Going from BP-wing to Jacket BCD ...

[OldNSalty]

Why does one need to be fit or toned to be in a BP/W?

Because I want to look better then you when I wear it

 

[SkimFisher]

 

[halocline]

One book, in arms reach..."The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving" (c) 2005, page 3-39. Refers to system BCDs. I says that they are favored by tech divers, but points out that they tend to keep the diver face down.

I have read the same thing from several sources.

Although I do not have experience, I have access to many divers who do have it, and I rely on their advice. I will adjust those sources information as I experience diving for myself. I am totally open to trying new things and then making the judgement based on that experience. Having knowledge prior to trying new things will prepare me for the experience.

Well, the PADI OW publications are hardly reliable sources when it comes to gear analysis. I have a feeling that eventually you will discover that, if you keep diving beyond your OW course. PADI and the recreational dive gear industry have a complex 'partnership' in that the dealers are also the PADI centers; so they are connected through support of the same dealer network. You don't suppose that might slightly influence their comments about dive gear, do you?

The problem with your other post is that you said something as if it were a fact, when in fact you have no experience with it. To clear up, based on years of actual experience, a properly configured BP/W set up does not push you face down at the surface. I have a feeling you'll learn that, too, with some experience.

 

[Scott L]

Transpac better than standard BCD for sure.

Why does one need to be fit or toned to be in a BP/W?

I was thinking the same thing after posting. Disregard...

 

[Gombessa]

Yeah, loosening or shortening two straps and one buckle...

...is so much more complicated than 7 straps, 6 clips, and 4 buckles...

If you can put a belt on your pants without assistance, you can adjust a BP/W.

To be perfectly fair, if the jacket BCD had 14 straps, 12 clips and 8 buckles, IMO it'd still be easier for many new students to adjust than your standard hog harness. The cinches, quick release buckles and straps on a BCD are pretty familiar to anyone who's ever used a school backpack, and can often be tightened and adjusted quickly and easily after donning.

A hog harness, while certainly having fewer moving "parts," requires more work. Plus, if you shorten the shoulder straps, you have to then let out the crotch strap, re-align the D-rings, etc. And if it's not right, you take the whole thing off and re-adjust. Sure, it's not like it requires an advance degree, but I consider adjusting a hog harness to require more effort and be more time-intensive than getting the best potential fit out of a jacket BC (which sometimes isn't a great fit even then). I'm not saying I buy the "it's too difficult" argument, but I'm also not saying it's invalid.

 

[TSandM]

Getting precisely the right adjustment on a Hog harness does take a bit of fiddling -- but you can make a wide range of strap lengths WORK by just adjusting the crotch strap. And once you DO have the rig set up properly, and you're happy with it, you know that every day, when you get into it, it will be right.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If a new diver was given a jacket BC new in a box and a back plate, wing, harness, crotch straps, and cam bands (all separate) in a box, it would be easier for them to just put on the Jacket BC and go diving. All the separate components of the BP/W assembly would be daunting.

However if there was someone there to show them how to assemble and adjust a BP/W (hint ot dive shops) they would see it and understand how dirt simple it is.

In order to get out of a typical jacket BC requires at least 4 things to be undone and possibly 5: Waist clip, cumberbun, chest strap clip, shoulder clip, and/or second shoulder clip.
With a typical BP/W rig there is only one thing that needs to be undone combined with one swift arm movement and you're out: Waist buckle and sliding your arm underneath the shoulder strap and rolling out of the rig. The crotch strap falls away automatically.

Another issue with using Jacket BC's in cold water is the fact that most divers use 3 to 5 mil gloves which makes feeling for and squeezing plastic clips difficult, and also the added buoyancy of the rig itself which requires more weight to offset.

With BP/W set up Hog all these issues are more or less resolved.

 

[RJP]

If a new diver was given a jacket BC new in a box and a back plate, wing, harness, crotch straps, and cam bands (all separate) in a box, it would be easier for them to just put on the Jacket BC and go diving. All the separate components of the BP/W assembly would be daunting.

However if there was someone there to show them how to assemble and adjust a BP/W (hint ot dive shops) they would see it and understand how dirt simple it is.

In order to get out of a typical jacket BC requires at least 4 things to be undone and possibly 5: Waist clip, cumberbun, chest strap clip, shoulder clip, and/or second shoulder clip.
With a typical BP/W rig there is only one thing that needs to be undone combined with one swift arm movement and you're out: Waist buckle and sliding your arm underneath the shoulder strap and rolling out of the rig. The crotch strap falls away automatically.

Another issue with using Jacket BC's in cold water is the fact that most divers use 3 to 5 mil gloves which makes feeling for and squeezing plastic clips difficult, and aslo the added buoyancy of the rig itself which requires more weight to offset.

With BP/W set up Hog all these issues are more or less resolved.

It's really a combination of lazy instructors/sales people and uninformed newb shoppers that unwittingly conspire to keep sales of the Dive-O-Rama DCS Pro XL-t i3 BCDs hopping.

It's like buying stereo gear. When you don't know what you don't know, this seems like a good idea:

But when you really start to research and understand what is important vs what is superfluous, you understand that THIS is what you want:

"the more you know, they less you'll buy"

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Getting precisely the right adjustment on a Hog harness does take a bit of fiddling -- but you can make a wide range of strap lengths WORK by just adjusting the crotch strap. And once you DO have the rig set up properly, and you're happy with it, you know that every day, when you get into it, it will be right.

Unless of course you make drastic changes in your exposure protection which varies from 7 to 5 to 3 to 1.6 mm thick wetsuits as the season progresses every year. I can drive 40 miles and be presented with water temperatures that are 15 degrees colder than at another location. so saturday in july i might wear a 1.5 mm suit and on Sunday I might choose a 7 mm suit for another dive site These kinds of drastic changes in exposure protection require repeated adjustments in the harness for optimal fit.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Unless of course you make drastic changes in your exposure protection which varies from 7 to 5 to 3 to 1.6 mm thick wetsuits as the season progresses every year. I can drive 40 miles and be presented with water temperatures that are 15 degrees colder than at another location. so saturday in july i might wear a 1.5 mm suit and on Sunday I might choose a 7 mm suit for another dive site These kinds of drastic changes in exposure protection require repeated adjustments in the harness for optimal fit.

That's why people who have lots of money to spend on gear and happen to love BP/W's have multiple sets of rigs.

You gotta luv 'em!