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

[MASS-Diver]

Interesting. I'd like to know the name of them for reference.

SCUBA Shack in Rocky Hill. Ask for Ed Hayes - I don't really know him personally all that well, but he's a great guy and a heck of an instructor. A lot the people out of that shop are on www.ne-ue.com

They really show that a good shop can turn out very skilled OW divers.

 

[Hank49]

I haven't done the actual numbers but it seems that most of the folks using and loving bp/w are more cold water, thick wet or dry suit divers. I have never tried a bp/w (except my first dive in 1980 but I don't remember much about it) but I hardly notice I'm wearing a bc jacket. (The one i use now is more comfortable than the first one I tried) I use relatively thin wetsuits in the warm waters where I've dived. Does the bp/w add the same comfort increase in these conditions as it seems to for cold water divers?

 

[MASS-Diver]

I haven't done the actual numbers but it seems that most of the folks using and loving bp/w are more cold water, thick wet or dry suit divers. I have never tried a bp/w (except my first dive in 1980 but I don't remember much about it) but I hardly notice I'm wearing a bc jacket. (The one i use now is more comfortable than the first one I tried) I use relatively thin wetsuits in the warm waters where I've dived. Does the bp/w add the same comfort increase in these conditions as it seems to for cold water divers?

Of course, on the tech side of things, lots and lots of warm water cave divers wear bp/wing rigs. I think the benefits of the bp/w setup are just as clear in warm water. From a marketing angle, there are a ton of shots of single tank divers not wearing ANY exposure protection in the new Halcyon mag

 

[jonnythan]

Of course, on the tech side of things, lots and lots of warm water cave divers wear bp/wing rigs. I think the benefits of the bp/w setup are just as clear in warm water. From a marketing angle, there are a ton of shots of single tank divers not wearing ANY exposure protection in the new Halcyon mag

I dig the pictures in the new catalog. Looks like they're trying their absolute hardest to show that the exact same webbing harness works equally well for cold, deep, technical diving as it does for single tank, warm water, no exposure protection tropical diving.

 

[novadiver]

I don't think a bc is a crutch. If you dive where it's warm and you can dive in swim trunks with a small tank you shouldn't need a bc. On the other hand if you need a suit that will compress at depth or you need to carry much gas you will need one.

some of (if not the first) divers to use them were cave divers that needed a way to stay off the bottom when they weren't swimming. If they stopped kicking they sunk, silted, got lost and died. They started with things like plastic jugs on the end of a string that they could put air into or dump air from. The need was not due to a lack of skill.

While it's kind of neat to watch the old Custau (sp?) shows and see them light on the bottom any time they stop, I sure am glad we don't have to dive that way any more.

to this day few divers are taught to use a bc correctly in early training. I don't think we're talking about the " lost art of diving" as some have called it. It's more like bc's and using them (buoyancy control and trim) just haven't yet been fully integrated into training yet. Divers are taught while kneeling on the bottom still like they had to before the invention of the bc. Buoyancy control is stuck in the class like an afterthought rather than the central theme that it is.

Do a dive in a way that you on kick if you want to move and don't intend to touch or disturb the bottom ever and it becomes hard to call a bc a crutch.

MF and I don't agree often , but I will with this . I'd also like to throw in that IMHO not to many instructors are NOT teaching the BP/W properly. The way I was taught was to weight the diver and then weight the pack. both should strive for buoancy without the other. example. if a diver takes off their pack underwater the pack and diver should be close to neutral without the pack floating or sinking away ( or close to it) That IMO is why the wing is on the tank and the weight is on the diver. intagrated pockets flushes this theory quick. if you have intagrated weights on a bcd then your chances of gear removal are nill (to remain neutral).

 

[H2Andy]

well, my two "extremes" are NE Florida caves and the balmy waters of Bonaire.

my bp/wings rock either place

 

[BigboyDan]

Hank49 has it. The use of the BP/W is so much better than a BC for a drysuit. The BC is so easy to use, and it's comfortable, in warm waters. As far as why so many Northern posters here on SB? Well, they spend so much time indoors in the winter... not diving... lonely...

By the way 74 degrees here today, goin' divin'.

 

[RiverRat]

I haven't done the actual numbers but it seems that most of the folks using and loving bp/w are more cold water, thick wet or dry suit divers. I have never tried a bp/w (except my first dive in 1980 but I don't remember much about it) but I hardly notice I'm wearing a bc jacket. (The one i use now is more comfortable than the first one I tried) I use relatively thin wetsuits in the warm waters where I've dived. Does the bp/w add the same comfort increase in these conditions as it seems to for cold water divers?

Sure it does! Although there are differences between exposure suits in warm and cold environments, the concepts will always be the same. Less drag is less drag. Period. Having weight evenly distributed over my back is the same, warm or cold. 7mm or Tee shirt. Period. In fact I notice the uncluttered "feel" of the BP/W more so in a thin wetsuit than in a thick wet or a dry suit. The BP/W is popular with heavy wetsuit or drysuit divers because typically you need more weight. The heavy SS backplates allow you to ditch some lead. But you still have MANY other benefits besides "weight" in warm water diving.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As far as why so many Northern posters here on SB? Well, they spend so much time indoors in the winter... not diving... lonely...

Not in the Seattle area ... I've got about 70 dives so far since January 1. Heck, last night the parking lot at Cove 2 was full!

By the way 74 degrees here today, goin' divin'.

Have fun ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[RiverRat]

Hank49 has it. The use of the BP/W is so much better than a BC for a drysuit. The BC is so easy to use, and it's comfortable, in warm waters. As far as why so many Northern posters here on SB? Well, they spend so much time indoors in the winter... not diving... lonely...

By the way 74 degrees here today, goin' divin'.

Hummmmm. You seem to be posting quite a bit lately Dan..................