New Wing BCD for Travel and Home

[Myatix]

Hi All,

This is my first post to Scubaboard.com and am really happy I found this community.

I have been a recreational diver for quite a few years and have always rented gear to go diving. I now want to buy my own equipment and am looking for something really good! I have just brought a new scubapro regulator as I got an amazing deal on the old MK25 A700 model. I'm now looking for a really good BC for diving in Northern Europe and warmer climates.
I don't dive with a dry suite mainly 3 and 5mm or occasionally 7mm wetsuits!
So I looking for a Wing BC that is easy and reasonably lightweight to travel with but heavy duty for using at home.

I have had a look at the zeagle Stiletto/ Ranger and the Scubapro Nighthawk and litehawk.

I really like the nighthawk but feel it is just too heavy for traveling at 9kg where as the litehawk looses too many pockets and features I want for home use.

Can anyone recommend a high quality heavy duty Wing that is comfortable but also lite for travel, it doesn't need to be super lite but under 9 kg would be good!

Ideal features:
Wing
Integrated weight pockets
Some pockets
Very comfortable
Lite weight

I looked at the new hydro pro but don't like the lack of pockets or the price tag!

Any ideas appritiated!

 

[rhwestfall]

in a bp/w, you seek a "unicorn"....

 

[randpchi]

The Knighthawk is more like 9 lbs.

 

[ams511]

I have to agree with the other poster. I do not believe what you are describing exists. Once you start adding "features" and heavy-duty construction the weight is bound to increase. That is the nature of dive gear. Also coldwater BCs tend to have more lift than is needed (usually way more) than is needed for tropical diving. A backplate and wing is a module setup and you can add and subtract features as needed. If you do not want to go that route, then my advice is to watch out for sales and used equipment and pick up 2 different BCs. One for cold water and one for warm.

 

[Bierstadt]

I recently started buying my own gear. I purchased a BP/W from Deep Sea Supply for my BCD. I think you need to work on your needs for the BP/W a bit more, though. Figure out exactly what you want your BCD to do. Then identify your minimum requirements and objective (ideal) requirements, and what you would be willing to pay for each Next determine your weighting requirements so you know what wing capacity you need. That will include your gas weight and your suit buoyancy - there are simple calculations for how to do that, though you are best off testing your suit buoyancy in the pool.

Then start shopping. It looks like you mostly want a BP/W setup for traveling - but 9 kgs is stupidly heavy for any BCD. Perhaps you meant 9 lbs, which is still pretty heavy for a BP/W, even one with a stainless steel backplate that would serve as a decent chunk of your diving weights. There are purpose-built travel BCDs with integrated wings, BP/W setups with soft backplates, BP/W setups with aluminium backplates, at least a dozen different harnesses for these backplates...

Any piece of equipment you buy is going to be a compromise. For me it was somewhat easy. I dive cold freshwater and do so locally. Tobin from DeepSeaSupply set me up with a strong, durable BP/W with a stainless steel backplate for weight, a 35 lbs wing for 7mm wetsuits and the drysuit I know I will eventually buy, and a standard Hogarthian harness that many people prefer. Work on your requirements, and then you will be able to pick the right bcd for you.

 

[rhwestfall]

pockets = pocket shorts or pockets on your exposure protection. never seen a useful pocket on a jacket BC.

Integrated weights - there are add-on systems. I prefer XS Scuba weight pockets on the cam bands and waist strap.

 

[RayfromTX]

I bought a Zuma. It was a back inflate travel bc with integrated weight pockets and a pocket just about big enough for my gopro on one side. It weighs just under 5 lbs. It has little plastic d-rings and small straps for webbing that don't work perfectly for adding things to the waist belt but I made it work. I ended up feet heavy. The weights were on my hips. the bladder ran hip to shoulder. My trim changed depending on the air in my wing. In order to be trimmed out I used a 2lb ankle weight around my tank valve to compensate for my weight being below my center of lift.

Attaching things so they didn't dangle was difficult because the padding on the shoulder straps limited where I could attach things. When I went head down or just swam in trim my rig would shift up and I would have to pull it back down because there was no crotch strap. Each time I put it on, I adjusted it to fit. The freedom of movement was good. All in all I much preferred it to the wrap around BCs that I had rented and trained on. I decided to use an airsource 3 to get rid of one of the hoses. I studied, read and watched youtube videos of scubadivers that swam in trim and in control with a streamlined setup that they could predict and build on as they progressed.

Slowly I became dissatisfied with the little inconvenient characteristics of the travel BC. My wife had the same Zuma and she loved hers.

I bought a Backplate and Wing from DSS. It was a Kydex backplate and a 20 lb. wing with a one piece harness. It was a pain to set up the first time and felt a bit harsh on my bony shoulders when I was carrying a tank on land. It's funny how I never notice that now and it feels great when I'm carrying a full steel 100 down the steps to the shore below. It took a couple of dives for that to happen, like 2 dives.

I set everything up to be attached securely and I can find everything without looking. The harness allows me to add things as needed wherever it makes sense. I don't need any weight in fresh water and a 5 mil wetsuit and almost none in saltwater. Trim just happens now by shifting the tank a bit up or down. Once the rig was initially adjusted, it stayed that way and every time I put it on it is the same as the last time. It stays in place. I use a pocket on the waist strap and one on the thigh of my wetsuit. It weighs just under 6 lbs but I don't need the ankle weight for trim so travel weight is the same or less and it packs just a bit smaller.

My wife became a better diver and soon she was irritated by the small plastic d-rings on her beloved Zuma and she was forever tugging it back in place without even noticing. Her trim was always a bit of a challenge and to get her in trim the tank had to be moved up so high that her head was in her valve. The time had come to shift her over also.

We got her a short kydex plate and a 20 lb wing and she just had to have purple webbing which isn't as stiff so it folds on itself but she loves the color. She's diving without weight now too so she is carrying about 12 lbs less down the stairs between the rig, the steel tanks and more experience. She is getting used to it after 2 dives and it's going to be great.

We also got rid of the airsource 3s and went to 7' primary hose and bungeed secondary regulator. That has made a huge difference in our comfort level just because the routing is better and when we air share because she uses mor air she especially likes my 7' hose.

We made all these changes in a matter of months and now we have a bit of gear that has little use on it and was an expensive lesson. We wish we had started out where we ended up but when we heard about this stuff at the beginning it seemed too strange and we did what we did.

Good luck in your decision making.

 

[Myatix]

Thanks for all the feedback! I guess I need to look into a BP/W solution then!

Does anyone have any names of light weight quality BP's and Wings?

Any links much appreciated!

 

[Marie13]

Halcyon has a Traveler BP/W. The main difference between the Traveler and regular Halcyon BP/W is that the Traveler doesn't use a separate STA. Pricey, though.

The main thing you want to look for is an aluminum BP for travel.

 

[rhwestfall]

For travel I use this with a HOG 23# (but here too is a great deal on a small wing - Store - Vintage Double Hose ):

this is a OxyCheq "Dogbone". I prefer it to the soft plates as I like the rigidity. A DSS Kydex plate is also a nice option.