No one likes Jacket Inflates?

[coachpill]

I dove with a bp/w a couple of weeks ago for the first time and loved it. Does that mean I'm a candidate for heading to the "dark side?"

I liked not having to wear much weight at all (6 lbs with a 5 mm wetsuit and aluminum bp), and I liked not having anything on my front.

With that said, I'd like to try out a back inflate bc when the opportunity arises. My feet sink in the water and the bp/w setup kept me much more horizontal in the water than ever before. For that reason alone, I'm researching my choices...

 

[NadMat]

I recently bought my second jacket bc, the first one only lasted a measly quarter century

I trained with an early version of the wing concept(at-pac?), and personally prefer a jacket bc, currently diving a pro QD, but it is a matter of personal preference and the type of diving you do. I like the pockets on my jacket and like the 'hug' when inflated at surface. JMHO YMMV

 

[TSandM]

I used a jacket in class, but I didn't like the feeling of having all that stuff around the front of me. I bought a back-inflate, which I liked much better, but it didn't fit well. And there's the real key to everything: Whatever you buy has to FIT you well, so it's comfortable, and keeps the tank stable on your back.

 

[Hank49]

I've been looking at threads for the past couple days and I've noticed that whenever there is one about jacket vs anything else, everyone prefers back inflate. ?

That's only on Scubaboard. And most of the posters here aren't from Earth. I have the only one here except for my friend Boy and my daughter who have the only other ones on Earth. I've never seen one used here in Belize except mine.

 

[David P]

Mr/Ms Delicious; I see you are in Torrance, that is real close to Vets, how about we get together to go diving and Ill bring you one of my extra backplate/wings? This way you can try it out and make your own decision.

 

[old gaffer]

I would suggest a scubaboard open a new thread for BP/Wings apart from BC jackets. I went from a standard jacket BC (Pro QD) to a back inflate (Black Diamond) I liked both and I am sure I would probably like the BP/Wing as well. I think the BP/Wing users are passionate about them and unfairly malign jackets which for most users would suit them just fine.

Gaffer

 

[CompuDude]

That's only on Scubaboard. And most of the posters here aren't from Earth. I have the only one here except for my friend Boy and my daughter who have the only other ones on Earth. I've never seen one used here in Belize except mine.

And since Belize is the diving capital of the world, clearly you have made a statistically significant survey on the topic...

Spend more time in cold water, or in caves, and I think you'll see those numbers flip quite dramatically.

 

[Hank49]

And since Belize is the diving capital of the world, clearly you have made a statistically significant survey on the topic...

Spend more time in cold water, or in caves, and I think you'll see those numbers flip quite dramatically.

But seriously, if you didn't dive and joined Scubaboard, you'd get the impression that the majority of divers use bp/wings. I honestly have never seen another diver use one other then those I mentioned, here, Malaysia or the Philippines.
Thanks but no thanks on the cold water. 76F is cold enough for me.

 

[jplacson]

Ok, this is an age-old thread... I always enjoy reading topics regarding this... mainly cuz I find them entertaining...

My personal take on this topic...

Either jacket or BPW is fine. you're not gonna die if you choose one or the other.

What a lot of people forget is that we equip ourselves to dive, not dive to equip ourselves. The purpose of a BC is for buoyancy during a dive... not as a life jacket. It may help you float on the surface, but even stab jackets have the warning that it should not be used as a life jacket.

That being said, diving gear is much like buying a car... a tiny Hyundai will still get you from point A to point B... just like a Ford Excursion... just like a BMW M3.

A jacket BC will inflate... just like a BPW... one won't make you a better diver over the other. BUT, with the proper training, most divers have found that a BPW allows more freedom of movement and agility underwater. Hence the recommendation by a lot of divers... tech or otherwise.

There is nothing wrong with a jacket BC. Without proper training, a BPW won't perform any better than a jacket. It won't make you magically fin horizontally...as much as it "looks" like it will... no, it won't. Training will make you fin horizontally, a BPW just maked it easier to do so.

I think there are more jacket BC users globally than there are BPW... I don't have any data to support this, just an observation here in the Phil. For those that do use BPW, some see the difference like night & day (I'm one of them)... others don't really see/feel the big difference other than the looks.

It may not be a perfect analogy but... think of a BPW like a stick-shift car, and a jacket like an automatic. Both work. There's nothing you can do in an automatic, that you can't do in a stick... but, in certain circumstances, a stick offers more flexibility and control IF trained to use it properly.

 

[ZzzKing]

I tried that tact as well, 300bar. Holy Toledo, did I get fried! You'd have thought
I asked for a date with their mom.

Was their mom hot?