhaps less useful if you're trying to mow a lawn. If your normal diving needs a lot of power, moving against currents, and covering lots of ground .... then fins designed for free-diving or other forms of diving may be FAR better for those purposes than "tech fins" which are perhaps better suited for cave/wreck dives and more precision work.

I have several pairs of fins myself. However, many of my dives are treasure-hunting dives and need to cover a lot of ground. I find myself using my SeaWing Novas simply because they're great for covering a lot of ground with flutter-kick, even though I can't manage to do a good frog-kick, or reverse-kick.

---

edit: Since this thread diverted into fin-recommendations, I STRONGLY suggest you ask people if they've used specific fins for diving in currents or covering a lot of ground. Some of these fin-suggestions are really good tech-diving fins, but I suspect may not be as good for your kind of diving. While I love the Seawing Novas I wasn't exactly suggesting you buy a pair. They may be approximately equivalent to what you already have.

But if you did get a pair, you'd probably want the "Gorilla" version which are stiffer. The normal Seawing Novas are designed to be flexible and work best with light-to-medium power kicks. Strong-kicks will end up wasting a LOT of energy.

I'm curious what fins you have if you're willing to share that info. (again, not judging, just curious)

Fully! I’ve got a pair of ruku blades in some mares foot pockets. I think ruku is a nz brand, so you guys probably haven’t heard of them. Here in nz we do breathhold spear fishing, and that’s what they are designed for. I use them for that also.

I’ll still use them for most of my scuba diving, as you rightly pointed out they are the right tool for the job. Some other divers in the club use the seawing novas, mine are significantly longer and more powerful by comparison.

Long term, I want to do some tech diving as well as what I’m currently doing. I also want to enjoy more precise maneuvering when I’m doing wreck dives now. That’s the main thinking behind wanting a pair of shorter fins as well as my long ones.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Actually in starting to feel really smug now for some reason…

How I imagine everyone with a BPW looks (including myself).

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Hah, I'm not judging. You just have to pop into the right thread, or spark the right topic for "BPW is much better than jacket BCDs, and should replace 99% of jacket-BCDs" to come up.

Sometimes it helps to ask a "stupid question" in order to get a discussion started, and pull info out of more experienced people. That's how I got started with SideMount diving.


Use the right tool for the job. There are probably a few fundamentals that are 99.9% true, however consider most advice to be general-use advice, where there are some exceptions.

A high-quality, high-dollar knife or precision cutting tool may be an amazing tool in general, but perhaps less useful if you're trying to mow a lawn. If your normal diving needs a lot of power, moving against currents, and covering lots of ground .... then fins designed for free-diving or other forms of diving may be FAR better for those purposes than "tech fins" which are perhaps better suited for cave/wreck dives and more precision work.

I have several pairs of fins myself. However, many of my dives are treasure-hunting dives and need to cover a lot of ground. I find myself using my SeaWing Novas simply because they're great for covering a lot of ground with flutter-kick, even though I can't manage to do a good frog-kick, or reverse-kick.

---

edit: Since this thread diverted into fin-recommendations, I STRONGLY suggest you ask people if they've used specific fins for diving in currents or covering a lot of ground. Some of these fin-suggestions are really good tech-diving fins, but I suspect may not be as good for your kind of diving. While I love the Seawing Novas I wasn't exactly suggesting you buy a pair. They may be approximately equivalent to what you already have.

But if you did get a pair, you'd probably want the "Gorilla" version which are stiffer. The normal Seawing Novas are designed to be flexible and work best with light-to-medium power kicks. Strong-kicks will end up wasting a LOT of energy.

I'm curious what fins you have if you're willing to share that info. (again, not judging, just curious)

I'm surprised you recommended the Seawing gorillas given the issues you mentioned. Those are the worst fins I have ever owned as compared to find from Mares, Hollis, Deep 6, and OMS that I currently own.

I would strongly recommend against those fins for anyone. If he needed heavy fins, then there are a number of great choices.

The good options for neutral/slightly positive fins is limited. @ddrich2's recommendation for OMS slipstream is probably the top contender given the OP's location.

 

[Bazzathemammoth]

Those slipstreams look sweet. I’ll check them out in person next time I get up to the big city, there’s a specialty dive shop there that has them in stock so I can try them on.

My lds is useless, I’ve already tried to get some better fins there, but they couldn’t help. I also tried to buy a bp/w from there a few years back and they said “oh you mean a rear inflate bcd”. And then they wouldn’t acknowledge bp/w existed, let alone try and get one for me.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Those slipstreams look sweet. I’ll check them out in person next time I get up to the big city, there’s a specialty dive shop there that has them in stock so I can try them on.

I hope they work well for you.

My lds is useless, I’ve already tried to get some better fins there, but they couldn’t help. I also tried to buy a bp/w from there a few years back and they said “oh you mean a rear inflate bcd”. And then they wouldn’t acknowledge bp/w existed, let alone try and get one for me.

This is why I don't agree with the "support your LDS" mantra. Support your LDS if it is good. Make it a point to support as they are so rare (unfortunately).