Yesterday I was sucked farther towards The Dark Side on three dives in the beautiful San Juans. Bowing to unrelenting pressure from The Evil Queen (aka TSandM) I opted to put my tanks into/onto a BP/W (Halcyon Wing!) and then attach same to my body and then jump into the dark green Puget Sound. Not just once did I do such a thing, but Thrice (and I lived to write about it).
So, what was my experience with a BP/W instead of my beloved back-inflate Balance?
#1 -- Note to self -- when doing major equipment changes (and I believe changing BC's to be a major eqipment change) make sure that you don't skip "kitting up" steps AND that, regardless of peer pressure, DO A FULL HEAD-TO-TOE equipment check. I didn't do that and very shortly after getting my head underwater I realized that I had forgotten to plug my dry suit hose into the inflator -- and then later remembered that I really didn't have a tail now but instead I had a crotch strap! Fortunately it was a pretty trivial thing to hook up my dry suit hose and the trailing crotch strap didn't catch on anything.
#2 -- A back inflate BC is a back inflate BC. The BP/W I used actually felt almost identical to my Balance. After three dives I really couldn't tell any difference in how this felt as compared to my BC. In both cases I was stable, I seemed to trim just about the same (I couldn't tell a difference at all), the tank felt the same, etc.
#3 -- The only noticeable difference I could tell was that the BP/W was a bit more sloppy than my Balance! Now this was totally unexpected BUT I think I know why. I dive a full neoprene dry suit which means that it compresses with depth (unlike the crushed neoprene or trilam suits) and I'm quite used to cinching up my Balance as my suit compresses -- something I can't do with the Hog rig BP/W. So while it was fitted properly in the kitchen, once I got down below 40' it got a little loose and I couldn't do anything to fix it.
#4 -- I remembered from diving years ago why I hate weight belts and why I LOVE my integrated weights. I don't have hips -- my ribs come all the way down to my hip bones. Having to use a weight belt again was as painful and discomforting as I had remembered -- and again, as soon as I got any compression in my suit, the weight belt became loose! (Of course there are solutions to that should/when I ever do the BP/W route.)
The upshot of my brush with Death, Darth and the Dark Side? I SURVIVED!!! Nope, I shall continue to resist and wage war against the Evil Queen with my Cobra, Back Inflate BC, Split Fins and Air Source.
However, I must give a public Thank You to GratefulDiver for letting my approach the Dark Side -- knowing that I have survived.
Thank you Bob. (Oh, and want to borrow a camera? That is, if you'll be back before WE leave!)
So, what was my experience with a BP/W instead of my beloved back-inflate Balance?
#1 -- Note to self -- when doing major equipment changes (and I believe changing BC's to be a major eqipment change) make sure that you don't skip "kitting up" steps AND that, regardless of peer pressure, DO A FULL HEAD-TO-TOE equipment check. I didn't do that and very shortly after getting my head underwater I realized that I had forgotten to plug my dry suit hose into the inflator -- and then later remembered that I really didn't have a tail now but instead I had a crotch strap! Fortunately it was a pretty trivial thing to hook up my dry suit hose and the trailing crotch strap didn't catch on anything.
#2 -- A back inflate BC is a back inflate BC. The BP/W I used actually felt almost identical to my Balance. After three dives I really couldn't tell any difference in how this felt as compared to my BC. In both cases I was stable, I seemed to trim just about the same (I couldn't tell a difference at all), the tank felt the same, etc.
#3 -- The only noticeable difference I could tell was that the BP/W was a bit more sloppy than my Balance! Now this was totally unexpected BUT I think I know why. I dive a full neoprene dry suit which means that it compresses with depth (unlike the crushed neoprene or trilam suits) and I'm quite used to cinching up my Balance as my suit compresses -- something I can't do with the Hog rig BP/W. So while it was fitted properly in the kitchen, once I got down below 40' it got a little loose and I couldn't do anything to fix it.
#4 -- I remembered from diving years ago why I hate weight belts and why I LOVE my integrated weights. I don't have hips -- my ribs come all the way down to my hip bones. Having to use a weight belt again was as painful and discomforting as I had remembered -- and again, as soon as I got any compression in my suit, the weight belt became loose! (Of course there are solutions to that should/when I ever do the BP/W route.)
The upshot of my brush with Death, Darth and the Dark Side? I SURVIVED!!! Nope, I shall continue to resist and wage war against the Evil Queen with my Cobra, Back Inflate BC, Split Fins and Air Source.
However, I must give a public Thank You to GratefulDiver for letting my approach the Dark Side -- knowing that I have survived.
Thank you Bob. (Oh, and want to borrow a camera? That is, if you'll be back before WE leave!)
