First BP/W for me.

[Diver below 83]

How common is it for vacation areas to rent steel 80’s or 100?

 

[gr8jab]

I have 4 of the eBay special pockets and 2 dgx pockets. I've found I prefer the eBay special ones. They're a bit larger with how much weight they'll take (you can squeeze 5 lbs into each, although 3 is probably a happier amount). My only complaint is the quick release clasps are a little small. I wish they were a bit larger. For the price though, I can't complain. They get the job done.

What's the backside look like? How many loops? Some have one large loop, and others have 2 small loops (for keeper between them).

 

[Johnoly]

How common is it for vacation areas to rent steel 80’s or 100?

In Jupiter Florida,,,,it's almost the norm because of our depths.

 

[Diver below 83]

In Jupiter Florida,,,,it's almost the norm because of our depths.

Ya I live in south Florida so i know what you mean. I meant more islands and real vacation diving like Mexico etc. I forget my home is vacation for a lot of people.

 

[saxman242]

What's the backside look like? How many loops? Some have one large loop, and others have 2 small loops (for keeper between them).

One big loop.

 

[jlcnuke]

How common is it for vacation areas to rent steel 80’s or 100?

Aruba, Grenada, etc I'd expect you'd have a hard time finding them (heck, the outfit we used in Grenada didn't have any functional AL100's...). In cave country - probably pretty easy.

 

[scrane]

The best thing about the BP/W is its versatility. Personally, I dive with tight shoulder straps, weights on the waist strap, and no crotch strap. When I want to swim in trim the whole setup slides forward and the weight brings my head down. When hanging vertical on a wall the weight slides down just like I want. On the surface I release the waste strap altogether as I bob happily in the water with weights hanging low and to the rear.
I must say When first starting out I used the crotch strap and found no advantage to it. I also tried trim weights on the tank band and found myself laterally unstable. So, over time I settled on my somewhat unorthodox approach.
So, what I'm saying is with 4 trim pockets, a half dozen keepers, and a crotch strap in your bag you have amazing flexibility to experiment and quickly set up your BP/W as you find best.

 

[Fathom044]

I would give the DeepSix set a serious look. Well made and at a great price. The Aluminum BP with the 20 lb wing, including all the harness hardware, is $176. Trim or weight pockets are optional.

 

[scrane]

I would give the DeepSix set a serious look. Well made and at a great price. The Aluminum BP with the 20 lb wing, including all the harness hardware, is $176. Trim or weight pockets are optional.

Gosh, that seems too good to be true. And at the moment it seems it is. Out of Stock.

 

[jlcnuke]

Gosh, that seems too good to be true. And at the moment it seems it is. Out of Stock.

Unfortunately, OOS is a constant condition of many things there it seems. I did manage to get a second stage though, so hopefully that'll get here in time to try it out this weekend.