Punctured BC

[Nemrod]

I'd have to disagree. My wife and I were left on the surface on a drift dive one time for 15 minutes due to an emergency. This was in flat calm water but I can't imagine not being with a BC in chop or swells for any extended period.

Glad to hear you made it.

Look on your BC and see if it has Type I, II, II, IV etc on it and tell me what it says. The modern BC is not designed to protect the airway of an unconcious or disabled swimmer/diver, that you use it and depend upon it for floatation and other things beyond what it was designed for is a problem that thankfully did not bite you.

N

 

[Tigerman]

think of it this way if your car breaks down you eventually roll to a stop brakes dont work use e brake its a cable or your gearing to slow down.. if gas leaks its usally not a big isuse untill it vaporizes and comes into contact with a open flame.. basicly if your car brakes you are more likly to surivie it if you are at 100 feet over weighted and then your bc gives out and you become negative boyenet you have a problem and if you ditch your weight you then become postivly boyent.. its about haveing gear for when you need it and wanting it to work with out anyproblems if the patch blows out at depth and you become sinking you ditch your weight then you start floating up its going to be hard to do your safty stops if you have to swim dowards each time.. i bought my own for the simple reason.. how much is my life worth to me.. 100 200 300... its worth alot more then cheaping out and not replaceing something thats broken and may not be relable..

Last time i checked, I carried lead with me when I was diving and it was more or less the only way to get overweighed (as far as rec diving goes anyways), so if Im at 100 feet and overweighed with a non-functioning BC, I think Id have a solution to being negatively bouyant other than rolling over and die.. Drop some weight for example.

On most my dives I also have another option for bouyancy since I usually dive dry, but even with a wetsuit, a BC is not a necessity.. Convenient for sure, but not neccesary

 

[Gary D.]

think of it this way if your car breaks down you eventually roll to a stop brakes dont work use e brake its a cable or your gearing to slow down.. if gas leaks its usally not a big isuse untill it vaporizes and comes into contact with a open flame.. basicly if your car brakes you are more likly to surivie it if you are at 100 feet over weighted and then your bc gives out and you become negative boyenet you have a problem and if you ditch your weight you then become postivly boyent.. its about haveing gear for when you need it and wanting it to work with out anyproblems if the patch blows out at depth and you become sinking you ditch your weight then you start floating up its going to be hard to do your safty stops if you have to swim dowards each time.. i bought my own for the simple reason.. how much is my life worth to me.. 100 200 300... its worth alot more then cheaping out and not replaceing something thats broken and may not be relable..

think of it this way its not a mater of if its not consider a life saveing flotation device if its keeps your head above water when you need it to it can save your life.. it shouldnt be used as a subsatute but if its an emergancy i rather have something that floats then nothing even if you will float with not weight its alot easyer if you are in something keeping you up

OK. Then change car to Airplane.

Gary D.

 

[RJP]

Last time i checked, I carried lead with me when I was diving...so if I'm at 100 feet and overweighed with a non-functioning BC, I think Id have a solution to being negatively buoyant other than rolling over and die.. Drop some weight for example.

The only difference between choosing to "roll over and die" or choosing to "drop some weight" at depth may well be that dropping weight doesn't require you to roll over before you die.

 

[Gombessa]

Will you drive on a tire that has had a leak repaired? Brakes repaired? Fuel system repaired? Those are much more dangerous than a BC repair.

Well, staying on track with the original post, I certainly might not drive on a tire that I patched myself!

Just because you’re wearing one does not guarantee your life will be saved.

With all due respect, no "life-saving device" even presumes to do any such thing.

I agree with the consensus, just patch the damn thing and forget about it. But IMHO, just because someone doesn't analogize a BC to a tire on their car doesn't justify the tone of the OP. Most people are simply ill-informed, not irrational.

 

[Tigerman]

The only difference between choosing to "roll over and die" or choosing to "drop some weight" at depth may well be that dropping weight doesn't require you to roll over before you die.

Its fully possible to drop SOME weight without dropping ALL your weight, isnt it?
And if youre over-weighted you probably should have carried less weight to begin with?

 

[Rickg]

I bought a 55LB wing from Halcyon that arrived with a 1" L-shaped cut in the bladder. I patched it with a waterbed repair kit and never had a problem with it. Halcyon refused to repair it, even though it had never been wet.

Waterbed repair kits are just the ticket for repairing an inner bladder of a BC as long is it isn't on an edge or a seal.

And there was a time that manufacturers would repair the inner bladders before we the US became lawsuit happy.

Rickg

 

[haha49]

OK. Then change car to Airplane.

Gary D.

ya.. thats about it too.. in a plane everything gets replaced over time as long as you have 1 working part with a data plate on it you can rebuild the whole plane and it would be considered the same plane even if that orginal part gets damaged and replaced eventually.. plane brakes down you are sol very few options some smaller planes you can get away with it but biger planes you flying a giant brick....

 

[RJP]

Its fully possible to drop SOME weight without dropping ALL your weight, isn't it?

And if you're over-weighted you probably should have carried less weight to begin with?

Being overweighted to the point that you can't swim your rig up from whatever depth you're at is a different issue altogether. I can think of no circumstance where a recreational diver should need to drop weight to ascend.

 

[anzac65]

.. plane brakes down you are sol very few options some smaller planes you can get away with it but biger planes you flying a giant brick....

Of no relevance to the discussion, but this statement is quite untrue.