please help for choosing the right bcd

[atabaksh]

Hi, I want to buy my first BCD . I like seac's quality and price and want to get a seac bcd but I do not know which model to choose. I want a bcd which is light as I have to travel a long way to reach the sea. Also do not like the wing type bcds. Which model do you recommend?

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Several threads started in different forums, asking essentially the same question, have been merged into one forum. So it may read a bit strange..please keep in mind this is a new diver and a new member, and bumps are to be expected. Marg, SB Senior Moderator

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[Oldbear]

I do not own a Seac but just looking at the manufacture's website description I would lean towards the Pro 1000. Compared to the Sherpa and Ego the Pro 1000 appears to be the best built BDC.

But I would do to a Dive Shop/Dive Show and try them all on and see how they fit.

 

[atabaksh]

I want to buy my first BCD so I need your help. I do not know to go for a light travel bcd or a jacket type with back plate. As I have to travel a long distance to reach the sea, travel bcds for their ease of transport seem logical but I have read jacket type bcds have more options. I want to know what are the benefits of jacket type bcds with back plate in compare to travel bcds and if their extra weight is worth to choose them.

 

[ams511]

I assume when you say backplate you are not talking about a metal backplate and wing but a jacket BC with a plastic backplate. Usually a travel BC is lighter, has less lift, and packs tighter than a normal jacket BC. Some travel BCs have all the accessories that a jacket BC does.

 

[atabaksh]

Thanks for your answer, I am in my first year of diving so there are a lot to learn. As I have understood, the difference between a travel bcd and the normal jacket or wing type bcd is the back plate. There is no back plate in travel bcds. Is having a back plate that important to choose normal jacket bcd over the travel bcd or should we go to the weight advantage of travel bcds and choose them?

 

[tbone1004]

travel bcd's don't often have a weight advantage, but one of the concerns with these types of systems is that since they aren't modular, if something is damaged during travel the whole unit has to be scrapped. You can look at something like a DSS Kydex plate and wing which is about $460 and you're ready to go, whole system should be about 5-6lbs or so depending on backplate size.

Dive Rite also has some systems with removable bladders in the Travelpac/Hunterpac *Hunterpac is a slick little rig*, OMS makes a small travel plate and you can look at systems like that as well. Edd Sorenson at Cave Adventurers will have the OMS stuff, Deep Sea Supply sells direct to customers, and Dive Rite can be had by your local dealer, Cave Adventurers, Dive Gear Express or a slew of others.

 

[RJP]

You're confusing several things here.

A "jacket bcd" and a "backplate/wing" are two VERY different things.

Jacket BCD, which may have a rigid plastic "back piece" (as a hiking back-pack might have) but will not have a "backplate" in the traditional diving sense of that term. You'll note that the inflation cell of this type wraps around your sides... like a jacket.

Backplate and wing... note the metal plate, with separate wing attached.

You've not mentioned a third common type the "back-inflate BCD" which is kind of a hybrid between the two above. They are an integrated, single unit like the jacket-type... but the inflation cell is located on the back only as in the backplate-wing.'

A "travel BCD" is really a marketing term for a light-weight, small packing version of some or other BCD type. They come in jacket, BP/W, or back-inflate style. Back-inflate style is the most common type of "travel" BCD since it will - by underlying design - be lighter weight and pack smaller.

 

[agilis]

Almost all travel BCDs have lightweight back plates. Heavy duty BCDs are made of thicker materials, have more accessories, and larger inflatable sections, providing greater lift capability.

 

[Lorenzoid]

As Ray said and illustrated so well with his pictures, "travel BC" is just a marketing term that some company might use to refer to the lighter-weight BC in their line. A company that sells a line of jacket-style BCs might have one that they refer to as their travel BC, but it's still a jacket-style BC. A company that sells backplate-and-wing ("BP/W") BCs might have one that they refer to as their travel BC, but it's still a BP/W-style BC. A BP/W-style BC can have a backplate that's made of steel, aluminum or a plastic material. The plastic backplates are sometimes marketed as travel backplates.

 

[ams511]

Thanks for your answer, I am in my first year of diving so there are a lot to learn. As I have understood, the difference between a travel bcd and the normal jacket or wing type bcd is the back plate. There is no back plate in travel bcds. Is having a back plate that important to choose normal jacket bcd over the travel bcd or should we go to the weight advantage of travel bcds and choose them?

In my experience a backplate in a jacket BC is not very important. It has been a while since I dove a jacket BC but I had two, one with a plastic backplate and one without. Neither was a travel BC and both worked well.