Travel bcd wing?
- Thread starter lowlysubaruguy
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
:
OP
lowlysubaruguy
Contributor
I migrate some weights to Florida when My bags are not overweight to begin with. I have a buddy there and im trying to get enough gear there over my trips for 4 divers eventually I will buy some POS house to revive and use it as my own storage locker; One trip my bag weighed 52 pounds when I left but they checked it any way. When I arrived it had a sticker on it that said it had been inspected and a big HEAVY sticker as well. They pulled a 2 pound weight out of it. Or it might have vaporized from the effects of air travel? I figured it was better than them sticking me with an overweight fee.
And then one trip back I had a cooler with 13 lobster tails in it there were 9 in it when it showed up and it was labelled that it was inspected. I assume they were either part of the lobster mafia and the fee to make sure my lobster made it safely was 3 or 4 lobster tails or it was a saftey inspection and they were forced to cook and sample a certain percentage of them to make sure they were OK.
And then one trip back I had a cooler with 13 lobster tails in it there were 9 in it when it showed up and it was labelled that it was inspected. I assume they were either part of the lobster mafia and the fee to make sure my lobster made it safely was 3 or 4 lobster tails or it was a saftey inspection and they were forced to cook and sample a certain percentage of them to make sure they were OK.
Jiminy
Contributor
Everything I have read about using a weight belt with a crotch strap says to put the weight belt on last over the crotch strap so that it does not become fouled if you or someone else has to release it. What am i missing? why would you put it under the strap?
I keep looking at the Dive Rite travelpac but not sure about the crotch strap
OP
lowlysubaruguy
Contributor
I had my concerns about moving to a BPW primarily because of the crotch strap and the need for a weight belt. I could possibly put on a weight belt before I put on my BCD but id prefer not to. However I ended up with a Halcyon with the cinch strap system. The tank adapter has a removable 6 pound weight I also plan to make a set of bolt on stainless steel plates to get my ditchable weights to as light a weight as possible. While this isnt a solution for travel I will have to address that. I have a shoulder that can flare up with the action of putting a weight belt on, even more possible putting a weight belt on after installing my BCD. The bulk of my diving in Florida I will not need to worry about flying my weights around I will have them at a friends house.
I mentioned somewhere else id love to be able to move most of my weights to the backplate to free up the crap on my waist belt and front area. However after tinkering with my new unit theres so much less crap in the way any more I may be just fine. I have a fairly large flashlight that had to be tethered to my old BCD and it flopped around all over the place there was enough room to make it fit snuggly against the left shoulder harness without any hassles.
While I havent been in the water in my new BCD I have successfully put this on with a tank and what should have been ample weights in the weight pockets from the ground by myself. This is something i will not even attempt with my old Jacket BCD the cinch system is really simple and it gives me the room needed to get into the shoulder harness on both sides without working that shoulder the wrong way. I do think I can remove the 6 pound weight in the tank adapter and add a weight to my tank and fill my weight pockets to make this BCD work for travelling and not have to use a weight belt. I will know this soon enough Im going to try the pool next week and tinker with weights while wearing my wetsuit. I also may be able to work with a weight belt if I can tone down the amount of weight I have to sling around. I know Im not the only one diving with a shoulder injury. Mine is triggered by certain motions I can perform so many tasks that are very physical but slinging 10 to 14 pounds around from my back side is not one of them.
The cinch system seems to be fine for me however you do have to be able to work the strap on at least one side for both taking it off and putting it back on and it takes a degree of force myself I move both straps so both need an adjustment. You can just move one strap if you want, That being said you can pull it tight if desired making the fit exact for what ever dive your on. Meaning if your just doing a floating sight seeing dive you could leave it moderatly loose and if your on a dive that you are going to get physical cinch it down as much as you want.
I mentioned somewhere else id love to be able to move most of my weights to the backplate to free up the crap on my waist belt and front area. However after tinkering with my new unit theres so much less crap in the way any more I may be just fine. I have a fairly large flashlight that had to be tethered to my old BCD and it flopped around all over the place there was enough room to make it fit snuggly against the left shoulder harness without any hassles.
While I havent been in the water in my new BCD I have successfully put this on with a tank and what should have been ample weights in the weight pockets from the ground by myself. This is something i will not even attempt with my old Jacket BCD the cinch system is really simple and it gives me the room needed to get into the shoulder harness on both sides without working that shoulder the wrong way. I do think I can remove the 6 pound weight in the tank adapter and add a weight to my tank and fill my weight pockets to make this BCD work for travelling and not have to use a weight belt. I will know this soon enough Im going to try the pool next week and tinker with weights while wearing my wetsuit. I also may be able to work with a weight belt if I can tone down the amount of weight I have to sling around. I know Im not the only one diving with a shoulder injury. Mine is triggered by certain motions I can perform so many tasks that are very physical but slinging 10 to 14 pounds around from my back side is not one of them.
The cinch system seems to be fine for me however you do have to be able to work the strap on at least one side for both taking it off and putting it back on and it takes a degree of force myself I move both straps so both need an adjustment. You can just move one strap if you want, That being said you can pull it tight if desired making the fit exact for what ever dive your on. Meaning if your just doing a floating sight seeing dive you could leave it moderatly loose and if your on a dive that you are going to get physical cinch it down as much as you want.
ZzzKing
Contributor
You put on the weight belt before the BC.
If I were you, I would just get another BC similar to one you have. You seem to have eliminated a lot of the good features of a backplate / wing system as being negatives because they aren’t like what you are already used to. (Weight belts, crotch straps, access to shops (internet)). As far as tinkering and getting it to fit right, you can do a lot of that in your living room prior to your trip with just a little tweaking in the water when you arrive.
Padding is not a good thing if it is buoyant. It just requires more lead. Front weighting is not good because it is located in a bad spot to properly trim out. Trim pockets are not needed as you can thread weight onto your cam band.
Again, if I were you, I would just get another Nighthawk. You already know you like it and there would be no learning curve.
Similar threads
