Hi,
I'm an inexperienced diver, and budding underwater photographer (certified in 2008, ~70 dives under my belt, 40 in the past year) and I'm finally looking into buying my own kit, and I'm currently wrestling with a few choices. I've only ever dived with (often older, middle-of-the-pack) rental jacket BCDs, but the freedom of a backplate/wing setup, or a rear inflate jacket BCD sounds very appealing. We travel a lot when diving, so weight and transport is a key concern, and we're warm water recreational divers, so the option for full-on multi-tank support is a non-issue, at least for the foreseeable future. I'm looking at several options (xDeep, DiveRite, and ScubaPro's X-tec are all on the shortlist, the latter because it's the only setup my LDS carries, and price for the former two), and I think an aluminum plate and Hogarthian harnass single tank/donut wing should yield a fairly easy to travel with setup.
What I'm mostly curious about is how easy it is to keep station in 'odd' positions with a backplate/wing system; I like flipping upside down (fins up, head down) from time to time, for example to peek under an overhang or rock without stirring up the bottom, and for some macro shots close to the sea floor. Most articles I read extoll the virtues of a backplate/wing for maintaining 'proper' horizontal bouyancy, but what about less conventional positions? Does a jacket-style BCD, with its air distribution around the entire torso, have any advantages in this respect? Does it matter hugely? I usually manage to trim so I barely have any air in the BCD when I'm at depth, so I guess it might not matter too much, but any experiences would be much appreciated...
I own and dive with both a jacket and a BP/W. The jacket for single tanks and the BP/W for doubles and stages. The type of BCD really makes ZERO difference to your buoyancy control provided you have a proper match between the tank(s) and (trim) weights you're using and the BCD. For some applications you really need a BP/W. Jackets -- even ones that claim to be suitable for it -- are bad at carrying doubles and pretty much totally useless for carrying stages. However, if you're a single tank warm water diver then either a jacket or a BP/W will suit your purposes.
Personally for travelling I take the jacket. On diving vacations I normally dive with a single tank and the integrated weight pockets really start to matter after a few days. having most (or all) of your weights on a weightbelt starts to hurt after a while. Normally a BP/W won't have integrated weight pockets. You can buy after market ones but frankly, in this respect, jackets are generally superior because they're made with integrated weights and trim pockets in mind. There are good travel BCD's out there and if you want the best of both worlds, then you might consider a hybrid design instead of a pure BP/W. That said, there's nothing wrong with a BP/W if that's what you want but a pure BP/W with a hogarthian harness and a metal backplate is really only necessary if you think you're going to be diving with doubles at some point. For travelling, a Hogarthian harness might not be the best choice at all. You'll need to get in and out of it in the water and on zodiacs (often times without assistance) and I can assure you that you will soon miss the quick releases. Therefore when you put integrated weight pockets and at least one quick release on a BP/W then what you've basically done is put a square peg into a round hole and turned it into a hybrid style BCD .... so why not look at hybrids that were made for travelling?
Finally, I'll say this. All of the hype about BP/W on the internet is just that... hype. It's mostly at result of people parroting each other. Also, keep in mind that people generally recommend what they own and recommend against things that they don't own. Some of the most negative things you'll hear about gear on the internet come from people who have never even dived with it.... so be warned and keep your mind open. You might be overlooking a better option.
R..