Talk me *OUT* of a BP/W setup
- Thread starter filmguy123
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They had no problems in us using them it is something they look at differently. crotch strap, it looks funny, and its too simple to work. They lift your gear off you in the water and it is handed up to the boat or pulled up from the boat. Jackets work well with this and they normally deal with gear renters that rent from them. I have never been turned down because of my bpw. That normal response is stares like we are the diving gods because we wear gods preferred stuff. Both positions can be annoying but there is a cost to everything. What is most important is what it does for you and not others.
runsongas
Contributor
the only issue is making sure the crew don't stick your bpw with the tank into a rack system and pinch/puncture the bladder because the wing rides lower on the tank
The two negatives are
1. They are heavy, so take up luggage allowance.
(At least when compared with travel he's)
2. They are time consuming to adjust.
So they tend to be very personal.
That said I have used the same one since the mid 90's.
It moves from single cylinder to twinset to CCR. I know where everything is and where every thing clips off.
The wing can change to offer the lift required for the cylinder setup I am using. I only have three wings, a diverite travel wing, an one, and the ap one on the CCR.
Gareth
1. They are heavy, so take up luggage allowance.
(At least when compared with travel he's)
2. They are time consuming to adjust.
So they tend to be very personal.
That said I have used the same one since the mid 90's.
It moves from single cylinder to twinset to CCR. I know where everything is and where every thing clips off.
The wing can change to offer the lift required for the cylinder setup I am using. I only have three wings, a diverite travel wing, an one, and the ap one on the CCR.
Gareth
OP
filmguy123
Contributor
Do they have better harnesses that speed the adjustment process? And harness with shoulder padding for comfort on hiking into a shore dive destination?
Once you've set it up once, is it pretty much "set up" - or is a constant time consuming thing every time you go diving?
Is there a single wing solution that can be left on the vast majority of the time for a rec diver (single tank, cold but also warm water)?
What is the re-setup time like when traveling and breaking down, and then setting back up on arrival?
How often of a scenario is the rack mounted tank setup where you need to be careful of your BP/W setup on a vacation dive boat ?
Once you've set it up once, is it pretty much "set up" - or is a constant time consuming thing every time you go diving?
Is there a single wing solution that can be left on the vast majority of the time for a rec diver (single tank, cold but also warm water)?
What is the re-setup time like when traveling and breaking down, and then setting back up on arrival?
How often of a scenario is the rack mounted tank setup where you need to be careful of your BP/W setup on a vacation dive boat ?
Once again you have to look at the mentality of the user of the bp/w. Or perhaps the culture of those that use the bp/w's. There is a do it right area of diving. Said that part of the thought process is that you wear the same set of standard gear every time you dive, and that gear is set up in a standard method. The bp/w supports that concept. Look at the sytem and you see d rings in specific places. all rigs look pretty much the same. Because of the standardization of the basic bp/w, standards can then be applied to each piece of other gear that you dive with including where and how it is mounted to the bp/w to maximize use flexibility and safety of the diver. The bpw is not just a foundation of gear construction but a foundation of over all diving method which gives birth to standard skill sets, diving gasses ect. You may not take its potential immediately to the extreme owever as you dive with it more and observe others you find more bebefit for the system each dive. There is nothing like a wbp/w for stable trim and buoyancy. Do yourself a favor and start with it instead of starting over with it 5 years down the road.
sea_otter
Contributor
I'd argue with the "better" word here, but there are harnesses with more adjustments. I'd caution that they tend to be harder to setup just right than a single piece of webbing, simply because there are more things to adjust to get the D-rings in the right place. Once it's setup, you only need to change it when switching exposure suits (like going from a drysuit in cold water to a thin wetsuit in warm).
I use the same 30 lbs wing for cold and warm water. It's just big enough for cold, and I could get away with a smaller one for warm, but it works well enough. I also use the same aluminum backplate, with added weights when I'm at home in cold water.
Easy. The biggest issue for me is that I need a wrench to properly tighten the wingnuts connecting my single tank adapter (so a tool to carry along). It takes a minute or two to move the trim pockets up for a wetsuit and down for a drysuit.
The only thing I really don't like about my BP/W is the lack of pockets. On my drysuit, I have nice thigh pockets, so this is no problem, but on my wetsuits, I don't, so I have a huge (and somewhat awkward) pocket attached to my harness. Actually... let me rephrase that. The only thing I don't like about my wetsuits is a lack of pockets. The BP/W I love.
For ditchable weight there are a number of options including the good old weight belt. However, the BP/W usually ends up balancing the empty tank buoyancy, the wing and harness residual buoyancy and your own buoyancy in your suit.
The "balanced rig" philosophy is that you carry detachable weight equal to the weight of the gas at the start of the dive (usually about 3kg for a AL80 full) and the rest distributed for comfort and trim in the water. Problem at start of dive? Ditch weights and swim up. problem at end of dive? Swim up.
You almost never want to go from negative to very positive, fast. At most you want to go neutral so you are not swimming against unnecessary weight.
The whole "easily ditched weights" idea , IMO, comes from the "weigh the students down so they stay put while I'm teaching them" school of instruction and leads to a huge amount of overweighted divers.
Also, the Jacket BCD with their padding etc etc also tend to be pretty buoyant themselves. Take an empty one and try in a pool and see how many pounds you need just to sink the jacket. thats weight you are carrying for no purpose.
Believe me, your back and knees will thank you for getting a BP/W.
Also, its a lot cheaper when you realise that, for your purposes, you can get a cheap wing and the plate lasts for ever, the harness is 20 bucks and last pretty near forever if you aren't bashing into rocks and metal.
Arguments against? Back inflation systems are a little less comfortable to float on the surface in, takes a while to get the technique down. I use mine like a kids pool bed, I lie on top of it fully inflated.
In every other part of diving I have never looked back.
Oh and the tech shorts with pockets on work well if you need pockets. My SMB, wet notes, spools, spare mask and spare cutters all live in them, i rinse the whole thing afterwards and never remove the items. stops me having that "Im on the boat and my SMB is at home" moments
True i've actually had this happen to me on a choppy ride on a boat. Noticed it after the last dive of the holiday ;-).
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