Should I get a BP/W for my girlfriend who hasn't dive before?

[SangP]

Hi all,

I'm deciding weather or not to get a BP/W or a "regular" bc for her as she has never dived before and my LDS keeps trying to sell me a jacket bc. I don't have the heart to tell him that I'm using a Halcyon BP/W.

Anyway, it took me a while to get use to the bp/w but I'm not sure about her and I'm worried about the comfort factor as it is ok for me but it may not be the same for her.

Whatever the case I'm looking to get a Hammer Head AL plate/Oxycheq 30 signature wing for her.

Btw, we'll mostly doing single tank warm water recreational dives.

What do you think of this setup for a really newbie diver?

Thanks

SangP

 

[El Orans]

There's nothing wrong with a BP/W for a newbie.

 

[raposarose]

Let her try yours to see if she likes it. She can also rent some other types of BC. She won't need it before the class anyway, and you might as well make sure that she enjoys diving first.

 

[SangP]

Hi El Orans,

Thanks for replying. I know it is allright for newbies... look a me I'm using a BP/W LOL! The problem is that guys like us are slightly less bothered with a bit of discomfort while the fairer sex might get turned off from diving alltogether if the gear is a pain to use.

I found the BP/W rather uncomfortable initially and maintaining trim a bit more difficult than with a regular jacket bc but I overcame this and now I hate to dive in anything other than a BP/W.

But back to the issue, I going to get this as a gift so if she hates it, I'm kidda up s^it's creek without a paddle.

Maybe some of you female divers want to give me some info and experiences on using a BP/W as I don't wanna get a white elephant.

Cheers,

SangP

Oops raposarose I replied just after u had replied but I do think that she must first enjoy diving but letting her try my gear might not be possible because it has already been tweaked to my size and it's the only bc I have unless of course I let her have mine and I use the rental bc hmmm... might be a good idea.

 

[raposarose]

My wife ended up getting a BP/Wing set-up (oxycheq). She liked how it is minimal and she finds it nicer to use than the jacket style BC from our OW class. I like the MC storage pack on mine (makes it at least look a bit more comfortable), but she likes hers without the storage pack better. I don't know your girlfriend's personality so it is hard to say how she'll respond to a metal plate though! We don't find them uncomfortable, but then we have thick two-piece wetsuits for cold California waters. (By the way, get her one with smooth edges and slots since the one negative thing about hers is the fact that after a very small number of dives the webbing was already getting cut -- and COVCI where she got it from didn't respond to her questions about this to help her).

It might spoil the surprise just a bit, but I would at least try to slip it into conversation to see where her mind is about the BC choice. As much as you are enthusiastic to get it, I think part of the answer is in your post: by some means you somehow should make sure it is something that she would like.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy diving together.

 

[El Orans]

A female newbie I know started out with a Halcyon Pioneer. And even in the pool, just wearing a bathing suit, she didn't have any problems with it or or felt uncomfortable. A Storage Pak was attached to the BP, though.

 

[waterdaughter]

Hi all,

I'm deciding weather or not to get a BP/W or a "regular" bc for her as she has never dived before and my LDS keeps trying to sell me a jacket bc. I don't have the heart to tell him that I'm using a Halcyon BP/W.

Anyway, it took me a while to get use to the bp/w but I'm not sure about her and I'm worried about the comfort factor as it is ok for me but it may not be the same for her.

Whatever the case I'm looking to get a Hammer Head AL plate/Oxycheq 30 signature wing for her.

Btw, we'll mostly doing single tank warm water recreational dives.

What do you think of this setup for a really newbie diver?

Thanks

SangP

I am a female diver..also a recent convert to BP/W.

I do have to agree with raposarose, though. Despite the fact that it is an extremely thoughtful gift idea, (let me add a "woo!") it really would be a good idea to get her certified first. As hard as it may be to imagine, some people don't find that they really enjoy diving :11: , once they spend some time at it.

I don't think that it would hurt to certify in a jacket and then borrow your setup either...just to compare. Many people prefer the jacket and from a practical standpoint, it is pretty much the only rental option should you travel without your own gear.

IMHO, certification first...diving...then the wonderful surprise.

Happy diving to you both!

W/D

 

[Wijbrandus]

I tried to get my wife to go with a bp/w when she certified last year. She did not take to it. She went with a back-inflate.

Get her to rent the three different styles first. My wife did. She settled on a back-inflate model, but your gf may be different. Don't push her to one model or another, but let her make an informed choice based on experience.

You'll be happier for it, believe me.

 

[OE2X]

Have her log onto to scubaboard and read the threads about BP&W's. I'm sure she is intelligent and likely would be happy making her own choice. You can help guide her with your own thoughts about them as well.

 

[SangP]

Hi,

As hard as it may be to imagine, some people don't find that they really enjoy diving :11: , once they spend some time at it.

Thanks waterdaughter for the helpful comments although if she hates diving I'm really going to put my nuts on the table and bang them LOL!

I love fishing and being on a boat, she gets carsick in a bus. She loves backpacking and traveling, I prefer being on a seaside resort. Diving was the only thing I thought we would do together and get her to not fear technical gear.

At least the stuff I got her so far won't be wasted if she hates diving, she could still use them for snorkling although the dive watch isn't going to be much use.

She hasn't seen any of this stuff yet as she isn't a local and so getting her to test out my gear won't be possible until she arrives just before the dive course.

raposarose I found the same problem with my rig and that's before I even used it. The webbing was getting fuzzed just by me putting it in place. I went to the local bike shop asked for a busted bike inner tube for $0.50 and then slid 20 to 30 cm rubber tubes over the areas where the harness was in contact with the harness. Solved all my woes, I even slid some rubber tubes over the tank straps which passes through the STA.

Anyhow, thanks for all your replies and I'll although have to rethink about getting her the bc, I would rather equipment failure not be the cause of her hating diving. I much rather perfer the fact that she hated diving despite having all the best gear.

Cheers,

SangP

And the replies come faster than I can type LOL!

Wijbrandus, I perfectly understand your point and but I don't think that the place we will be diving has all 3 types of bc. Although I much rather she makes the right decision for herself but I also prefer her to have a similar setup as mine as it would really make much easier to swap bits and pieces in case of any equipment failures aka DIR.

OE2X, when it comes to physical sports where she no experience at, she doesn't really like to read about it, she much prefers to learn through trying. So getting her to read about BP/Ws is going to be about as useful to her as me reading about gardening.