Jacket Style BCD Recommendations

[metridium]

leadweight wrote...
Someone posts that they have a back inflate BC, wants to switch to a jacket, and would like to know which jackets are best. The always helpful internet community responds with "don't get a jacket."

Actually, he wrote that he's thinking of switching to a jacket.

When I was researching my first equipment choices, I posted a question very similar to his. One kind soul pointed me in an unexpected and unsolicited third direction: backplates.

No, he didn't answer the question I asked, but he did me a tremendous favor that day.

My only regret in this thread is that I didn't follow up by doing the same.

leadweight wrote...
After all, most divers are hapily using their jacket BC's, swimming around safely enjoying the underwater world without a care about what a couple of people on the internet (or Florida cave divers) think.

Then they wouldn't be on this board asking for advice, now would they?

 

[thethumper]

say that from what I've heard the SeaQuest Pro QD + & the Pro are suppose to be nice BC. Stay away from the Mares HUB though. I've heard nothing but problems for those so far.

Bravo Met...

 

[chuckrt]

I have an Oceanic Contour and have been very pleased with it. I have also used Scubapro jacket style and they are great as well. My Dght. has a SeaQuest and this works well too, what I'm getting at is there are many choices and get the one you feel you want and can get serviced by your LDS.

I am going to try a different style as the Oceanic arm holes are harder for me to get my drysuit arms and valve thru. I would still keep it and use it for wet diving.

chuckrt

 

[Mouth Breather old]

I use a back inflate but didn't find the jacket style so horrible...you wouldn't guess from some of the responses you get from individuals on this board and you may find this hard to believe... but I still enjoyed diving when using a jacket BC.

Some of these people are so friggin dogmatic about the gear they use they forget that as long as the gear is safe...diving is FUN. What do I miss about the Jacket BC? Pockets. Like I said I love my Scubapro Knighthawk but miss having pockets for little stuff. I pick up whatever trash I find on the bottom. I carry a slate. Would like to carry a spare mask for very deep dives. Would like to stash my snorkel in a pocket.

Oh well...so I'm ordering thigh pockets for my drysuit. But that doesn't help me for tropical diving. I won't wear a drysuit for tropical waters.

Everyone that I have met with either Seaquest or Scubapro Jackets seem to Love them especially the SP Classic or Classic Plus.

 

[metridium]

Mouth Breather wrote...
Some of these people are so friggin dogmatic about the gear they use they forget that as long as the gear is safe...diving is FUN.

Dogma has nothing to do with it for me....my jacket BC experiences were simply miserable. Breathing while on the surface was constricted, the jackets were cumbersome, and I often felt I was swimming around inside the BC itself.

Bottom line: I would most likely have quit diving if I hadn't found something remarkably better.

 

[Mouth Breather old]

metridium once bubbled...
Dogma has nothing to do with it for me....my jacket BC experiences were simply miserable. Breathing while on the surface was constricted, the jackets were cumbersome, and I often felt I was swimming around inside the BC itself.

Bottom line: I would most likely have quit diving if I hadn't found something remarkably better.

Sounds like a problem with the particular jacket BC's you were using at the time, as opposed to a problem with EVERY jacket BC ever developed in the history of the planet.

I tried a DUI style BP and Wings on a couple of dives HATED them...or rather I hated the particular one that I was diving that weekend. I am sure that with more careful selection and fitting I'll find one that I like for more technical diving and doubles in the future.

So for now I'll stick with a sort of hybrid...back inflate...wings that retract...slight padding in shoulder straps and lumbar area...integrated "BP".

I'm a good enough diver I can be safe and have FUN with almost any BC

 

[metridium]

Mouth Breather wrote...
Sounds like a problem with the particular jacket BC's you were using at the time, as opposed to a problem with EVERY jacket BC ever developed in the history of the planet.

Ten or so of varying brands and sizes were enough of a representative sample for me...

 

[SM Diver]

The best vest BC on the market is a Scubapro Plus, IMAO.

Keep in mind if you ever get stuck under a ledge or otherwise trapped or pinned down on any structure or object, a jacket is going to be harder to extricate yourself from. With most back inflates, and certainly with BP/Wings, much easier to just unsnap and crawl out of it. Also, when your dive is over, much easier to take a back inflate off without contorting your shoulders.

 

[jonnythan]

tampascott once bubbled...
The best vest BC on the market is a Scubapro Plus, IMAO.

Keep in mind if you ever get stuck under a ledge or otherwise trapped or pinned down on any structure or object, a jacket is going to be harder to extricate yourself from. With most back inflates, and certainly with BP/Wings, much easier to just unsnap and crawl out of it. Also, when your dive is over, much easier to take a back inflate off without contorting your shoulders.

I think I disagree. Most all jacket BC's have quick release buckles on the shoulder straps. Unclip them, open the cummerbund, and you're not at all attached to the BC anymore. In the case of a webbing harness, you need to either be able to slip downward out of it or have the room to remove your arms by rolling.

 

[dhom88]

at http://www.amer-sea.com.

Amer-Sea is a BC manufacturer for other brands and they've decided to start selling some BC's under their own label. I am not affiliated with Amer-Sea, other than being a very happy customer.

While I haven't tried their Jacket BC's, I love the Amer-Tech, back-inflation BC I just got from them. It's very rugged (1050 denier construction), very simple, very functional. There customer service is great, both with pre-sales and post-sales questions and concerns.

Dave