Please suggest BC for new diver.

[VikingDives]

An overinflated diver will be unstable and pitch forward. All the buoyancy is in the back and most weight in front - it's physics. It's not an issue to a well trained, experienced diver who knows not to overinflate but students can have trouble.

The next thing you'll be telling me is that back inflate is dangerous and you might drown. This is a trope. Go overinflate yourself and see. You may find that you are inclined to move forward, and that it's annoying until you compensate for the inflation by tilting your head back. That is, unless you are over-weighted and then you will find being at the surface difficult regardless of the style of bc or bp/w configuration.

 

[Marie13]

Have a look at this DGX package. Soft backplate. $399. Includes weight pockets.

DGX Gears SoftPack BCD Package

The DGX Gears SoftPack BCD package is an excellent value that includes a well padded soft backplate harness integrated with a DGX Gears S1 Wing.

www.divegearexpress.com

 

[VikingDives]

Is a "back inflation" style just another version of a jacket BC or is it entirely different?
Or is "back inflation" just another term for the back plate and wing gear like I thought?

They are different animals. You can have a back inflate bcd, or a jacket style bcd. All BP/Ws are back inflate.

 

[Still Kicking]

"Please describe the functional difference between Back Inflation and standard jacket style BCDS. What about the "Hybrid" description that I keep seeing? How does that fit in?"

Back inflate includes standard BCs with air cell behind the harness and includes backplate and wing (a subset). Backplate is an advantage as it distributes some weight over the length of the torso (next to lungs) and provides rigid support for tank(s). Tends to position divers in horizontal trim underwater.

Jacket air cell wraps around the diver and provides good flotation at the surface but may be less stable underwater. When a diver rolls to one side air will migrate to the high side and diver will have to work to get back to a trimmed position. The air cell may squeeze the diver around the ribs when overinflated.

Hybrid has most of its buoyancy in the back but has limited buoyancy in front. The harness is separate from the air cell so it doesnt squeeze the diver when inflated.

 

[waterone]

Find out what he is using in class, if he is comfortable in it, and if it fits him properly. Then go and look for a used one or ask the shop to sell you one of their rentals. You will probably find someone that did a dozen dives on one, and decided to give it up.

I do not believe that a newly certified diver is the proper test platform for new gear.

ALL new divers are test platforms for gear new to them.

My son used a Zeagle jacket BCD for class and then did a couple more dives with a zeagle stilleto and then he tried a backplate. He was absolutely amazed by how much he preferred a backplate setup with a simple donut over even the stilleto.

He said that he instantly loved the wing and that buoyancy and trim were amazingly simple and that he liked the ease of fit and adjustability of the single piece webbing along with only adding the options that he wants. So even a fresh diver can see the benefits soon after cert.

 

[Still Kicking]

You may find that you are inclined to move forward, and that it's annoying until you compensate for the inflation by tilting your head back.

So you're saying that someone who is unfamiliar with buoyancy control might feel they were being pushed forward?

And overweighting students? That never happens.

 

[VikingDives]

So you're saying that someone who is unfamiliar with buoyancy control might feel they were being pushed forward?

And overweighting students? That never happens.

I'm saying it's a non-issue - by the time the instructor was a DM, they'd already worked with someone who had floundered a little bit in the pool. The myth of "pitching forward" as I understand it, came from instructors and shops that wanted to sell their crappy, overpriced jacket BCDs.

 

[SaltyCracker]

Welcome to the diversity of opinion (and experience) that is ScubaBoard!

The diversity of opinion gives me a lot of confidence actually. I get suspicious when I get a choir of agreeing opinions. And thank you everybody for keeping your opinions friendly and not attacking anybody for Wrongthink.

As you have found, dive gear can be expensive and buying the wrong gear for your type of diving can take you down a bottomless rabbit hole. My advice would be to wait until you see how much your son is “into” diving after class. As a general guide, if you are diving quite a bit or planning to advance to technical diving, a Backplate wing setup will offer better options and make trim easier. Finding someone that will let you borrow gear to play around with will go a long way toward helping you make a decision. I have found most divers do not mind letting others use their gear, sometimes shops will do the same if they believe a sale might be in the future. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

Find out what he is using in class, if he is comfortable in it, and if it fits him properly. Then go and look for a used one or ask the shop to sell you one of their rentals. You will probably find someone that did a dozen dives on one, and decided to give it up.

I do not believe that a newly certified diver is the proper test platform for new gear.

I recommend not buying him any gear beyond personal gear until he gets certified. You dont know how he will like the sport yet so dont get too far invested.

Unless you buy gear from the shop he is training at they probably wont let him use it in class for liability reasons unless they do a safety check (more $$$).

The course will give him a better understanding of gear choices and pros/cons.

When you do come to invest in his gear, buy a quality brand that you can easily get serviced locally or anywhere in the world if you eventually travel. Backplate and wing makes the most sense for a growing diver and provides great weight distribution and stability when they have mastered buoyancy control.

My advice is simple , let him get certified first , get some dives under his belt and see what he likes or wants. Nothing wrong with buying used gear for a teen as long as it’s properly serviced before use.

conversely he may be more apt to dive if he has his own gear and isn't restricted by having to rent, especially for local diving....

Thank you for reminding me to consider this important point. In many cases, this is often my default position. My first thought is always to consider used gear. We have several gear heavy and technical hobbies and pass-times together and have found that lightly used and well taken care of entry level gear can usually be had for a fraction of the retail cost. For some reason finding used SCUBA gear around here is hard to do. I've called every dive shop in Va. and they all have told me of the "yard sale" they host for customers each Spring. Even then, by the time I had it serviced, I don't feel like I'd be saving enough to warrant buying used life-support equipment.
The point of waiting to see if he's actually interested in the sport before buying is also valid. Except I know his personality and his interest level so far. He's like me in the respect that once he latches on to something, he devours it. He's read through my entire diving library. Even books on gas blending and my Science of Diving manual. All he watches on TV is marine biology and ship wreck hunters shows. Well... that and a few shows about another passion of his, glass blowing and knife forging. He says forming an object out of molten material is relaxing. It stresses me out just watching him work at it though.
And like tbone suggests, I know the pride of ownership will prompt him to take this more seriously.

 

[VikingDives]

So you're saying that someone who is unfamiliar with buoyancy control might feel they were being pushed forward?

And overweighting students? That never happens.

More importantly, this is the basic forum. New divers look here for advice. The general consensus is that BP/W > Back inflate > jacket BCDs. As a new diver, one might be discouraged from buying a better piece of equipment because of the perception of "pitching forward."

It doesn't take an instructor to teach how to deal with it. I'd venture that more than 80 percent of divers in this forum were taught on a jacket style BC and went out and bought a back inflate or BP/W at some point. I doubt you'll find anyone who'll say they needed an instructor's guidance to make the transition.

 

[drrich2]

Is a "back inflation" style just another version of a jacket BC or is it entirely different?
Or is "back inflation" just another term for the back plate and wing gear like I thought?

Except I know his personality and his interest level so far. He's like me in the respect that once he latches on to something, he devours it. He's read through my entire diving library. Even books on gas blending and my Science of Diving manual. All he watches on TV is marine biology and ship wreck hunters shows. Well... that and a few shows about another passion of his, glass blowing and knife forging.

Such a small fraction of recreational divers go into technical diving and dive doubles (note: I don't know a specific %) that I usually don't make much of an issue of that in picking a BCD, but with your son's mindset, he might be the exception. And he might enjoy the self-informing decision-making process of selecting a BP/W setup. If he's got a strong interest in wreck diving, and likes to get into things deeply (no pun intended!), there's a decent chance he'll end up in one eventually.

I suggest finding a BP/W setup, and a traditional jacket BCD setup (and a back-inflate jacket BCD setup), and comparing cost. I doubt it's going to vary hugely. The jacket will be simply to 'plug and play,' at the cost of potential modification and customization.

I dive a BP/W setup, and I'm 'just' a recreational diver unlikely to pursue technical diving.