LDS say not to go with bp/w

[drbill]

In part I would base your assessment of your LDS's "advice" on the following. If the LDS does not sell BP/W's, I'd ignore it. If the LDS does sell BP/W's, I'd ask further questions based on the products they carry.

It is not in your LDS' material self interest to recommend product they do not carry. However it is in their best interest to give good solid advice to their customers if they want to retain customer loyalty.

Personally I generally dive a soft backpack and wings (the SP X-Tek) because I think it gives a more secure fit of the tank to my body than the BP's I own. And the wings on it are interchangeable with my backplates should I switch to one of them.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

As you can see from all the opinions on SB regarding BCs, BPWs etc. its a huge preference thing. Also, BP/Ws are still somewhat regarded as a tech divers BC(although that's changing) and your LDS could have been honestly trying to steer you in the right direction

Rap

 

[ctmax]

They both work and many of the "recreational" BC's work pretty well. I do like the harness on the plate as it feels a lot less cluttered in the water. It also get's 5-6 pounds of weight off of your belt and up higher where it can help with trim.

If you are up for getting out and diving I can bring my old bc and you can try my plate in the water.

I was fortunate enough to have 2 great dive buddy's offer to put me in their rig. DBG40 set me up in his rig and I noticed a difference right away. I never went back to my jacket bc. I would, if you have the opportunity, take JohnL up on his offer.

 

[airsix]

I started with a Libra, which is a back-inflate buoyancy compensator, and ended up with an Oxycheq plate and DSS wing. I like the BP/W setup better because it is infinitely adjustable.

Patrick and Tobin will have to start getting along now that their kids are married to each other. :lol2:

-Ben M.

 

[countryboy]

As many have said.. For the most part, dive shops will not recommend what they don't sell.

Try them out, (more than once if possible) and see what YOU like.... Then shop for that particular BC.

I am on my third bc as well.. 2nd and 3rd are BP/W's, different manufacturers.

If you find a shop that does not cary what you want, then recommends a shop that does... Value their opinion, they are looking to get you what you want, not sell you what they have.. very rare breed.....

 

[djanni]

A back inflate (or back-buoyancy) is not a bp/w. It's a regular one piece (usually) BC, but the air bladder is all in the back, instead of wrapping around the sides like a standard jacket BC. This eliminates the squeeze of a jacket, allows for more room around the arms, makes it easier to get/stay in trim underwater, and leaves the front of your body less cluttered (so you can clutter it up yourself if you get into more advanced diving). The disadvantages of back inflates is you may have to adjust your position to dump air and if you overinflate them on the surface, they'll tend to push your face towards the water.

Someone around here pointed out the usual progression is jacket to back inflate to BP/W, with a sizeable percentage stopping at each stage and very few backing up a stage.

I'm on that train myself, having trained in a jacket, bought a back inflate (Zeagle Ranger) and now trying to rationalize buying a bp/w.

Actually I said it the other way around and yes, a bp/w inflates in the back.

Usual progression???? I think you are characterizing that incorrectly. A small percentage of divers go from recreational diving to more difficult dive situations; i.e. cave diving, wreck penetration, dual tank and a number of other dive activities that seem to fall under the term TECH diving. Tech diving often warrants specilized training and specilized gear such as a bp/w.

There is not some sort of natural progression from jacket to back-inflate to bp/w as you insinuate. The vast majority of divers are not interested in "tech" diving and therefore have little interest in bp/w's. That's one of the reasons why you see them so rarely.

Your Ranger is perfectly suitable for most tech diving situations so if your looking to change it surely couldn't be a result of some natural progression.

 

[johnnyseko]

Try out as much as you can before you buy! IMO a jacket and BC are comfortable on the surface, but the bp/w is like wearing nothing at all in the water....I noticed the difference immediately.

I made the switch after @50dives on my BC. If I wasnt wearing so many layers, the BC probably would have been okay. It just felt like too much when already wearing three layers of neoprene.

JohnL made a great offer. You should take him up on it. Your not gonna break it. And he's got a nice rig! Hope to see you out there soon.

 

[drbill]

I don't consider myself a tech diver (and neither do the tech divers!). However, I retired all my jacket style BCD's years ago because they simply didn't work well for me. They generally posed problems when I was videotaping. The harness and wing works very well for me in that activity... very little is below my body plane and therefore potentially in the way whenm I film on the bottom, at least compared to a jacket style BCD.

 

[Chaseh]

My LDS sells BP/W as well as more conventional BCs.

They don't throw people into the BP/W as a normal practice though.

I'm sure many are gonna say that's a matter of profit margin, but can anyone offer other theories?

 

[gurumasta]

Dude, seriously. Do yourself a favor and go check out PG Dive in Newton. They have a huge selection of stuff in stock including several BP/W rigs. They've got free pool time and Paul might even be able to set you up with a rig to figure it out (though I'm totally speaking for him here). A couple of the DM's and instructors there use BP/W's so they can give you plenty of advice.

I have a pretty good idea of the LDS you are currently talking to and believe me, they are a quality shop. I've bought lots of stuff there over the years (including a Pro QD) and they've always been good to me. I can't say anything negative about them.

i just got back from pg dive. i cannot say enough about that place. awesome people and extremely helpful. they didnt try to sell me a thing. just spent hours with me educating me on different types of equipment and the ups and downs to different things. even things that they dont carry. i plan on dealing with them on my setup. i appreciate that recommendation, great, great place.

i am going to rent a bp/w from them and try it out. i told johnL that i would take him up on his offer also, however i feel a little more comfortable renting the gear and then diving with him to show me some pointers. thanks to everybody for their advise!!!!!