No BCD diving...

[Mike Boswell]

Back in the 70's and 80's I used a Hawaiian backpack that I made myself, no BC or other stuff. It was minimal drag and maximum speed and the sense of freedom underwater was a wonderful thing. Sometimes I also used a small plastic backplate with simple webbing - like a HOG rig - just as good in the water but the Hawaiian backplate has metal shoulder straps which make it easier to use on land or in a boat. I think the Freedom plate is pretty much like that.

If I were back in warm water that is what I would use. But I have to admit that having a bouyancy device of some sort is reassuring.

 

[Garrobo]

Paladin: They are out and don't know when they will be getting more. I guess Sea Elite has built a new building and are moving out so they don't know when they will resume production. They are supposed to contact me when they get some in on back order.

 

[adm3745]

I've been dying to go do a dive with just my harness and plate with 2 sidemounted 40's. I think this will so awesome.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So I have finally discovered it today... In full... no dry suit as I did before no BC.
I had suspected it would be good but I did not think it would be so good

In the pool though with just the plate and harness and it was awesome Just so easy to control the location in water column and so little drag that you feel just like flying.

And few things came to my mind instantly. Why was I delaying it for so long and why the hell did not they teach this in the OW classes in the very beginning. I think that's just the most easiest and quickest way to get a hold on the buoyancy and you got the feeling how it should be when you weighting is done properly.

How many of you do it just like in the old times in the open water ? What do you carry for the case you need to have that extra buoyancy in some emergency case ? A lift bag ?
Do charters down south have any objections for no BCD diving ?

I wonder what is next A Purchase of Royal Aqua Master ?

OMG, you don't know how long I've waited to hear someone say this!!

Hallelujah!!!!

The only charters I've heard of that allow and encourage minimalist diving are the Southern California Boats mainly the Peace out of Ventura. Many Lobster divers dive this way because they are unencumbered and lighting fast underwater.
http://diver.net/backpack_divers/

Be prepared because you may run into some flame action on this board about your revelation.
Pay no mind, we've been through it before. There is a small but staunch group of minimalist divers here and we stick together pretty good. Most of the naysayers tend to not understand the dynamics of minimalism and as a result see it as unsafe and reckless.

Hopefully this will become a productive and informative thread, and disspell some of the paranoia associated with minimalist diving.
Minimalism is an exilerating and liberating experience to say the least.

 

[DCBC]

This was what diving was back in the day. A good reason why the diver swimming standard was what it was. Diver education has gone in the direction of a 4 year old swimming class, just put a life jacket on them so they wont drown... :mooner:

 

[herman]

The thing I wonder about is what to do about two things that change buoyancy: compression at depth (if you wear an exposure suit) and the increasing buoyancy of your tank as you deplete the gas.

It is clearly possible to choose weighting such that at a given depth and with a given quantity of gas in your tank(s) you are neutrally buoyant with a "normal" breath. Are your lungs enough such that you can hold a 10' stop with an empty tank? Can you get down to depth from the surface?

This kind of things seems straightforward with something like a cave dive that is long and shallow, but working out the right combination of tank, exposure suit and weighting for an open ocean dive seems daunting to the uninitiated like myself.

I dive this way quite often and it's my preferred way to dive. The swing in an 80cf tank is around 4 lbs and an average person has about 11 lbs of controllable lift by varying lung volumes so there is plenty to deal with air lost. Weighting is critical but not that difficult. If I am diving with no wetsuit (or very little) I weight for perfectly neutral at 1500psi- basically 1/2 tank. That way I am about 2 lbs heavy at the start of the dive and 2 lbs light at the end, a very easy amount to deal with using lung volume alone. Wetsuits add a little more to the equation but the compression of a 5mm shortie is maybe 5 or 6 lbs at 100ft. The way you deal with this is to weight yourself so you are a few pounds positive at the surface, then swim down the first few feet, remember the majority of the compression is going to happen in the first 30 ft. After 15 ft or so the compression starts to reduce your buoyancy to the point it's easy to deal with the extra few pounds of positive buoyancy and if weighted properly you are 2 or 3 lbs negative by the time you get to your max depth, again an easy amount to deal with. At the end of the dive you are a little light but still within an easy range to be handled with lung volume. Learning to dive this way is easy and for those who would like to try it without going bladderless there is an easy way to simulate no BC diving. Simply use your current BC and get your weighting dead on, making sure ALL the air in the bladder is removed. All of it must be removed because any remaining will contract and expand as you change depths creating buoyancy changes you will have to deal with but would not exist if you had no bladder. Once you have your weights correct and the air out of your bladder, dive without touching your inflator. If you get into a jam you can always bail yourself out with the inflator. At first you will likely find it hard to resist the urge to inflate or dump but after a while you will start to get the hang of no BC diving and will forget the inflator hose exist. If you are weighted properly you will be surprised at how easy no BC diving is. This method, while simulating no BC diving pretty well from a buoyancy perspective, it does not give you the freedom of movement and effenicy that comes when you shed the BC altogether.

 

[Nemrod]

So I have finally discovered it today... In full... no dry suit as I did before no BC.
I had suspected it would be good but I did not think it would be so good

In the pool though with just the plate and harness and it was awesome Just so easy to control the location in water column and so little drag that you feel just like flying.

And few things came to my mind instantly. Why was I delaying it for so long and why the hell did not they teach this in the OW classes in the very beginning. I think that's just the most easiest and quickest way to get a hold on the buoyancy and you got the feeling how it should be when you weighting is done properly.

How many of you do it just like in the old times in the open water ? What do you carry for the case you need to have that extra buoyancy in some emergency case ? A lift bag ?
Do charters down south have any objections for no BCD diving ?

I wonder what is next A Purchase of Royal Aqua Master ?

I only wear a BC when forced to with some exceptions. The "forcing" I speak of is compliance with charter rules which are in turn forced largely upon them by the lawsuit happy public and the resulting insurance restrictions. But, if you have your own boat or dive from shore you can dive as you like.

If shore diving I have a surface float just as was taught pre-BC and if from my boat, I have a sausage, or, maybe not.

You need the Aqua Master and you are right, it is so much better without.

We swim down, we swim around and then we swim back up. It is 3D diving.

N

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

FWIW, a number of cave divers enjoy the no-bcd lifestyle. Steve Bogaerts ether dives without a BCD or uses a modified water bladder as a minimalist BCD in the small of his back. This seems to give some of the benefits of buoyancy compensation while offering the streamlining and freedom of movement of diving without a BCD.

gosidemount.com

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I had never used a BC until I returned to diving in 2007. For the first several dives with my shiney new poodle jacket, I forgot to use it underwater (old habits die hard). I've since switched to a BP/W.... but still, I rarely use it underwater; and I'm also toying with going back to my "roots" and dumping the wing altogether.

As already mentioned, correct weighting is critical, but at least with 3 or 5mm wetsuits, it is not too difficult to accomplish. As Herman mentioned, the weight shift with an Al80 or steel 72 is pretty easy to manage with lung volume once you get your weighting dialed-in.

Best wishes.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

See: monkey-diving.com - Home

Monkey diving is diving without a BC, sidemount and with a scooter. Most of this seems to occur in warm water, but there is some in dry suit based monkey diving in the Pacific Northwest.