Travel BCD
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DSS Kydex plate. Simple is better. Seriously. And if you want you could even replace the steel hardware with plastic stiff to save another couple ounces if you're that obsessive compulsive when it comes to weight.
BDSC
Contributor
Me: 6'2", 250#, athletic build.
Diving: Warm water exclusively (>72F), from liveaboard or day-dive boat. 3mm suit, shorty, or less.
Gear: torch, whistle, sausage, reel.
- Aqualung Rogue (the most attractive to me, but also least info)
- Aqualung Outlaw (my fear is that it's almost "too basic," also the marketing is HILARIOUS)
- Scubapro Litehawk (seems well rated)
- Zeagle Covert (again, almost "too basic"?)
- Zeagle Stiletto
- Razor Bat (requires sidemount training, which is another thought and would alleviate the air consumption issue...or just create new issues)
- Other BC I'm not considering?
So like you, I'm a warm water guy and either dive with no wetsuit or a 2mm shorty. About a year ago I purchased the Scubapro Litehawk and have had it on 4 dive trips now. After the first trip I returned home and sold my other BC so the Litehawk is all I own now. The quality is fantastic as is typically the case with Scuabpro BC's, it has a double tank strap, could get 20 lbs of weight in the provided pockets/pouches if I needed to, and is light weight and easy to pack. It has a few O-rings which is more than enough and I have an AIR II on mine which a prefer to a traditional octo.
I'd certainly give it a try if you can. I think you'd love it. Two of my friends who have seen mine this past year on trips now own the same.
Asking this question on this forum and all you will hear is BP/W...gotta have it, that's all there is, everything else don't count. "Poodle jackets" are no good, last years snow. I like pockets, I like D-rings and I like weights I can ditch easily without having to buy something else.
I have a ScubaPro Go for travel. It weighs maybe 5 pounds and is very comfortable to wear. As posted previously, you don't even know you are wearing a tank. It also has a pad right in the middle of your back that stays warm and feels good. Weight retention is fantastic.
The current rage is a BP/W. If you ask a dive shop they will recommend one, they know you probably already have a jacket and want to sell you one. If you ask your friends that have them they are not going to say anything bad about one, they just paid good money for it. If you ask a fellow diver that has one he will tell you how great it is, he wants to be the man with the tacticool new device.
The real reason I believe every diver has to have one is because it's "tech"....even though they are not tech divers. If you aren't a tech diver, the next best thing is to look like one, own the gear and use it. I ask people why they went BP/W and there is no shortage of excuses...there is a shortage, to me at least, of excuses that really wash. Tell me one more time why a BP/W is better than a jacket to fly to Bonaire and dive, where you see the same fish and coral at 20 feet as you do at 100. I get that a BP/W has nothing to do with depth, if it does, does it apply to a recreational diver??? Because certainly today there has to be more rec divers using them than tech divers. If you like/have to have one then by all means...it's your money.
I have a ScubaPro Go for travel. It weighs maybe 5 pounds and is very comfortable to wear. As posted previously, you don't even know you are wearing a tank. It also has a pad right in the middle of your back that stays warm and feels good. Weight retention is fantastic.
The current rage is a BP/W. If you ask a dive shop they will recommend one, they know you probably already have a jacket and want to sell you one. If you ask your friends that have them they are not going to say anything bad about one, they just paid good money for it. If you ask a fellow diver that has one he will tell you how great it is, he wants to be the man with the tacticool new device.
The real reason I believe every diver has to have one is because it's "tech"....even though they are not tech divers. If you aren't a tech diver, the next best thing is to look like one, own the gear and use it. I ask people why they went BP/W and there is no shortage of excuses...there is a shortage, to me at least, of excuses that really wash. Tell me one more time why a BP/W is better than a jacket to fly to Bonaire and dive, where you see the same fish and coral at 20 feet as you do at 100. I get that a BP/W has nothing to do with depth, if it does, does it apply to a recreational diver??? Because certainly today there has to be more rec divers using them than tech divers. If you like/have to have one then by all means...it's your money.
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Well, since I brought up the SP Go in the first place, I might as well say, I love my Freedom plate and VDH wings. 18# for thin neoprene, 33# for my drysuit.
And since @Eric_Sedletzky says he's just about to come out with a Freedom aluminum plate that will weigh less than 2#, my Go may go in the closet for travel. I dunno. It's a nice jacket.
Why are we all fanboys for BP/W?
Trim.
I've got too many D-rings on my BP/W for DIR, but I don't care. I've got ditchable weight pockets on my BP/W for when I have heavy neoprene. I've got thigh pockets that actually work, compared to my jackets. It's everything a jacket has and more.
Yeah, I'll keep teaching PADI in my jacket.
I'll love coming to the surface and just leaning back in the arms of my jacket from time to time. But hovering taking pics?
My BP/W.
And since @Eric_Sedletzky says he's just about to come out with a Freedom aluminum plate that will weigh less than 2#, my Go may go in the closet for travel. I dunno. It's a nice jacket.
Why are we all fanboys for BP/W?
Trim.
I've got too many D-rings on my BP/W for DIR, but I don't care. I've got ditchable weight pockets on my BP/W for when I have heavy neoprene. I've got thigh pockets that actually work, compared to my jackets. It's everything a jacket has and more.
Yeah, I'll keep teaching PADI in my jacket.
I'll love coming to the surface and just leaning back in the arms of my jacket from time to time. But hovering taking pics?
My BP/W.
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Yes, there is a lot of push for bp/ws on SB, and the reasons many use them are obviously valid, at least for them, and they are trying to share the thing they love. The problem is that bp/ws may not be best for everyone, especially for the couple dives a year rec diver that has no interest in tech diving, and likes the convenience of pockets, shoulder purges, integrated weights, etc., and not have to deal with learning a new rig after OW training. The truth of the matter is that despite the following on SB, I rarely have seen a bp/w on dive boats I have been on in the past eight years, and most divers do not have a clue about SB or the opinions of its experienced contributors. Buy and use what you like, but try as many different bcds as you can before buying so you only have to spend your money once. A good diver, like a good golfer can use any piece of equipment, and make it look easy.
It is a huge misconception that a bp/w is for technical diving. All it would take is for someone to make a surface swim in the average BCD, them make the same swim in a backplate. The amount of drag in a typical BCD is horrendous. Using a backplate improves air consumption by reducing the effort to swim. You still have many weight options. I've worn a weight belt since I was free diving before I began scuba diving. It is not uncomfortable nor is it in the way. If you don't like weight belts you could use a weight harness, thread weight pockets onto your single piece of webbing, use tank weights or on some plates you can attach weights directly.
There is no new learning curve as a backplate is less complicated than a BCD. You don't need a cumberbund, chest strap, shoulder pads or quick releases. Also, you could still get a wing with a shoulder dump valve. There is no logical argument against a backplate and wing other than you don't want to admit you spent too much for an underwater sofa.
The reason you may not see them on boats is that many vacation divers only know what their instructors and dive shops tell them. A decent backplate and wing can be found for under $300, even less for used ones. Many new BCDs are up to twice that.
There is no new learning curve as a backplate is less complicated than a BCD. You don't need a cumberbund, chest strap, shoulder pads or quick releases. Also, you could still get a wing with a shoulder dump valve. There is no logical argument against a backplate and wing other than you don't want to admit you spent too much for an underwater sofa.
The reason you may not see them on boats is that many vacation divers only know what their instructors and dive shops tell them. A decent backplate and wing can be found for under $300, even less for used ones. Many new BCDs are up to twice that.
@MaxBottomtime. If you were speaking to me, I have no misconceptions about the pros of the bp/w, or its relationship to tech or rec diving, nor am I arguing against bp/ws. My point is that not everyone likes them, and divers should buy what they need for the type of diving they do, and what works well for them. The vast majority of divers never progress very far beyond their OW training in skills development or time spent underwater, and no matter what kind of bcd you put them into, they are likely not going to be better divers than they were on their last outing a year ago. Many of those folks are more comfortable with what they were trained on, and what they typically find as rental gear on dive boats. Those divers are not buying their own gear--they rent. If bp/ws were such a hot commodity, and so much less expensive than the typical dive boat rental jacket, you might wonder why the dive boats continue to use the jackets. The answer I got from many operators is that they are easy to deal with: pick the size, put it on, and go dive. Easy for them and the divers with nothing to adjust. The fit might not be ideal, but the average vacation diver does not care, or care to know the difference. FWIW, I do not dive a jacket bc, or what you refer to as an underwater sofa, I use a Zeagle Covert, which I would argue has no more drag than a wing, and is pretty minimalist. But, it does have things that I want/need in a bcd. These include a minimalist weight integrated system without the need of detachable weight pouches, no cummerbun, enough D rings for my requirements, < 4 pounds total weight for travel, and has quick release shoulder straps (have had both shoulder joints replaced). My point was simply that all divers no not necessarily benefit from using a bp/w. For example, my dive buddy/wife loves her SP Go, and despises back inflates, which is her choice of course. Putting her in the best wing in the world would not make her a better diver, just an unhappy one.
Aren't we something?
Litehawk, great!
Go, great!
BP/W, great!
Don't come to SB forfor an answer.
Come for an OPINION!
And you know? I agree with everybody.
As long as there's a pocket.
Litehawk, great!
Go, great!
BP/W, great!
Don't come to SB forfor an answer.
Come for an OPINION!
And you know? I agree with everybody.
As long as there's a pocket.
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