First BCD - BP/W?

[Phishie]

Do you use a single tank adapter with it? How much weight do you have on your belt normally?

It's still new and I haven't had a chance to dive with it yet. From what I have read from others and after putting it together I think just the cam bands should be good enough. You can always get a STA later if you need one. If it rolls too much (or I need a bunch of weight) I'll buy one and stick it on.

I'm going to a pool on Jan17 to get my weighting down. I only plan on having a few ditchable pounds on my belt though (including the differential between fresh/salt water so it's easy to switch out since I dive in fresh quarries as well as salt). If I need any more, I'll bolt some flat weights directly to the plate to trim things out.

 

[OldNSalty]

I dive wet - warm water with shorty - one tank - no deep diving! i want to stay low in cost but i want it to last also ... few hundred for the plate and wings - i heard these setups were the cheapest route??

I had also heard the BP/W were the cheapest but I don't think that is entirely correct. For one, it is like saying Chevy is cheaper then Ford. Well, which Checvy? Which Ford? What options?

I think the truth is you could get a really low quality jacket BCD for cheaper then a BP/W. I think you could also find more jacket styles at higher average price points then most BP/W setups.

I do think that over the long run, for a diver who wants to do a variety of different activities and feels he needs different set ups, the BP/W is cheaper because you can swap out parts. Also, the fact that you can more easily replace something should it need it in a BP/W set up might mean lower cost over the life of your equipment.

I think in initial cost you will not see any major savings.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The BPW is also the bc that you fit to your body. You do not have to try and fit into a manufacturers idea of what size you are. As for pockets I have them glued to the thighs of my suits. You should be able to do that with a shorty as well. I only dive full suits myself for warmth and protection from jellies, coral, sharp edges on wrecks, etc.
I also have two DSS setups. One for singles and one for doubles.

 

[rstofer]

That package looks about in my price range since I need two of them! How does that rig work for you and what all extra do I need to make it work? Just a crotch strap? Do you use a STA?

With that setup, you do need to add the 2" crotch strap, two cambands and the book bolts. You can skip the STA. The HOG wing has little anti-roll pads alongside the tank. They seem to be adequate. I have used that wing on a couple of different plates and it seems to work pretty well.

Even with the lower price, I would still purchase the DSS setup if I had it to do again. The plate is more interesting in that it has elastomer fittings at the harness slots. That means you don't need keepers to hold the webbing in place and it also means there is less chance of chafing.

Second, the DSS wing is held to the backplate with little rubber nipples and the cambands do not keep the wing captive. So, it's easy to remove the wing from the backplate for more protected storage. I put my backplate on the bottom of my dive bag but I put the wing on top. I don't want to take any chance of an impact puncture of the wing.

The anti-roll pads on the DSS singles wing (no STA required) are much more serious. They work very well! I am using the LCD-30 wing.

Richard

 

[rstofer]

And the difference in price between the DSS rig (HOG harness, stainless steel plate, LCD-30 wing) and
TECHNICAL SCUBA BCD PACKAGE @ Divers-Supply.com
is only $60 by the time you add everything you need to the 'package'.

Richard

 

[Tank601]

I had also heard the BP/W were the cheapest but I don't think that is entirely correct. For one, it is like saying Chevy is cheaper then Ford. Well, which Checvy? Which Ford? What options?

I think the truth is you could get a really low quality jacket BCD for cheaper then a BP/W. I think you could also find more jacket styles at higher average price points then most BP/W setups.

I do think that over the long run, for a diver who wants to do a variety of different activities and feels he needs different set ups, the BP/W is cheaper because you can swap out parts. Also, the fact that you can more easily replace something should it need it in a BP/W set up might mean lower cost over the life of your equipment.

I think in initial cost you will not see any major savings.

I noticed that the zeagle scout was cheap - anyone used that bc? Reviews were a little low on leisurepro...

 

[Tank601]

And the difference in price between the DSS rig (HOG harness, stainless steel plate, LCD-30 wing) and
TECHNICAL SCUBA BCD PACKAGE @ Divers-Supply.com
is only $60 by the time you add everything you need to the 'package'.

Richard

i figured $140 difference ...

 

[Tank601]

What blows my mind is - I called DSS and they recommended for light setup warm water - 17lb winds with steel backplate. Which all makes sense - the way they added up neg and positive buoyancy. But the thing is I was diving cold water with a 3mm full suit and a 7mm shorty over it and 20lbs on the belt I could not swim to the bottom! no air in a scuba pro jacket bc ... Then I dove later with same setup but only a 7mm shorty with 23lbs and did fine. That kins of weight on a belt is a pain in the A**! What I am trying to do is shed the belt and weight - but dss was saying i might need 4 lbs at the most?? Am I missing something? Would the BC have that much negative buoyancy?

 

[Tank601]

What blows my mind is - I called DSS and they recommended for light setup warm water - 17lb winds with steel backplate. Which all makes sense - the way they added up neg and positive buoyancy. But the thing is I was diving cold water with a 3mm full suit and a 7mm shorty over it and 20lbs on the belt I could not swim to the bottom! no air in a scuba pro jacket bc ... Then I dove later with same setup but only a 7mm shorty with 23lbs and did fine. That kind of weight on a belt is a pain in the A**! What I am trying to do is shed the belt and weight - but dss was saying i might need 4 lbs at the most?? Am I missing something? Would the BC have that much negative buoyancy?

 

[cool_hardware52]

What blows my mind is - I called DSS and they recommended for light setup warm water - 17lb winds with steel backplate. Which all makes sense - the way they added up neg and positive buoyancy. But the thing is I was diving cold water with a 3mm full suit and a 7mm shorty over it and 20lbs on the belt I could not swim to the bottom! no air in a scuba pro jacket bc ... Then I dove later with same setup but only a 7mm shorty with 23lbs and did fine. That kins of weight on a belt is a pain in the A**! What I am trying to do is shed the belt and weight - but dss was saying i might need 4 lbs at the most?? Am I missing something? Would the BC have that much negative buoyancy?

Ah, well for starters you never mentioned using anything other than a 3mm shortie,

You never provided any info regarding a 7mm suit.

As we discussed, if you add a lot more neoprene you will need a larger wing.

A typical 3mm full suit will be about 4-5 lbs positive. I'd guess a 7mm shortie could be 15 lbs positive, and most jacket type BC are inherently positive by 2-4 lbs due to foam padding.

3mm full suit ~ 5 lbs
7mm shortie ~15 lbs
Jacket BC ~4 lbs

Total 24 lbs


This is a *PERFECT* example of why I recommend actually testing the buoyancy of your exposure suit.


For the application you did describe, warm water in a 3mm suit with al 80's

Weight of your rig with a full tank:

Large SS plate and harness ~7 lbs
Regulator ~2 lbs
Full al 80 ~2 lbs

Rig max negative with a full tank -11 lbs

17 > 11 your rig will float if you ditch it

Your suit can only loose the buoyancy it starts with, 3mm suit ~5 lbs

17 > 5 the wing can *easily* compensate for the complete compression of your suit.

If your rig is -11 lbs with a full tank it will provide about 5 lbs of ballast with an empty tank. That's perfect if your suit is +5 lbs.

You *might* need 2-4 lbs in a belt, but I'd start with just the plate, reg and tank.

Tobin