In the market for a BP+W. What should I know? And what products best fill my needs/preferences?

[tbone1004]

@halocline even for those long romantic walks, I would just put neoprene sleeves on there instead of a padded harness

 

[halocline]

@halocline even for those long romantic walks, I would just put neoprene sleeves on there instead of a padded harness

Maybe we can take one together sometime.

 

[cool_hardware52]

My standard advice for those that think they need harness pads:

Buy a youth wetsuit on ebay. These can be had all the time for $5-15.

Cut off the arms and legs. These are neoprene tubes that can be used for harness pads. Just slide them on. Cut a silt if you need a dring to poke out.

Trace the back plate on the Torso of the "donor" wetsuit. Cut it out and zip tie it to your plate.

This way when you cut all this off your plate after a couple dives all you are out is $5-15.....

Tobin

 

[ronscuba]

I dive warm water just in a shirt. Agree if you are boat diving, padding doesn't matter much. I have not done shore diving in a while, but when I did, I wish I had padding.

A scuba tank weighs 30+ lbs.

 

[geoff w]

Just out of curiosity for everyone who replied shoulder padding isn't necessary - how many of you actually do shore dives where you have to walk hundreds of yards / meters on uneven trails, stairs, or across long stretches of sand? Am I just a wimp who finds shoulder pads comfortable?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Just out of curiosity for everyone who replied shoulder padding isn't necessary - how many of you actually do shore dives where you have to walk hundreds of yards / meters on uneven trails, stairs, or across long stretches of sand? Am I just a wimp who finds shoulder pads comfortable?

Try Vet's Park in Redondo Beach California. Long walk, many stair, wide sandy beach.

I've done it ~100+ times.

With Steel Doubles, 1-2 deco bottles and often a scooter.

The gear is damn heavy, and I was glad to reach the water, or get back to my truck, but pads wouldn't have made the gear any lighter.

In fact pads have the potential to make the gear heavier as more ballast is needed to sink the pads.....

Tobin

 

[MichaelMc]

I said I do not find I need shoulder pads. I mostly do shore dives but usually the walk has been fully suited up, when I have 20mm of padding there. If its cleanup post dive, I likely have my farmer john still on, which has 10mm shoulder straps. I do want the harness strap on that shoulder strap though, particularly if I am hauling rig and tank together. I do often have welts after dives from hauling my rig around carelessly without some protection. But not if I use a T shirt and light jacket. Or even just a T shirt. So its just a tradeoff.

I think no pads leaves one less thing in the water to interfere with my dealing with my gear.

I recently dove in Belize and had a 300 yard beach walk from the house to the shop which I did in shorts and T shirt wearing my rig and carrying my wetsuit, the rig was likely 25-30 lb. as I hooked everything save wetsuit, shop tank and ditchable weights to it. As a casual stroll it was a tad annoying mainly from weight. I do not think I would want to walk that way with rig and tank on.

I would not fault anyones choice either way, just I find no pads workable and simpler.

Edit: I do not think pads are any different that the padding of a 3mm wetsuit. Of course they might turn that 3mm into 6mm... Post dive I do carry my full rig with tank around to the shower with just my farmer john on, likely the cause of post dive welts from the harness straps not being on my suits shoulder straps, or welts on my arm from hoisting it up there with bare arms. My rig is heavy for a single and I'm not always smart enough to drop the weights before doing such things.

 

[geoff w]

Try Vet's Park in Redondo Beach California. Long walk, many stair, wide sandy beach.

I've done it ~100+ times.

With Steel Doubles, 1-2 deco bottles and often a scooter.

The gear is damn heavy, and I was glad to reach the water, or get back to my truck, but pads wouldn't have made the gear any lighter.

In fact pads have the potential to make the gear heavier as more ballast is needed to sink the pads.....

Tobin

OK, I'm officially a wimp! Although the walk and stairs at Vets is pretty benign compared to some of the less accessible spots a short way up the coast. Do you wear doubles and carry a couple of deco bottles all in one trip, or take multiple trips, like first staging slung bottles and scooter near the water, then going back for doubles and whatever else? I have enough trouble just walking around on a deck in doubles before my giant stride, let alone trying to walk any distance with them

 

[Trailboss123]

So my old SeaQuest back inflate finally bit the dust and I need to pick up a new rig. Decided on jumping on the BP+W train but am a bit overwhelmed with all of the options. I've had some people say that they're all the same and just go for the cheapest while I've heard other people wholeheartedly recommend some products over others. Curious what you guys think. I did have a few questions about the set up in general as well as a few things that I'd definitely like my rig to have that might narrow my choices down.

Questions:

1) Is a crotch strap really necessary?

2) Are padded straps worth it?

3) Anything that I should know about BP+W setups before I buy that may not be obvious?

Preferences:

• Would really like a dump valve on my shoulder. Previous BC had a dump valve on the bottom of the bladder and I always thought it was horribly inconvenient.
• Would like my BP+W to be able to carry 18 pounds (the BP can be included in this). I usually dive steel but when I dive aluminum I have 12 pounds in my pouches and 6 pounds in my trim pockets. I dive thick (10 mm farmer John) so I also have a DUI harness but I like to be able to at least split some of the weight between the two. Doesn't necessarily have to be a full 18 pounds on the BC (I can add more to my harness) but at least 10 pounds on there would be nice. Assuming this shouldn't be a problem since a lot of plates seem to be 6+ pounds.
• Don't want a huge wing. All I ever dive is single steel 80's/100's and single aluminum 80's so I don't need a ton of lift. I feel that a large wing would just get in the way.
• Like the option of D-rings around my waist. Know that BP+W's are pretty customizable so don't think this will be a problem but I often have to carry a lot of stuff (e.g., slates, transect tapes, etc.) and like the option of being able to clip it off on my waist with a carabiner. Would like the D-rings to be close to my center (rather than on the sides) on my waist.

With all that said...anyone have any brands/products that they would recommend I check out? Currently have no preference but have been looking at Dive Rite, DGX, and Deep Sea Supply. Maybe Halcyon? Budget is probably around $400-500 but I can bump it up if you think it's worth it. Cheaper would be better though. If I can get a quality $300 setup with everything I want that'd be great.

Not sure if you will find this helpful or not, but I just posted this: Review: XDeep Ghost BCD- BP/W

 

[cool_hardware52]

OK, I'm officially a wimp! Although the walk and stairs at Vets is pretty benign compared to some of the less accessible spots a short way up the coast. Do you wear doubles and carry a couple of deco bottles all in one trip, or take multiple trips, like first staging slung bottles and scooter near the water, then going back for doubles and whatever else? I have enough trouble just walking around on a deck in doubles before my giant stride, let alone trying to walk any distance with them

One trip, although I've been known to sit on the bench at the bottom of the stairs for a few minutes before slogging back up. I think the worst part of Vets is the fairly steep parking lot. You get to the top of the stairs and my truck is *another* 20 ft higher up the parking lot, just sitting there laughing at me.

Tobin