First BCD

[Diver Dude]

Sorry if you guys don't believe my experience with back inflators. Why would I lie?
I have owned two differant b.c.s of this type and both tended to put my face in the water if I wasn't moving.
Think about it, all of the buoyancy with this type of b.c. is on your back not under your arms as with a jacket.
Is it enough to deter me from ever using another back inflator? No, I just got a Drager and I can't wait to use it.

 

[boxcar]

Sorry if you guys don't believe my experience with back inflators. Why would I lie?
I have owned two differant b.c.s of this type and both tended to put my face in the water if I wasn't moving.
Think about it, all of the buoyancy with this type of b.c. is on your back not under your arms as with a jacket.
Is it enough to deter me from ever using another back inflator? No, I just got a Drager and I can't wait to use it.

First, apologies for hijacking the thread...

Diver Dude, I believe you if you say it happened to you and I'm is saying you're lying. In fact...that was part of my question...Do people have first hand experience of this? You're saying you do... I'm not here to tread on your experience...IME (in my experience) this has not happened...not has it happed to my buddy who also has BI. Thanks for responing to indicate that you have first hand experience with this...I am/was wondering how common this experience is...its often tough to separate first hand experience from "one time, I knew a guy once, who had a buddy whose girfriend shagged a DM who said that ..." blah blah blah

As for 'think about it'...I'd humbly suggest that there is a little too much 'thinking' (rationalization and supposition, heresay) on this board sometimes and too little first hand experience...we over-rationalize becuase we'd all rather be diving...

Anyway, thanks again for responding.

 

[StSomewhere]

Sorry if you guys don't believe my experience with back inflators. Why would I lie?

I had a similar experience with a rented SeaQuest Balance. Turned out to be the AL80 more than the BCD. Put a pair of two pound ankle weights over the valve and see if it doesn't make a huge difference, or try steel tanks.

 

[jbd]

BTW, I am a jacket guy myself and I bought a Sherwood Avid. However, I did try the Aeris Atmos XT, Sherwood Tortuga, and a Zeagle. All are excellent BCs. It was just y preference to go with a jacket style for now.

Any well made BC will do its job well if the owner of it knows how to use it properly.
One of the big gripes about the jacket style BC's was squeeze that made it hard to breathe---which is true enough if you have it inflated to the max, which means you are severely overweighted.

Along comes the back inflate BC's claiming no squeeze to hinder your breathing. However without addressing the severe overweighting issue the bladder is still being inflated to the max and gives the user the feeling of being pushed face down.

The key with both of these BC styles is to get your weighting right so you need very little air in them at the surface. This will allow you to float comfortably vertical with your face out of the water with either style.

Providing flotation at the surface is only a secondary function of the BC. Its primary purpose is to allow us to make changes to our density in relation to the water we are in. Other than in wearing comfort, what model one uses is irrelevant---they all do the same thing.

 

[Stirling]

Another reason back inflation BCs may tend to tip a person forward is trying to lift too much of the body out of the water. Assume that you are properly weighted and neutral in the water. Once you lift your head entirely out of the water, you have at least about 10 pounds weight in air, and that shifts your center of gravity a little bit.

Try to lift your body out of the water up to the shoulders, and you have even more weight in front of the BC, and your center of gravity moves even farther forward. If you lift 20 pounds out of the water and try to float it perfectly balanced on top of the lower part of your body which is (we will assume) more or less still neutral in the water, you are now becoming topheavy with your center of gravity moving even farther forward the higher you ride in the water.

You can adjust your position in the water to balance that weight, or you can settle for floating a little lower in the water on the surface. Or you can fiddle with your weight distribution on tank straps, or higher or lower on a belt or harness (or ankle weights, for that matter), or whatever, and they all have an effect on your trim under water and your posture on the surface. A relatively small amount of weight on a tank strap can help improve your position submerged *and* on the surface; more or less weight in other locations might help in one posture and work against you in another. It's just a matter of thinking it through and experimenting.

 

[Diver_Gurl82]

Ill be up there in June For bike week if you want to Show me the best underwater dives in the lake Diver gurl!

Bike week is always exciting huh? do you dive when you come up here?

 

[Morpheus]

Bike week is always exciting huh? do you dive when you come up here?

yeah bike week is a blast! I havent Dove while up there, hadnt had anyone to go with you know? I would love to do it thought!! That would be a nice break from all the festivities.


Bruce

 

[SouthernSCUBA]

I switched from jacket to back inflation 5 years ago. It took some getting used to in order to feel completley supported like I did in my jacket BCD. The trick was to lean back a little like you were in a recliner. A frind of mine, a course director made the switch a couple of years later and did not like it after a few dives, I mentioned the recliner position and he loved it from then on.

My Dive Rites do not pitch me forward but they don't cradle me and roll me back either, I have to lean back myself. Once in position it takes no effort to stay there.

I love the freedom of movement underwater and train new divers in Dive Rites. They give me a lot of flexibility in fitting to different size divers.

 

[Diver Dude]

Very informing thread. I think my problem all these years has been over inflation.Can't wait to try my next BI.
Thanks, guys.

 

[Diver_Gurl82]

yeah bike week is a blast! I havent Dove while up there, hadnt had anyone to go with you know? I would love to do it thought!! That would be a nice break from all the festivities.


Bruce

Well there are some nice places to dive up here...even right around the lakes region, near where bike week is held. I want to go up this year and see the OCC boys!