Newbie BC advice (most likely jacket not BP/W)

[tank29]

Oops, I again forgot to provide useful information. I am going to mostly be doing lake diving with vacations now and then. For a good long while, it will all be recreational diving. I don't know what is the price range for BCs, so I don't know what my budget is.

Maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself and I should get a dozen or two dives under my belt before I go buying any scuba gear. That seems to make sense, even though I really want to!

Guess I'll have to think about this a bit more....

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Willie]

I switched to BP/Wing about 3 months ago. I love it. If you are ever coming to dive Lake Travis and I can get there at the same time, I would be happy to let you try it out if you want. You can probably find someone local who would be willing to do the same.

I bought mine used and if you keep your eyes open, you can get quite a good deal. I got my singles BP/Wing for a total of $200 from 2 different sources. I got my doubles BP/Wing for about $250, again from 2 different sources and that included a brand new Steel BP from Deep Sea Supply.

I think a lot depends on what type of diving you see yourself doing in the future and how fast you intend to get there. If you know you are going to progress to technical diving in the future, I would encourage you to go ahead and get the BP/Wing now. If you are only going to do a few recreational trips a year, dont bother with the BP/Wing at this point.

As other's have said, try as much as you can before you buy, unless you find a great deal on some gear that others have already given a solid thumbs up to. Almost all of my gear has been purchased used. Just be smart about it.

Willie

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

You've already received some great advice here, some of which I'll be repeating. You really need to try out some various BC's before you buy. I'd recommend trying to find a LDS that has several different kinds of BC's available for rent. See if they will let you try them out in their pool and then rent the one you like best for a day of diving to make sure you like it before you buy. Be sure to try out both jacket and back inflate style BC's. Quite a few people find they like the back inflate style better than the jacket style so be sure to try both. Whatever you decide on make sure that it is something you really like and not something that is just good enough. Anything you buy today that is good enough will be bought again no more than a year later and you'll be wasting money.

 

[CentralTxDiver]

My favorite Back Inflation BCD is the Scubapro Knighthawk. It's been perfect for me and I also have a HOG configured BP/W and while I like it I still prefer my Scubapro Knighthawk...as the webbing of my HOG configured BP/W isn't anywhere near as comfortable or as easy to don and get out of as my Knighthawk. I now use my BP/W for doubles only as the Knighthawk isn't recommended for doubles use (It can be adapted but I had the BP/W lying about so I use it now for that purpose). If I'm diving single tank and only rec I use my Knighthawk...if the Knighthawk were more designed for doubles use I would sell my BP/W. As a side note I have often thought about getting rid of the HOG harness on my BP/W in favor of a more comfortable deluxe harness such as the one Dive-Rite has avail. Don't get me wrong...I like my BP/W config...especially for doubles and more tech diving but for comfort and single tank rec diving I prefer my Scubapro Knighthawk. I just don't think any single solution works best for everyone...try out different style BCD's including BP/W's and see what works best for you. Don't feel compelled to buy something that just isn't right for you. You never know, you may even prefer a jacket style BCD like a Scubapro Classic over a back inflate BCD or BP/W. In the end its your money and your comfort...don't let any dive "Taliban" tell you you need this or that particular rig. Do yourself a favor and try out a few different BCD's...even if you have to rent them to get an idea of what you like.

Jim