Why are BP/W users more common on this board than at the beach?

[MXGratefulDiver]

I can't speak for anyone else ... but I got into a backplate because the guy who owned the LDS I used to hang out at (a NAUI shop, BTW) let me try one. That one was a Dive Rite TransPlate with Rec wing. Nice rig ... it felt way more stable than the ScubaPro Superhawk I was using.

As I try different products, I upgrade my gear to what feels most comfortable when I dive.

It's as simple as that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[HammerNoMore]

Uh-huh. Unlike these guys, eh?

http://www.gue.com/equipment/equip-considerations.shtml

They recommend these products:

http://www.halcyon.net/dir/faq_01.shtml

(Oh... and..., they're... owned... by... the... same... people.)

I'm sure there is a point somewhere...

 

[kidspot]

because Uncle Pug told us to wear them...

(sorry, sorry... jeez... it's a joke )

I knew I'd like your answer Andy! LOL

 

[kidspot]

I'm sure there is a point somewhere...

of course - they endorse their own product - I'd have problems with them if they didn't

Tim

 

[BigboyDan]

Training agencies combined with product sales make a conflict of interest. We had those problems with PADI and US Divers, and NAUI and Scuba Pro in the 70's. Halcyon equipment is exellent - so is everybody else's.

A copy of a PM post that I made to another board member:

Most people who blindly follow their LDS are paying too much for a crappy BC rather than a less expensive BP/W? Huh? In 1974, when I first dove, not only was there was no such a thing as a BC, there was no bouyancy device of any type except for a horse collar and a neoprene wetsuit. My first rig was a backplate, harness, J-valved steel 72cf tank, band, Conshelf 14, knife, that's it. No octo no SPG, no other safety devices. If it wasn't for the BC, THE BC ITSELF, there would have never been an explosion of recreational diving from 1980 onward. The fact that the current BP/W (which is EXACTLY, like the ones we used in the late 70's) is necessary for cave diving and some tec profiles does not mean that those who do not dive those profiles are disserved by a BC. A falsehood.

 

[Kim]

Dan - I can see your point but how is that different from:

An instructor works for a diveshop that only sells certain makes of gear. The shop insists that he wears their gear to train people, and that when asked for gear recommendations, he only may suggest gear the shop sells. This is something that I believe happens a lot.

As far as I know GUE doesn't insist that you have to use Halcyon gear to do their courses.

 

[HammerNoMore]

Training agencies combined with product sales make a conflict of interest. We had those problems with PADI and US Divers, and NAUI and Scuba Pro in the 70's. Halcyon equipment is exellent - so is everybody else's.

A copy of a PM post that I made to another board member:

Most people who blindly follow their LDS are paying too much for a crappy BC rather than a less expensive BP/W? Huh? In 1974, when I first dove, not only was there was no such a thing as a BC, there was no bouyancy device of any type except for a horse collar and a neoprene wetsuit. My first rig was a backplate, harness, J-valved steel 72cf tank, band, Conshelf 14, knife, that's it. No octo no SPG, no other safety devices. If it wasn't for the BC, THE BC ITSELF, there would have never been an explosion of recreational diving from 1980 onward. The fact that the current BP/W (which is EXACTLY, like the ones we used in the late 70's) is necessary for cave diving and some tec profiles does not mean that those who do not dive those profiles are disserved by a BC. A falsehood.

You forgot to include the WKPP in there...

Let's see:

1. We have a group of divers with a common goal... They develop a method of diving and a set of equpement to match that goal...
2. A couple of them spinn off and enhance that mehtod and equpment into a formal diving protocol.
3. One of them decides that that equipment is not commonly available and chooses to make it and sell it to the public.

Sounds like good old fashion capitolism to me... Again I ask, what is your point?

 

[jonnythan]

because Uncle Pug told us to wear them...

(sorry, sorry... jeez... it's a joke )

That was pretty much the reason I did.... after I used 100 posts to insist that my TUSA back inflate BC was EVERY DARN BIT AS GOOD!!!

 

[BigboyDan]

Point: those who use BCs are as well-served as are those who use a BP/W for recreational diving profiles. And, very few people do anything blindly concerning diving.

 

[jonnythan]

I think the answer also lies in the industry forces that promote the "standard" gear you see at most dive shops.

All of the reasons jacket BCs are popular come through the gear manufacturer supply chain. Dive gear company X makes the things look pretty, LDS X sells the pretty things to the people willing to put down the money, student X uses this gear, then becomes DM X, instructor X and LDS owner X, all with using the same type of gear because it all came through the same supply chain: Big Manufacturer Heavily Pushing Profitable Gear Through The LDS.

Now, it requires some *conflicting* force to get someone to switch over to something as Big Manufacturer unfriendly as a bp/wing. Whether it's an "enlightened" LDS owner (like Mike Ferrara was), a bp/wing friendly instructor, a dive buddy who has made the switch, etc.

Scubaboard is a very, very good source of that *conflicting* pressure. And there's a lot of it.. just read ANY thread in the BC forum to see that there are a lot of people recommending bp/wings to each other. In a community as close as this, filled with people passionate about the sport, such a positive (IMO) change can spread rapidly, and newcomers are pressured and convinced to accept it as well.

The fact that a community such as this is devoid of the "manufacturer profit motive" drive that the retailer deals with is what makes it so great. Having been in technical gear retail for a while, I can tell you that it's easy to get ALL your product information directly from the manufacturer... so ALL you know is what they told you. ScubaBoard does away with that entirely.