Good thread, good input. Thanks all.
Help me understand the different BCD types.
- Thread starter Kenderson
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Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
The BP/W has an advantage over a back inflate that there is an option to use a heavy steel plate which will help counter any problems of face planting on the surface.
Most of the time face planting is the result of too much weight put up front in pouches or on a weightbelt AND being overweighted (huge problem in today’s diving), plus using a floaty aluminum tank, plus putting too much air in the wing on the surface. These combos will have the tendency to put a diver face down on the surface in both a back inflate and BP/W.
The way to minimize or eliminate the problem is too use a heavier steel tank which remains slightly negative, don’t dive overweighted and place your weights on your sides or towards the back, and don’t over inflate your wing on the surface. You will naturally ride a little lower in the water (on the surface) with a BP/W, but it’s no big deal. Many people, as has been already mentioned, lay back and surface swim on their backs.
Most of the time face planting is the result of too much weight put up front in pouches or on a weightbelt AND being overweighted (huge problem in today’s diving), plus using a floaty aluminum tank, plus putting too much air in the wing on the surface. These combos will have the tendency to put a diver face down on the surface in both a back inflate and BP/W.
The way to minimize or eliminate the problem is too use a heavier steel tank which remains slightly negative, don’t dive overweighted and place your weights on your sides or towards the back, and don’t over inflate your wing on the surface. You will naturally ride a little lower in the water (on the surface) with a BP/W, but it’s no big deal. Many people, as has been already mentioned, lay back and surface swim on their backs.
Thank you for all the responses, I'm learning quite a bit. I've been thinking about making my own BP/W for awhile now, and reading through the thread I might try and do my own. I do have a couple of more questions.
Do people really just wear the metal against their backs? I guess it wouldn't matter if one always wears a suit, but when I've gone in the Caribbean I only wore a swim suit with no shirt.
How much does the entire thing weigh, about since I know there can be some differences. People are talking about travel weight and dropping 2 pounds, but does that make a huge difference in the weight of the BP/W? I think a good amount of my diving will be on travel.
How does one know where to put weight to keep trim? When we did the OW classes, when I wasn't doing anything I would try and keep my place in the water. I was able to kind of do it a couple of times, I know I will need a lot more practice, but being able to think about what I should do before I get in the water to practice will help.
Do people really just wear the metal against their backs? I guess it wouldn't matter if one always wears a suit, but when I've gone in the Caribbean I only wore a swim suit with no shirt.
How much does the entire thing weigh, about since I know there can be some differences. People are talking about travel weight and dropping 2 pounds, but does that make a huge difference in the weight of the BP/W? I think a good amount of my diving will be on travel.
How does one know where to put weight to keep trim? When we did the OW classes, when I wasn't doing anything I would try and keep my place in the water. I was able to kind of do it a couple of times, I know I will need a lot more practice, but being able to think about what I should do before I get in the water to practice will help.
I personally recommend you change this habit. Wearing some kind of suit provides protection from more than the cold. It can protect you from things like stinging hydroids, jellies, etc. On one of my first dives ever, one of my OW training dives, in fact, I had been given a shorty wetsuit by the shop. I was getting my buoyancy set near the bottom when another diver landed on top of me because of his uncontrolled descent. It drove me onto the bottom, where I got a scrape that took over an itchy month to heal. On another warm water dive a few years late, one of the other divers in our group wore only a bathing suit, and for some reason, probably a recent storm, the water had little pieces of jelly tentacles in it. I was fine in my light wetsuit, but the other guy had little stinging welts all over his body. My first wetsuit was only 0.5 mm thick.
Hey I wear mine against my back but I always used a wetsuit or drysuit. I have never tried with only a t-shirt.
The weight is mostly made of:
- the backplate
- the STA (single tank attachment) if you dive singles
There is usually a place where you can put lead on a single tank attachment since you ll be lighter with a single cylinder
Mine is:
I don't know the weight for the wing itself, the triglides, the belt, the harness but they shouldn't be that much ...
The general idea is to have the weight distributed around your center of gravity, which is usually hear your navel. It varies, though. For example, some fins are much heavier than others, and the farther weight is from your center of gravity, the more impact it has. A backplate distributes its weight nicely. After that, you need to experiment. Start with the general idea that you want about the same weight above the navel as below.
It is not just the weight, though. As I said above, weight has more impact the farther it is from your center of gravity, so simply bending the knees brings the weight of the feet and lower legs closer to the center of gravity.
I find this is the easiest way to check your trim.
First, find your position you want to be neutral with. For example, maybe you want to have your neutral position, arms extended and knees bent.
In a training place (pool, lake), drop slowly on a horizontal platform (or the bottom for a pool).
Slowly go buoyant to lift yourself a bit, wait a bit then try to drop a bit until you touch the platform, if you touch the platform first with your belly, you are probably fairly flat. Do not fin while doing this.
Otherwise you can ask someone to film you or check your trim when you are not finning.
----
If you are head down, move some weights lower (towards your legs)
If you are feet down, move some weights higher (towards your head)
First, find your position you want to be neutral with. For example, maybe you want to have your neutral position, arms extended and knees bent.
In a training place (pool, lake), drop slowly on a horizontal platform (or the bottom for a pool).
Slowly go buoyant to lift yourself a bit, wait a bit then try to drop a bit until you touch the platform, if you touch the platform first with your belly, you are probably fairly flat. Do not fin while doing this.
Otherwise you can ask someone to film you or check your trim when you are not finning.
----
If you are head down, move some weights lower (towards your legs)
If you are feet down, move some weights higher (towards your head)
EFX
Contributor
I put together my own BP harness from the webbing kit and STA (single tank adapter) I bought from DGX (Dive Gear Express). They have a good document with a step-by-step guide on how to assemble the webbing onto the BP. The STA is useful when you need to switch between diving doubles and single tank using the same BP. You can also thread the tank straps directly through the BP but if you choose this method make sure the BP has the slots needed for the tank straps you are buying. DGX also explains the pros and cons of the STA and using the tank straps without the STA.
I've had no problems diving bareback with my BP rig but I prefer a 2 or 2-1/2 mm shorty in warm tropical waters. There is some movement of the straps when bareback which may cause some chafing which will be uncomfortable on a sunburned back and shoulders.
I have a SS BP which weighs about 6 lbs. I figure the total weight with the SS BP, STA, and regulator is about 10 lbs. which I subtract from the total weight I use to come up with any needed lead weight. Going to a BP/wing allowed me to drop 2 lbs. of lead weight and helped me trim out due to the improved distribution of weight. For traveling I've been able to get everything I need into a large suitcase and come in at 48 lbs.
When doing something like this, be patient. It will take awhile for you to feel comfortably balanced. You will almost certainly have an urge to kick your feet--you have kicked your feet in the water constantly since you first learned to swim. That kicking will affect your trim and likely compensate for problems with it. If you watch most divers swimming in reasonable trim, if they stop kicking for a few seconds, their legs will swing down, and they will start to sink. That means their kicking was compensating both for their lack of trim and for their negative buoyancy (i.e., their BCDs needed more air).
Chavodel8en
Contributor
A note on Single-Tank-Adapters (STAs). An option is to go without a STA, especially if you will only be doing single tank diving for now.
Many wings have rails built in, where the tanks nest in, to control tank wobble. These wings do not require a STA. You just need to make sure that the slots for the tanks straps line up between your BP and your wing. If they are the same brand, they should. *Many* brands use the same standard. But apparently, some brands dont line up.
Note that STAs add more weight. If most of your diving is warm water, you may not need the extra weight of a STA, or possibly, you may welcome the extra weight.
For me, I would not need the extra weight of a STA for warm water,
Many wings have rails built in, where the tanks nest in, to control tank wobble. These wings do not require a STA. You just need to make sure that the slots for the tanks straps line up between your BP and your wing. If they are the same brand, they should. *Many* brands use the same standard. But apparently, some brands dont line up.
Note that STAs add more weight. If most of your diving is warm water, you may not need the extra weight of a STA, or possibly, you may welcome the extra weight.
For me, I would not need the extra weight of a STA for warm water,
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