What made you change to BP/W?

[Insta-Gator]

I'm sorry if this thread is redundant, but I've read so many threads about BP/W that my eyes hurt and I still haven't found the basic answer to my question. My BC is almost 20 years old and, while a little ratty from use, maintenance has kept it very serviceable. I know soon I will need to replace it. Most of the BP/W posts I've read discuss problems or technique issues around the BP/W selection and use. The only thing I've seen that comes close to justifying a BCD design switch is buoyancy center of gravity. Some day soon I'll need to rent a BP/W to see how it works for me. But in the mean time, please share your decision process with me. Thanks.

 

[tbone1004]

I learned on a backplate, but after having to dive jackets this summer here's why I won't dive them again

Two CAM bands-keeps the tank stable when walking around and in the water.

No waist squeeze when inflated on the surface

Crotch strap-keeps aluminum tanks especially, but the whole rig secure on your back when in the water

Logically placed stuff keepers-The D-rings are movable unlike a jacket, and you can put various pockets where you need them instead of having the big huge ones on both sides.

Controllable buoyancy. I have a bunch of wings, but use an 18lb for tropical diving with an AL80 naked or single steel and a 58lb wing for sidemount and doubles in anything.

With a steel plate you can take 6-8lbs off of your weight belt. I can dive an AL80 with a drysuit in my Halcyon Eclipse with no extra weight in warm water. I don't dive said plate unless I'm diving with AL80's though, a HP steel sinks me in just about anything...

With a Transpac, you don't get the weight benefit, but you get the rest of them, and it's much more comfortable IMHO. If you're thinking this line, then check Northeast Scuba Supply, John has a bunch of lightly used Transpacs for $50 I think.

I love my Transpacs.... Have an old Transpac II which I like better than the new ones, then a new one on my Nomad-which I should like more because it's a "tall" but I don't like the new backpad they've got.

 

[Scott L]

I dived with a Transpac for eight years and agree with you on most accounts but it does not provide near the stability as a BP/Wing rig, especially with 8" diameter cylinders...

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

The 50lb limit for airline luggage was the feather that broke the camels back.

After diving with a buddy with a petite looking BP/W that was 1/2 the size and weight of my integrated poodle jacket, I just could no longer resist. Living in Texas, good diving means travel and renting gear sucks.

After the size & weight issue (which might have also been solved with a travel bc), the ability to customize the rig to my needs and desires was a huge bonus.

 

[H2ODoc]

1.) Reading everyone's recommendations here and elsewhere
2.) I never use the pockets on BCDs that I've rented
3.) Ease of packing for trips - 1.5 lbs heavier than my wife's BCD, but way more compact
4.) Overall simplicity / streamlineliness (Yes, that's a word)
5.) That secure feeling underwater - so "slop"
6.) No need for weights for me (SS backplane, small wing). I used 5 lbs lead with BCD.

 

[DevonDiver]

I dived jacket BCDs for over 10 years. I first dove BP&W when I started my tech training. Even with the transition to doubles, the rig felt so much more comfortable and controllable in the water compared to a jacket BCD. It wasn't long before I ordered a Halcyon Eclipse...

The main advantages for me are:

1) Interchangeable and identical configuration between single and double tank diving.
2) Streamlined... less water resistance, less air consumption, less fatigue. Good for penetration dives.
3) Modular... If I need a pocket, I can add it. Absorbs the ancillaries I need, without being bulky.
4) Backplate shifts weight off my belt and vastly improves my trim.
5) Can custom locate d-rings etc, exactly where I need them.
6) It doesn't jiggle around when I dive...and Ali tanks don't 'rise up' because of the crotch strap.
7) Robust. It's very tough. There isn't much to break, so less chance of ruined dives.
8) Compact. Easy to transport...especially if dissasembled.
9) De-cluttered. I dive wrecks. There isn't much on a BP&W that will get you snaggled.
10) Donut Bladder... makes it easy to position air to hold you in a desired position...which is good for photography.
11) Rear Dump. Combined with donut shape and backplate, makes horizontal ascent a cinch.
12) Single piece harness... is infinately adjustable, should I change from wet to drysuit (or pile on a few pounds!).
13) Shorter LPI hose (on Halcyon).. I always thought the long LPI hoses on most BCDs were unnecessary and clumsy.
14) Less cluttered. Keeping your front torso free from clutter is better for safety. I had an incident early in my diving development, where I was too much of a christmas tree diver...and I still remember the task loading created by all the crap dangling off me...and interfering with my drysuit operation...access to my pony reg etc.

 

[The Kraken]

Minimalism, simplicity, long term reduction in cost of ownership, trim, fit, repairability.

the K

 

[Insta-Gator]

Thanks to everyone. I appreciate your perspective. I'll have to give this a try and some practice at the local dive shop before heading to Cayman next year. Not much spooks me underwater any more, but a new rig might be a distraction. I'm extremely comfortable with my current gear, but change is inevitable. Thanks, y'all.

 

[rongoodman]

I started with a BP/W, aside from the dives in OW class with a rented BC. I don't remember the exact decision process, but I was doing a lot of reading on this and other boards at the time. My initial reg was set up with a long hose and bungeed secondary too. I'm glad it worked out that way.

 

[olphart]

My switch was by accident. One of our members sold me a "transpac" that incidentally had an ss plate, which turned out to be a transplate cobbled together with transpac shoulder straps. The plate turned out to be aluminum as well. I was going to send it back, (bladder leaked, too), but after some thinking, I tried it out and found that I really liked the way I was able to trim out and the stability in the water.
I repaired the bladder, (yes, I know, some will hyperventilate and warn me that I'm about to die with an unsafe bladder. ). The size of the leak was miniscule. It would take more time than it takes to go thru a tank on my best day to significantly deflate it, and I don't normally have much, if any, air in my wing at depth. Plus the repair is pretty darn bulletproof, (aquaseal inside and out plus a patch on the inside), and I'm very pleased that I went ahead.
It served me well on my Coz dives that included my third trip thru Devils Throat. I would have liked an ss plate though. I had to carry 16# as opposed to 8#, and that messed up the great trim I was getting in fresh water.