Question Teaching OW with backplate and wing from the very beginning ?

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Plese elaborate, Wetb4.
With my current BCD setup, I but 8 lbs in my ditch-able pockets and wear 15 lbs on my weight belt. I feel better having the ability to drop as little as 4 lbs at a time as opposed to having to drop all of my weight on a belt.
I understand that after introducing a backplate I may only need 18 lbs of lead total. I still like the idea of diversifying the weight locations. Thoughts?
So first off, i dive a SS BP in both cold and warm water as I'm a wimp when it comes to temperature.

I am fortunate that in my 5 mil and slightly positive Deep 6 Eddy fins, I trim out nicely. Fins do make an impact on trim.

I don't know what setup you have, but a number of BP/W manufacturers (Deep 6, Halcyon, Hollis for example) do make ditchable weight pockets. These often are attached at one end to the BP and you sñide the webbing of the waist strap through them.

Please let me know if that isn't clear and I'll try to find a picture or two.
 
Dive Rite makes some nice ditchable "Quick Release" pockets with the same kind of giant fastex buckle you see on other kinds of "weight integrated" BCs. Not the cheapest, but my wife and I are both happy with

 
I feel better having the ability to drop as little as 4 lbs at a time as opposed to having to drop all of my weight on a belt.
Why? If you're in a situation where you need to dump your weight, you will likely want to dump it all. What possible situation would you want to ditch approximately 5% of you weight?

Most divers don't ditch their weights in emergencies. You're adding a level of complexity to deal with in emergencies and an additional failure point to your equipment.
 
If you're in a situation where you need to dump your weight, you will likely want to dump it all.
Bad move if you're wearing a dry suit or lots of neoprene. More than five pounds can lead to a runaway ascent.

Why be so overweighted that you need to drop any? However, if you feel you need to drop any, a simple pocket on your weight belt with a single sacrificial weight should suffice.
 
Bad move if you're wearing a dry suit or lots of neoprene. More than five pounds can lead to a runaway ascent.

Why be so overweighted that you need to drop any? However, a simple pocket on your weight belt with a single sacrificial weight if you feel you need to drop any should suffice.

I agree, but how many divers ever drop their weights intentionally underwater?
Having a weight belt and dump pouches increases the likelihood that you're accidentally going to drop weights.
 
I agree, but how many divers ever drop their weights intentionally underwater?
Having a weight belt and dump pouches increases the likelihood that you're accidentally going to drop weights.
Why even drop weight under water? Are they basic OW with 15lbs extra lead so their knees stay nicely planted to the sea floor? Even with a wing failure you should be able to take a big breath and kick up (as you blow bubbles of course). Ditch weight at the surface to stay afloat or to pass up to your scuba sherpa. Also, dropping a few lbs can make your ascent a little easier if you're swimming up a kit.

I'm in the camp of never wanting to make like a cork and pop to the surface. If I break both my legs while fending off the seals who have stolen my mask and fins then I may just hit the up button and see what happens. Even then I'm keeping my weights. That also implies the thieving seals have also not punctured the top of my wing. The I would drop weight because my fins have been stolen, legs broken, mask being worn by a seal and wing has a puncture at the very top and won't hold any air.
 
One of things that is rarely discussed about the advantage of BP/wing over a standard BCD is how long the BP/Wing lasts. As a Dive professional for the last 42 years before I switched to a BP/wing I had to get a new BCD every 3 years because of Chlorine and wear and tear of teaching. I have been using the same BP/wing since 2003. I have had to replace the webbing once and get a new wing (single tank) this year. I will probably not outlive my present BP/Wing setup in this lifetime because I don't teach anymore. Another factor that it accommodated for me is losing 45# of body weight. Just had to adjust my harness and trim some webbing. In the last few years that I owned a store and taught OW classes, my students who continued diving a year after their certification dives , 80% of my students bought BP/wings. My store staff and most of my instructors taught with BP/wings. I did not use them in my class or rental gear of training dives but when they came in and started talking about buying the gear, I took them into the pool and had them try my top of the line BCD and a BP/wing. With my experience of using one I could easily show the new diver why they should use a wing. They made the decision not me. Another factor, is resale value stays higher that a standard BCD.
 
One of things that is rarely discussed about the advantage of BP/wing over a standard BCD is how long the BP/Wing lasts. As a Dive professional for the last 42 years before I switched to a BP/wing I had to get a new BCD every 3 years because of Chlorine and wear and tear of teaching. I have been using the same BP/wing since 2003. I have had to replace the webbing once and ....
Do you think dive shops like this?

when I look at the jacket style BCDs in my area (I had one, I nicknamed it the Chamber Express from the rip cord to dump weights and now its actual name escapes me LOL) I see excess fabric, more things to tear, weaker material. Contrast that to a quality wing that will last me my entire diving career and inexpensive webbing. Where's the money in that for dive shops?

There's a reason a less optimal solution is prevalent. Though this is detrimental to the tropical dive location where customers typically rent.
 
I agree, but how many divers ever drop their weights intentionally underwater?
Having a weight belt and dump pouches increases the likelihood that you're accidentally going to drop weights.
I found a weight pocket on the bottom with 8lbs in it 2 days ago.

It happens.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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