new here.. looking for advice on my first gear selection plz!

[beaverdivers]

Just my input from 40+ years of diving all over the world as a Diver!

 

[herman]

Well, I am a little guy and everything my instructor told me about back inflates is that they are great and a lot of people use them but that I may find myself fighting to not always be face down as the back portion of the BC wants to be the first part of me to rise up. As soon as I heard this it ruined my thoughts of a back inflate as I can totally see myself constantly struggling with trying to stay upright and not enjoying that. I will however take your advice and try one at least though first..

This is one of those half truths that you have to understand to make the decision for yourself. If you inflate a back inflate fully and try to stay upright in the water, it will plant you face down. The trick is to inflate it just enough that your head stays out of the water but not much more, many new divers like to pump their BC full and have it hold them upright with their head well out of the water. A jacket type will do that nicely but how often are you spending lots of time on the surface and need to be that high out of the water. For chatting at the surface, it is nice which is why I use one during training but on real dives I try to spend as little time at the surface as I can. The other big different between back inflates and jackets is the way they fit. Because a jacket type has an air bladder that wraps around you, the fit will change as you change the amount of air in it as opposed to a back inflate that uses a harness that the fit reamains the same reguardless of the amount of air you have in it. If you put on a jacket BC and pull it up tight, then inflate it you will be squeezed and will likely have to loosen it or if you inflate it first then adjust it, as soon as you let the air out of it, it becomes loose. In contrast, the back inflate BC does not have any of the air cell around you so no matter how much you change the air in it, the fit never changes. Both work and each has it's advantages, I prefer the back inflate.


As for weight integration I did use a weight belt for the pool sessions and it was not as comfortable as having the weight in the BCD. I did like the fact that when removing the BCD that I was still waited under water though. Either way I can still consider a weight integrated BCD and remove mostly all the weights from it and still use a belt can't I?

I prefer a weight intergrated BC myself but there are times a weight belt is better suited to the job. There is no reason you can't use a weight belt with a weight intergrated BC or put some in the BC and some on the belt if that works better- I do that when diving a dry suit.

I am seeing the light on the two second stages part. nuff said on that

I have been debating the console/wrist mount options already but figured it would be best to try to keep my wrists free. Im not too big on wearing things on my wrist, even watchs unless I have to so I am still leaning towards a console. Spending the extra money on it isn't a big issue for me though.




Queston on the brands thing, is Aeris considered to be a "major brand" and large enough to be considerd a good choice? Also I do plan to look into analog backup devices because they are less likely to fail

Aries has been around a while but honestly I know little about them. When I look around at the dive shops I go in, 90% of them carry either Scubapro, Aqualung or Sherwood. Not saying any of the other brands are bad, I happen to like Zeagles as well and the HOG/Epic line are good regs but good local service is harder to find. While on the subject, Sherwoods tend to be the lower end regs of the bunch but are solid, dependable workhorses (except the SR-1 which IMO is a nightmare).



I thought about looking for used gear and have been perusing the local craigslist, flea markets, and pawn shops but nobody has anything small enough for me (BCD) or the equipment looks so old and tore up that it would need significant servicing and in the long run I would be better buying new. As for money not coming easy, well, I am a single guy with no wife and kids, have a GOOD job, and a lot of disposable income so money is not really a concern. I am not looking into buying the most fancy shpancy gear out there but for me to buy something now that I may only use a few times before deciding to change up part or all of it won't bother me much.

Another thing to note is that I have a friend that I am trying to get into scuba as well (same exact size as me physically) but he is not as well off financially as me so I have been trying to help him out. I bought him a good set of wetsuit and booties for Xmas and he already has his fins, mask and snorkel so he is ready to take the class now. I was thinking that if I buy this gear and I end up changing it for something else I can always give it to him dirt cheap to help him out. call it, investing in my future dive buddy

Thanks for all the info so far! More responses are greatly welcomed!

Ant

Nothing wrong with helping a friend out.

 

[NubaScoob]

I went by my LDS today and talked to them about getting my second checkout dive done and it looks like that will be next weekend in Key Largo. On another note I talked to him about trying a back inflate BC and he said I can come by tomorrow as he has another class and join them in the pool and try one out and compare them. That being said I will try out a back inflate BC tomorrow so I will have a better feel on my options, plus It will get my feet wet so I can get my fix until next weekend

 

[diveprof]

First of all congratulations on entering the world of scuba diving. There are great traditional BCD, and back inflate BCDs, and back plates and wings. You need what is right for you. You are doing the wise thing by trying them. Keep in mind though that if he brings in his cave wing rig for you as an OW diver diving single tanks this would not be a fair comparison. I know what is right for me (backplate and wing), but finding what is best for you is a personal journey. Try stuff out before you buy. Borrow gear from friends or different shop rentals (when certified). A couple of things tend to be true though:
1. If you have your own gear, you will dive more
2. Your skills develop faster if you are diving your own gear and not different rentals each time.

 

[NubaScoob]

First of all congratulations on entering the world of scuba diving. There are great traditional BCD, and back inflate BCDs, and back plates and wings. You need what is right for you. You are doing the wise thing by trying them. Keep in mind though that if he brings in his cave wing rig for you as an OW diver diving single tanks this would not be a fair comparison. I know what is right for me (backplate and wing), but finding what is best for you is a personal journey. Try stuff out before you buy. Borrow gear from friends or different shop rentals (when certified). A couple of things tend to be true though:
1. If you have your own gear, you will dive more
2. Your skills develop faster if you are diving your own gear and not different rentals each time.

i asked and he said that they have regular back inflates available for the class as he sometimes gets students that ask the same question I did and its for that reason regarding my skills developing faster in my own rig that just helps to solidify that I want to buy sooner rather than later as I tend to work a lot and to me the time saved is worth its weight in gold.. I'll post again tomorrow after my dive session and ket everyone know how it went..

Ant

 

[Colliam7]

Well, I am a little guy and everything my instructor told me about back inflates is that they are great and a lot of people use them but that I may find myself fighting to not always be face down as the back portion of the BC wants to be the first part of me to rise up. As soon as I heard this it ruined my thoughts of a back inflate as I can totally see myself constantly struggling with trying to stay upright and not enjoying that. I will however take your advice and try one at least though first..

Glad to see you are going to at least try one. The comment about back inflate BCDs being associated with a feeling of being pushed face down (at the surface) is not uncommon. Interesting enough, it does occur, most often with weight-integrated BCDs, in newer divers, who are overweighted. Most WI BCDs put the primary weight in a position that is slightly forward / in front of the diver's torso vertical midline, (i.e. looking at the diver in a vertical position, from the side). At the same time, the primary bouyancy / lift is coming from a position that is aft / behind the torso midline. It is a simple matter of mechanics - the weight pulls you down from the front, the wing lifts you from the rear, and face-forward you go. Many newer divers attempt to compensate for the initial slight sensation of being pushed face forward by adding air to the BCD, which only makes matters worse. The more overweighted you are, the worse the forward / face down rotation - there is more weight pulling you down from the front, and more lift (you inflate your BCD more, to compensate for the excess weight) pushing up in back.

While that is one of the reasons I don't recommend a weight-integrated unit, and also one of the reasons that I personally like the SS BP - it puts weight behind me - there are oither solutions to the problem. Some divers fnd that adding a weight pocket to the tank cam band is effective. This is not ditcheable weight, of course, but that is really not a primary issue for a properly weighted single tank diver. There are also some WI BCDs that allow you to put weight behind your torso midline in trim pockets.

Either way I can still consider a weight integrated BCD and remove mostly all the weights from it and still use a belt can't I?

Absolutely. You may pay a bit more for a WI rig, which also contributes to my comment about not recommneding them. But, you do not have to use the weight pouches on a WI unit.

Although Herman and I may not be of one mnd on consoles, in general we are very similar in our diving gear approach, and a central theme for both of us is simplicity. The simpler, easier, more streamlined - the better.

 

[NubaScoob]

Ok so im back from my day in the pool. Tried a Sherwood Back Inflate BCD. So far I was not impressed nor disappointed with it. It was nice to have more room under my arms but at the same time I felt like the tank was a little floppy and the pockets were a little funky. I think that while I liked the extra room under my arms and around me that I am still leaning towards a jacket BCD. But one that can be trimmed more evenly. I also tried a reg that goes under the are as opposed to outside the arm and it wasn't terrible but I prefer the outside of the arm type better. I think the best solution for me will be a Jacket BCD with rear weight pockets and then use a belt with a small amount of weight so if I need to take the BC off I don't float like a cork. Any recommendations on a jacket BCD? My LDS is super eager to get my business and I would love to get my stuff there but he does not carry any of the manufacturers that I have been looking at thus far. I asked if he could get the other brands I was looking at and he said probably not. So the question is do I buy online and get what I want or do I get something from him that is close to what I want just to try to support him? He is a great guy and I don't want to do him wrong ya know???

thoughts?


Ant

 

[Colliam7]

Tried a Sherwood Back Inflate BCD. I felt like the tank was a little floppy and the pockets were a little funky.

A 'floppy' tank isn't really related to a back inflate vs jacket style, although it may refl;ect a BCD that was too big. (In fact, if anything, I would expect the BI to make the tank less 'floppy', since the wing, when inflated, should support it.) But, the good news is, you tried it, and your decision to go jacket is reinforced.

I also tried a reg that goes under the are as opposed to outside the arm and it wasn't terrible but I prefer the outside of the arm type better.

I am not sure exactly what you mean here. Do you mean the primary second stage hose ran under your arm, in addition to the alternate second stage hose? Just curious.

My LDS is super eager to get my business and I would love to get my stuff there but he does not carry any of the manufacturers that I have been looking at thus far.

What particular brands, other than Aeris, have you been looking at so far, and what is the basis for your brand preferences? (Also, if you are going jacket, you might find a lot of relatively new, used gear, on eBay, or Craigslist, or through your LDS, to consider.)

 

[keyshunter]

Since he tried a Sherwood bcd, it is quite likely he also tried a Sherwood Maximus regulator, which uses an underarm hose for the primary. Some divers like it, some hate it--I am among the latter.

 

[beaverdivers]

NubaScoob,

Why not buy the Best gear at the Best price?

Scubapro: Glide Pro w/ Air Ii, Mk25/S600 & XP10 3 gauge console.

PM me for quote.