Help a newbie with BC direction...please?

[mrokern]

Very new diver here.

I'm a big guy...6', 285-290. Waist 44-46, chest 52-54 depending on cut.

During the pool part of my OW, I ended up purchasing a weight integrated BC at a very good price (consignment at LDS, had all of 2-3 dives on it). It was an amazing improvement from a straight weight belt, as with a 3mm full suit and AL80 I was running 22 pounds of lead in the pool. Ouch. And yes, I'm working on getting less buoyant (long bike rides are good for the soul, right?).

Now I'm looking down the road and want to move to back inflate. LDS sells Zeagle, and the Ranger / Ranger LTD is on my short list. But...part of me loves the simplicity of the BP/W idea. Simple = less to go wrong and easier to customize in my eyes.

First question: how much lift to get?

I've run the BC lift calculator, but unfortunately have gotten more confused. Diving here in MN means 7mm suits in many of the lakes and likely dry suit down the road, but I do travel to nicer areas as well (Keys trip coming this fall).

Second question: how to wear weight?

With my buoyancy, I'm guessing a steel plate would be a good idea.

A ton of weight on a belt was throwing me off balance and killing my lower back. I'd also like to have things spread out a bit, so if things would go pear-shaped at depth I could ditch some but not turn into a bendo-rocket.

Price is not my biggest concern. Longevity, safety, and to a lesser extent portability for travel are much more important to me.

Thanks in advance for any and all help. I've seen the many positive comments about DSS, and am more than open to any suggestions.

 

[Gilchristz]

DSS, Dive Rite, Hog, Halcyon, Oxycheq, Hollis, and Oms are all pretty well known. Personally i use a SS plate and a 32lb wing for dry suit diving. have not had a chance to take it to warmer water but it works just fine for me. With the BP/W you will have a great fitting rig once you get it set to your likeing. You have a ton of options and can sometimes find a killer deal on a backplate and harness used.

For the wing i would stay between 30-40 for lift but I'm sure someone else will chime in and be more precise in how much lift you need. DSS has a 35#, and 40# wings, Hollis has a 38#, and Dive Rite has a 35# wing. You could try giving DSS a call and they should be able to help you determine a setup that best suits your needs.

For carrying your weight you could use the DUI weight harness or something like it. Dive Rite also makes 16# and 32# pockets that can be added to a backplate to make it weight integrated.

 

[decidedlyodd]

With regard to wing size, you need to have enough lift to keep your head out of the water at the surface with you wearing it, enough to float the entire rig on the surface without you in it and enough at depth to make up for any loss of buoyancy typically due to exposure suit compression. The first condition is satisfied by pretty much any wing out there. The second one mainly depends on the tank you're using (e.g., AL80 is usually 4lbs positive when empty compared to a steel HP100 that's usually a couple pounds negative when empty) and the amount of weight carried on the BP/W (not on your person). You can also include anything else that affects the buoyancy of the BC (e.g., can light, regulator, etc.) but these will almost certainly be marginal compared to the tank and weights. I'm not sure even a thick wetsuit or uncompressed neoprene drysuit would change enough to make condition 3 matter more than condition 2.

Typically your'e looking at 15-25lbs for warmer water or 30-40lbs for colder water, unless you really are going to be carrying a ton of weight directly on the unit. The main downside to having a wing with too much lift is that the wing will taco, making it generally less pleasant to dive as the air moves around too much.

Options for taking weight off your belt include weight pockets (I use these to distribute weight onto my cam straps more towards my head), semi-permanent or permanent weights attached directly to the backplate (such as v-weights) or more negatively buoyant backplates. Generally speaking, you don't need all of your weight to be ditchable if you're properly weighted. Ideally, you only need to have enough ditchable weight so that when dropped on on the surface, you'll be able to keep your head above water with an empty wing. You may also consider having enough to ditch at depth to gain enough positive buoyancy to swim to the surface with an empty wing, but ascending in such a situation can be less than ideal and can probably better be addressed by having backup buoyancy like a drysuit or liftbag or just not having a suit + rig combo that gets too negative.

 

[mrokern]

Thanks much!

Sounds like a call to Tobin and possibly others may be in order...I do have plenty of local shallow dive options to test weighting, at least. I'd love to have everything purchased and configuration nailed down before my fall trip. I could travel with my jacket BC, but the BP/W seems much more elegant and easy for travel.

 

[diversteve]

DSS also sells bolt-on weight plates. Of course those aren't removable. https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?category=backplate_acc

 

[ams511]

I never dove in Minnesota but I have in Pennsylvania which in the summer I am sure is similar. If you are wearing a 2-pc 7 mil suit you are looking at around 30 pounds of weight even if you lose weight. My recommendation is a steel plate with a 35 - 40 lb lift wing. Some of the more modern narrow wing designs like DSS and Oxycheq the difference in width is only an inch or two between a 30 lb and 40 lb so the "tacoing" problem is basically eliminated. Also a these wings are not unwieldy for tropical diving.

A steel plate is about 5 lbs negative. DSS steel plates allow you to add weight plates to the back to make the plate heavier. Other manufacturers make weighted single tank adaptor which will add weight. You can also add weight pockets.

One of the best ways to reduce the weight required is to use a less buoyant tank. Less buoyant does not necessarily mean heavier.