Which BC for less than $300??

[RJP]

The big question is, how many of them ended up buying a jacket BCD after the course?

Approximately zero. :d

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I put students in jackets followed by a back inflate (zeagle express tech), and for the final two pool sessions a BPW. Only one has chosen a jacket and that's mainly due to her already certified buddy diving one and them wanting to have the same gear. The rest choose back inflates, of which the minimalist express tech is at the top of the list, or BPW's with steel or aluminum plates. For those that travel a good deal the al plate seems to be more popular but not by much. People like not needing to have to carry extra lead. Once they understand proper weighting, which is covered in the first pool session, they see that ditchable weight is often overrated. If you have any kind of neoprene on ditching the rig, if necessary, means you are not going to sink.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[victorzamora]

Well. I opted to go for a reg first.....Bought an Atomic Z3. The fiance has a B2, but I couldn't justify more dollars for just a swivel 1st stage. Should arrive in a week or so!! I want to thank every one of you for all the help in looking at BCs. I looked into some DSS BP/W combos and might look closer at them once I get a better idea what type of diving I will do.....which is pretty much just goign to be warm tropical waters.

You can't really go wrong with Atomic regs. They're pretty pricey, but people swear by them. If your fiancee also has Atomic regs, you're in the right direction. The swivel 1st stage is nice to have, especially in SM....but if you won't be using it then it's an additional failure point (VERY unlikely to fail, but it's still a possibility).

If you're travelling to warm water as your primary mode of diving, then you have a few choices. I'd recommend getting an Alu backplate, a standard one-piece hogarthian harness, and ~28# lift wing. A couple tricks are to get a backplate and wing that won't require a single tank adapter. The next choice is delrin vs stainless cambands. I recommend stainless almost every time over delrin, but stainless bands are heavier. I think all said and done you're in the ~5lb range. That's very comparable to even the smallest travel BCD's (Oceanic Biolite and Aeris EX Lite). If you want to go for more extreme weight savings, Oxycheq has a "Lite" plate. It's a standard plate with HUGE portions missing. I'm not sure if it's as stable, but it probably shaves 1lb off your total weight. You can also get a soft plate, which is even lighter....but I'm still not convinced by the stability. I like the traditional alu plate, even if it costs me a pound.

---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 08:23 AM ----------

I see used knighthawk and rangers in that price...will save a ton of cash if you by lightly used

I know this isn't how you meant it, but it brings up a great point. BPW's tend to hold their value better. So, a used BPW doesn't come out much cheaper than a new one (unless you can find a good deal on a wing). So, if buying new, the BPW tends to be the better investment. When buying used, they've both lost most of their value and they both tend to lose value slowly...but jackets DO seem to bottom out more aggressively than backplates. You can find jackets much cheaper than used BPWs. Maybe buy an old jacket and keep it as a backup/loaner once you get your BPW.

---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 08:24 AM ----------

Jim, the shop I used to work at would use the Hollis Ride to convert people. Hardcore jacket proponents would dive it (because it was just a weird looking jacket) and convince themselves. I saw it nearly a dozen times.

 

[ronscuba]

Well. I opted to go for a reg first.....Bought an Atomic Z3. The fiance has a B2, but I couldn't justify more dollars for just a swivel 1st stage. Should arrive in a week or so!! I want to thank every one of you for all the help in looking at BCs. I looked into some DSS BP/W combos and might look closer at them once I get a better idea what type of diving I will do.....which is pretty much just goign to be warm tropical waters.

Great choice. I love my Atomic regulator. It's my 1st and only regulator. All other dive gear I bought my 1st year has been replaced.

 

[beaverdivers]

We put all our open water students in BP/W - never had anyone have a problem.

Given your location & the type of diving you do, I believe using BP/W makes sense. However, the OP is a warm water diver. Also he is a travelling
warm water diver. He is typical of diver that we train. BP/W don't work for many of our Open Water (OW) students because they do not need any weight.

Also, many warm water divers don't need any weight especially if they are using steel tanks.

How many of your OW students continue on to Rec/Tek or Tech diving?

Where do you do your OW dives?

 

[ronscuba]

BP/W can definitely be used for warm water and travel. Aluminum plates weigh 2 pounds. Soft plates weigh 9 ounces.

For warm water diving, steel tanks are not the norm.

I'm not saying anyone has to use a BP/W, but they work great for warm water and pack smaller & lighter than traditional BCD's.

It's good to have choices. Jacket, back inflate, BP/W. Although I have my own preference, each of the styles will work fine for warm water.

 

[Mike.D]

Given your location & the type of diving you do, I believe using BP/W makes sense. However, the OP is a warm water diver. Also he is a travelling
warm water diver. He is typical of diver that we train. BP/W don't work for many of our Open Water (OW) students because they do not need any weight.

Also, many warm water divers don't need any weight especially if they are using steel tanks.

How many of your OW students continue on to Rec/Tek or Tech diving?

Where do you do your OW dives?

I am both a traveling warm water diver and warm water diving is my norm. BP/W works fine for me. It's all down to preference mate.

 

[uncfnp]

BP/W can definitely be used for warm water and travel. Aluminum plates weigh 2 pounds. Soft plates weigh 9 ounces.

For warm water diving, steel tanks are not the norm.

I'm not saying anyone has to use a BP/W, but they work great for warm water and pack smaller & lighter than traditional BCD's.

It's good to have choices. Jacket, back inflate, BP/W. Although I have my own preference, each of the styles will work fine for warm water.

Its not really relevant to the OP's question but us warm water divers do like steel. True, it's hard to find in rentals but many of us prefer and own steel.

 

[tracydr]

Given your location & the type of diving you do, I believe using BP/W makes sense. However, the OP is a warm water diver. Also he is a travelling
warm water diver. He is typical of diver that we train. BP/W don't work for many of our Open Water (OW) students because they do not need any weight.

Also, many warm water divers don't need any weight especially if they are using steel tanks.

How many of your OW students continue on to Rec/Tek or Tech diving?

Where do you do your OW dives?

I would say a BP/ with an aluminum or Kyvek plate and 17-24 pound lift would be the ideal travel set-up for tropical water. Much more compact than the average jacket BC, much lighter weight for airline travel. How does this cause the diver to need or not need weight?
the only weight this rig will have on it is the waist buckle. Any additional weight would be worn on a weight belt, trim weight pockets or dumpable weight pockets such as the ones made by Halcyon for the waist band.
Sounds to me like you either haven't seen/used a BP/ wing so you have no idea how compact they pack or, more likely, since I know that you are a Scuba Pro dealer, you are biased towards jacket BCs.
I predict that in 15 years, Scuba Pro will have to come up with some BP/wing combos in order to stay in the business, or they will lose their market share.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Given your location & the type of diving you do, I believe using BP/W makes sense. However, the OP is a warm water diver. Also he is a travelling
warm water diver. He is typical of diver that we train. BP/W don't work for many of our Open Water (OW) students because they do not need any weight.

Also, many warm water divers don't need any weight especially if they are using steel tanks.

How many of your OW students continue on to Rec/Tek or Tech diving?

Where do you do your OW dives?

Warm water dive destinations generally don't supply steel tanks.
Warm water (or traveling divers) with BP use AL, Kydex or soft plates, none of which have a significant impact on buoyancy.
OP wanted a solution for $300 or less, that rules out a lot of travel BCD's which can easily be double that amount.

BP/W are more difficult and time consuming to set up for a new diver.
There is also a lot less profit to be made because their are few mfg's and they cost less.
These a viable reasons why it may not be your first choice.
(Nothing wrong with having a profit motive, but lets not hide it).