Travel BCs budget $450

[victorzamora]

I assembled my BP/W one piece harness by myself using internet info too. I was a comfortable, diver when I made the switch. Took a few dives to get everything adjusted just right.

YCC and his wife are coming fresh out of OW class. New divers will have a lot to think about during their 1st several dives. Taking care of their buoyancy, their air supply, not getting lost, watching and helping their buddy. Add assembling and adjusting a one piece BP/W harness and crotch strap by themselves ? That would not have gone well for me or my buddy when I 1st got certified or for other newly certified divers I have seen.

It's nice to have choices. Jacket style, back inflate, modular, BP/W. Plenty of happy people diving with each style. Another choice is to rent and try out different styles before deciding what to buy. That might be the best option since you can see 1st hand what you prefer.

Agreed that choices are good, I was just presenting YCC with an easy "quick guide" to BPWs. In a couple hours, with the links I provided, any non-diver should be able to assemble and fit two BPWs. It would be divable, even if not perfect. Experience is needed to perfect where you want things, and it's something YCC and wife could gain by diving the BPW instead of a jacket. By the time they were "experienced" in a jacket and switched to BPW, they could have their BPW perfect and have spent less money on it all.

YCC: I know you said $450, but contact Tobin at Deep Sea Supply about buying two complete packages. He has them at $480 each. He can walk you through choosing a wing, plate, harness, he can give you advice. His customer service is absolutely top notch. Or, go to Cave Adventurers and get a CaveAdventurers Harness ($27), Hog 32lb wing($230), Hog Aluminum Plate ($100), two cambands ($67), and two assembly screws ($12.56). $436.50 per setup. Or, get THIS PACKAGE. Get the cheapest harness, an aluminum plate, and you can pay $10 extra each to get the harness installed (but obviously not adjusted). Only downside is that the STA (single tank adapter, it's the big extra metal piece) weighs a lot and makes traveling slightly less easy....but not really difficult. You remove two screws and it packs smaller.

 

[Imla]

I am just curious... Being a girl and all... I know that getting a bcd to fit a woman can be a nightmare!

Basically, my question is about your wife. Seeing as you live in Hong Kong, I am going to venture a guess that she is on the petite side. Fitting bcds to both petite and fuller women are notoriously difficult, and we are quite a few girls both where I live locally, and I have seen it on this board that swears to a BPW as the only way we got a bcd to sit where it should. Men usually have a V-shape, and naturally, when they cinch their waist belt it tends to lift them up and out. Women normally have an A-shape and even with the waist completely cinched in, the bcd WILL ride up and under the arms when you get in the water. A crotchstrap may look uncomfortable, but is normally barely notices, and soon forgotten. The feeling of having a bcd that doesn't ride up on you, and stays put sideways, and is clutter free in the front area is magical.

However... When talking travel bcd... I have tried 2. The first was an oceanic Biolite. Probably a good vest for a 6"2 male or something, but for a girl with a (very) short waist and barn door sized hips...It was a complete pain. So if your girl is petite, I bet this one will be too long in the back, and will ride up.

The other travelbc I have tried is the Halcyon traveller. I love it. fits perfectly, every time, and I can have all my lead stuck on the plate for perfect balance. Downside to this one is price and no versatility.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I have the Aeris Jetpack. It is a nice concept, but I will tell you what I really dislike about it. The back of it is not stiff, so when your tank starts to empty, the bottom of your tank will start to lift up. I do not know if since Aeries is merged into Oceanic if they've fixed that problem. I would not recommend that BCD for that reason alone as it is really annoying and do you want to be distracted by your gear when you dive?

What I use for travel is the Xdeep Ghost (xDEEP - The GHOST - Lightweight single tank BCD; Traveler scuba jacket; diving equipment - though that is not the harness that I have for it). Yes, it is BP/W. I would recommend finding a shop with a pool that will let you try any of the BCD's you are interested in. That's how I picked this up as my travel BCD (from Bellevue Divers). The Ghost was my first BP/W and I've never felt more stable in the water. Super easy to adjust. While it is a harness, it has various clips, so it isn't all that much different from a jacket BCD in my opinion.

What am I going to do with the Aeris? Try to modify it to have a backup BCD or to provide to friends when diving in the Hood Canal in summer (when the surface temperature reaches the mid 70's). Selling it just doesn't seem worth it, as I don't expect to get much from it.

For my cold water setup, I have picked up the Xdeep Zeos, that I may take on my next dive trip, as I may be diving twins, but that is the only reason. I'll probably though swap out the BP from my Ghost for the sake of weight (and I'd be diving in my dry suit).

Hope this helps in some way to making the right decision for you.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

I can't believe all you people trying to talk a new diver into a BP/W when that is not what they want. I would suggest a standard mas marketed back inflate BC, something like this Zeagle Express Tech Scuba BCD at PrimeScuba. Even way below the OP's budget.

 

[RJP]

I can't believe all you people trying to talk a new diver into a BP/W when that is not what they want. I would suggest a standard mas marketed back inflate BC, something like this Zeagle Express Tech Scuba BCD at PrimeScuba. Even way below the OP's budget.

I think - starting out anyway - most people were simply suggesting that the OP to reconsider the reason he wasn't considering a BP/W. (Since he had it pretty much exactly backwards.)

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I can't believe all you people trying to talk a new diver into a BP/W when that is not what they want. I would suggest a standard mas marketed back inflate BC, something like this Zeagle Express Tech Scuba BCD at PrimeScuba. Even way below the OP's budget.

I'm suggesting he just try it. I was so surprised how stable I was when I tried one in the pool for the first time.

 

[rhwestfall]

The classic "you don't know what you don't know". Too much bs that folks hear out of the industry ends up a justification. I think it is more passion to debunk the incorrect crap than anything.

 

[ycc]

So now I got a few ideas:

- Nearly no doubt BP/W > jacket bc
- Less is more, dive lite dive right
- All metal back plate/ harness are durable and the only part may need replacement is the wing, servicing is not a big concern unless there is a manufacturing problem, right?

Few more questions
- Lift capacity does confuse me, as a newb, it seems to me bigger lift power is safer, which is probably not true.
but how can I know there is enough lifting power? My instructor told me a bc usually has ~30lb lift, but I see some guys using bp/w prefer ~18 lb.
Is a bp/w setting usually require lesser lift capacity? 30lb will be a suitable choice?
- Another question about lift capacity, will water temp affect the need of lift capacity? (I mainly dive in hot/warm water, in 3mm wetsuit)
- weight pocket necessary? or I can simply use a weight belt?
- back pad necessary? will metal back plate be uncomfortable?
- Every metal plate are nearly function the same, so what I consider is only the length (probably a shorter one for my wife)? What about soft plate?

Sorry for so many questions. (Clearly I am now turning my head to bp/w)

 

[Wingy]

Imla raised a great point..I use an aqualung zuma when im travelling because its the best fit, fills my weight requirements and is suitable for waters this side of the planet - quite happy with it and servicing of aqualung products is generally easily available locally.

 

[victorzamora]

So now I got a few ideas:

- Nearly no doubt BP/W > jacket bc
- Less is more, dive lite dive right
- All metal back plate/ harness are durable and the only part may need replacement is the wing, servicing is not a big concern unless there is a manufacturing problem, right?

Few more questions
- Lift capacity does confuse me, as a newb, it seems to me bigger lift power is safer, which is probably not true.
but how can I know there is enough lifting power? My instructor told me a bc usually has ~30lb lift, but I see some guys using bp/w prefer ~18 lb.
Is a bp/w setting usually require lesser lift capacity? 30lb will be a suitable choice?
- Another question about lift capacity, will water temp affect the need of lift capacity? (I mainly dive in hot/warm water, in 3mm wetsuit)
- weight pocket necessary? or I can simply use a weight belt?
- back pad necessary? will metal back plate be uncomfortable?
- Every metal plate are nearly function the same, so what I consider is only the length (probably a shorter one for my wife)? What about soft plate?

Sorry for so many questions. (Clearly I am now turning my head to bp/w)

Too big of a wing can trap air and make it hard to dump. For one tank, 25-35 puma is the most common range. People diving warm water only use smaller wings for a lighter, smaller setup. 30lbs is fine, but maybe not perfect. I think it's a good "basic"choice.
Water temp does, but indirectly. Warm water means thin wetsuits. Wetsuits compress at depth, making you need more lift. Thin wetsuit doesn't compress as much, so you don't need as much lift.
I HIGHLY recommend weight belt over pockets. Simplicity is key. Find a rubber weight belt like the Mako free diving weight belt.
Back pad is not necessary. Backplate is actually pretty comfortable. Back pad is useful as they have pockets for lift bags or safety markers.
Some wings only work well with some plates (because of cam band location).I recommend buying the plate in a package or the same brand as the wing