How much to spend on new BCD

[Kjs998]

I am a brand new diver who right now only gets to dive while on vacation. I would like to start purchasing some of my own equipment and was going to start with a BCD. Familiarity with where everything is, no leaky inflator, integral weight, etc. my question is what price range should I be looking in for something that will last. Another consideration is packing size for airline travel. Are there particular brands that are better than others?

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

Are there any types of BCD's that seem to grab your eye? Do you want one with all of the bells and whistles, or something leaning more toward the minimalist side of the spectrum? While price is an important consideration, it shouldn't be the driving force in your purchase decision. Sometimes spending a couple more bucks on a BCD that you will actually enjoy diving in and will hang onto for a good while will win out against the closeout special that you weren't totally in love with.

The question on which brand is better is often a subjective one, so with that shop around, get differing opinions and choose what is perfect for you.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Get a back plate and wing

 

[Kjs998]

Appreciate the input. I don't want to go cheap but also don't need to go overboard, no pun intended. Should I be looking in the $400 to $500 range?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Call Tobin at DSS and he has a complete BP/W set up for something like $499.
Buy your last BC first.
I'm not going to sugar coat it or tip toe around trying not to "offend" the jacket users. Jackets suck.
Many on this forum will tell you the same thing.

 

[runsongas]

if don't go for a backplate and wing, maybe take a look at the zeagle scout. zeagle bc's are popular and well regarded on sb.

 

[diversteve]

If you plan to dive locally and on vacation in the tropics most of the "travel" bc's are a little light on lift when you're diving in a full thick wetsuit and the weight required to sink it. One that's kind of an exception is Zeagle's Stiletto. Stiletto BC

They market it as both a heavier duty and a travel BC - however it's more likely only going to fit in checked luggage. It has 35lbs. of lift, weight integration with their Ripcord system - which IMO is about the best out there and is made from 1000 denier fabric. Some travel BC's - to get the weight down - are only 420 denier. if there's a downside it's a single tank BC only. Also it's not the lightest travel BC I've ever seen at over 7lbs.

Compared to the lightest which is their Covert at 3.9lbs. It doesn't have the lift or some of the other features but will roll up and fit in a carry-on. The pockets shown are the weight system though - one of the ways they get the weight down is to have no supplied pockets. Some of the Zeagle pockets can be added but they're pretty pricey. Covert

I dive Zeagle's Ranger - before I purchased it I came close to buying a Scubapro Knighthawk - in fact I went to my dealer (sells both) to buy one. On me, the Zeagle just fit better - they have their PFS system so I was able to exchange shoulders at the time of purchase for no extra charge - I have a long torso and short legs although I'm 6'4". Almost double what you're looking to spend though. And not very travel friendly - it's big and heavy.

If you did want to look at pure travel BC's instead - i.e. no cold water diving - some to start with are Aqualung's Zuma, ScubaPro's Litehawk (great price - $239) Hollis's Ride or Zeagle's Covert. There are others also but I have some familiarity with these as I've been considering one for a while.

hth,

 

[halocline]

Don't spend any significant money on a jacket BC, you will never get it back when you learn how much more fun it is to dive without a bulky mess on your torso. Maybe buy a very simple, very cheap used BC to get you through a season or two until you have the dive skills to evaluate the difference in feel between a jacket BC and a backplate/wing with one-piece webbing harness and no padding. Forget about the integrated weights.

There are a million billion zillion threads about BP/W vs jacket BCs, and if you were to read all of them, you'd have no time for diving, but you might search for a few.

The bottom line is, less is more when it comes to BCs, especially around your torso where things can feel restrictive and cluttered.

 

[CptTightPants21]

I was originally going to send a PM, but might put it out in the open.

I can tell your new and that you probably just want to dive. You are going to get a lot of people telling you to get a backplate and wing; there are endless threads online about why it is the best and why it is so awesome--and nearly all of the points are completely valid. First stay away from any jacket BC, they are terrible, I don't care how much or how little they cost.

For a diver like you who might get more into it, but basically just does vacation dives I would recommend a back inflate BC--my personal favorite is the Oceanic Excursion 2. Oceanic just came out with another excursion model so the Excursion 2 is discounted to $360 on leisure pro (great place to buy gear along with a few other online shops) and is a great BC. Solid , integrated weights, cam weight pockets, 2 nice size pockets, plenty of D-rings, with D-rings positioned at the hips that would allow you to sling multiple deco or pony bottles with ease.

For $360 you could get a mid level BP/W combo or move up into the $500-600 range for a higher end model. I dive a backplate and wing now (pieced together from used online) and I knew my Excursion 2 was going to be a stepping stone (even though you can dive it recreationally for your entire career), at the time I just wanted to get as many dives in as possible and for $360 to be able to dive immediately,the price was too good to pass up; especially when you took into account cam bands, weight pockets, other little accessories that added up the cost of a bp/w. There was also the issue of not having a lot of people dive the harness as singles (a lot of my older friends dive transpacs).

A lot of people are going to say threading a backplate is easy, doing xyz is easy, and they are right, but if you aren't actively diving or in a group of people that actively use bp/w set ups it can be a hassle and an obstacle.

If you are just looking for a simple no nonsense answer to get you into the habit of diving, go with the BC. It may happen that you become a much more active diver and meet new people, in which case you can evaluate your equipment and what you need. No active diver has ever had just one piece of equipment..I had one reg set. I am staring at 5 right now, with options to buy more. I have 3 sets of fins.........fml, does anyone want to buy some dive equipment?

---------- Post added July 16th, 2015 at 08:05 AM ----------

Haha, sorry. I realize now I never actually answered your question.

If you are going to get a BC stay in the 300-400 range (like my Oceanic Excursion 2). That is all you need to spend to get some decent quality new. You should also be able to pick up more expensive BCs around those prices used (may be 450, but that would be a lot).

If you decide to go with bp/w, then move up into the 500 range new. Talk to Tobin (cool hardware_52) at DeepSeaSupply or check out DiveGearExpress.com and DiveRightinScuba.com. There is a used Oxycheq 30lb wing in the classifieds that looks nice, I dive an oxycheq 40lb wing