Why did Horse Collar BC's fade away?

[Angelo Farina]

Jackets have been around for about 48 years I think.
When did the very first jacket come out?

Regarding Scubapro, their first horrible "stabilising jacket" appeared in the 1978 catalogue.
In the previous 1977 catalog there were just horse collar and BP+wing, no jacket yet.
However, during summer 1977, I was asked from Scubapro Italy to perform some tests with the first prototype of the stabilizing jacket.

SCUBAPRO Catalogo 1977 | BluTimeScubaHistory

SCUBAPRO Catalolo 1978 | BluTimeScubaHistory

The initial acceptation of the SP jacket was poor. I gave a very negative ferdback to Scubapro, and the same was done by the other 19 instructors involved in the preliminary tests. The device was "cut wrong", it tended to open while inflating (as clearly shown in one of the photos).
So the jacket disappeared from the 1979 catalog.
It appeared again in 1980, after some modificatons to the "cut", making it more adherent to the body.
See here:

SCUBAPRO Catalogo 1979 | BluTimeScubaHistory

SCUBAPRO Catalogo 1980 | BluTimeScubaHistory

So, in practive, jacket-style BCDs started to be used only after 1980, but their acceptance was slow.
In 1988 I was still using an horse-collar. In 1989 I bought my beloved old style BP+wing, which I am still using today.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

While there were some previous attempts, 1978 is when the first “modern” jacket was released.
View attachment 783622

I thought it was earlier than that, but thank you!
My point is that there might have been variations of BP/W before that and after that, but it still remains that the first Stab Jacket or jacket style bc in general is the longest lasting bc technology in diving used by the majority of divers still to this day. When I certified nobody in recreation scuba diving was using BP/W, I never even heard if one. They apparently went back into obscurity and were used only by tech and cave divers. GUE/DIR are the ones that brought back the BP/W and mainstreamed it. Love them or hate them it doesn’t matter, we can all thank them for reintroducing the modern BP/W (as we know it now) back to single tank recreation divers!

 

[Subcooled]

I took my first underwater breath in 1968. I took a course in Florida but it was just to be able to buy air from local shops. In 1972, we moved from the coast of Florida to Southern Germany. Because of my previous underwater experience, I was able to sign on with a Search and Rescue Team, although we never rescued anybody... just body recovery. In 1974, we moved back to Florida and I discovered that my certifications were no good anymore so I had to take a real Scuba diving course! I signed up for a NAUI course put on by a local dive club. (Hurlburt Dive Club)

Up until that point in my underwater adventures, I had never seen or even heard of a Buoyancy Control Vest. Buoyancy control for me and everybody else that I dove with, consisted of a bag of lead weights attached to the anchor line. You guessed what you needed, jumped in, went to the weight bag on the anchor line and took or left lead as needed. That was our buoyancy adjustment!

However, at the dive course, one of the instructors had a vest that he could inflate or release air as needed to adjust his buoyancy on the swim! He'd stolen it from the Air Force and modified it. I wanted one! Then I started seeing them in dive shops so I bought one. It was wonderful! It was the greatest thing since canned air! I forget the brand but it was a Horse Collar type with a purge valve down low and an oral inflator on the chest. It also had a CO2 inflator which I thought was neat. I used that thing all over the Gulf Coast of Florida and most of the assorted springs and caves inland.

Then life happened and I stopped diving for a while. When I came back to it, I discovered that the Horse Collar BC was no more. They call them "Snorkel Vests" now and they're really nothing but toys. I took a refresher course to get myself back in diving shape. I used their gear and had to wear a jacket type BCD with the tank attached to the back. It had a neat button to automatically inflate the vest or deflate it.

That was the only thing about it that was any good in my honest opinion! The rest of it sucked!!!!! It had a lot of drag! I felt like I was pulling a sail behind me! I started trying to learn how to make it work for me and got good enough to satisfy the instructor but....it sucked! I hated it! Besides the underwater drag, it kept trying to drown me! It kept pushing my face into the water, even with minimal air inside. Back in about 1975, my girlfriend and I surfaced in a squall and got separated from the dive boat in the waves. We had to float for an hour or so before the boat found us. We would have drowned using a modern BCD! As it was, we just inflated our Horse Collar BC's, held hands and floated peacefully up and down the waves until we heard the boat blowing the horn looking for us.

In present day, I managed to locate a Seaquest Horse collar type BC that was in perfect shape and upgraded it with a new corrugated hose/inflator button. My only complaint about it, is that there's not much pocket space and hardly any gear attachment points. I can live with that.

So! Why did the Horse Collar Buoyancy Compensator stop getting used?

Well, being a historical diving society member I do have a horse collar BC.
It goes around the neck and it is kept in place by foot loops.
It sucks. It hurts in the neck. I do not want such a constraint.

Why is the new style jacket type better? In my very un-expert opinion:
The H/C B/C allows the diver to dump their weights and tanks without loosing their flotation. It is much less drag underwater and will not drown you if you're unconscious.

True

The H/C B/C adjusts my buoyancy underwater perfectly and I can inflate it with air from the tank or from my lungs. I have a purge on the lower end and a pull purge on the hose.

What can a new stype jacket BCD do better besides have more pockets and attachment points?

Back inflation BCD:s are great for diving (but not great if you are unconscious).
I dive a 1980's sidemount rig with the bladder attacched on my back and it's great!

 

[rx7diver]

... When I certified nobody in recreation scuba diving was using BP/W, I never even heard if one. They apparently went back into obscurity and were used only by tech and cave divers. GUE/DIR is the ones that brought back the BP/W and mainstreamed it. Love them or hate them it doesn’t matter, we can all thank them for reintroducing the modern BP/W (as we know it now) back to single tank recreation divers!

I drove down from central Missouri to Ginnie Springs FL in 1988 to take back-to-back Cavern and Basic Cave courses. My instructor (NACD/NSS-CDS) wore a BP/W and manifolded 104's, and Poseidon Cyklon regs (with Din-to-yoke adapters)--my first time seeing scuba gear remotely like this! When you're a newish open water diver trained using single 72's and Scubapro and U.S. Divers regs, and you see, for the first time, those impossibly massive 104's, and what was required to float them, your mind absolutely is blown, believe me!

rx7diver

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I drove down from central Missouri to Ginnie Springs FL in 1988 to take back-to-back Cavern and Basic Cave courses. My instructor (NACD/NSS-CDS) wore a BP/W and manifolded 104's, and Poseidon Cyklon regs (with Din-to-yoke adapters)--my first time seeing scuba gear remotely like this! When you're a newish open water diver trained using single 72's and Scubapro and U.S. Divers regs, and you see, for the first time, those impossibly massive 104's, and what was required to float them, your mind absolutely is blown, believe me!

rx7diver

Was it Dive Rite gear by any chance?
Who was the guy who cut a plate out of a stop sign and made what is the prototype for the modern tech double style backplate as we know it today?

 

[rx7diver]

Was it Dive Rite gear by any chance?
Who was the guy who cut a plate out of a stop sign and made what is the prototype for the modern tech double style backplate as we know it today?

@Eric Sedletzky,

I'm almost certain the BP/W and tank bands were Dive Rite. I am less certain about the manifold, though. I am thinking it was one of the old style, dual orifice, but non-isolating, with one first stage mounted at (below) the center of the manifold and the other mounted on top of the right (?) post. I think it was manufactured by Sherwood.

rx7diver

 

[Waterwulf]

Thanks for all of the answers and comments! It was pretty much as i thought. The jacket types have more pockets and attachment points but other than that, don't do anything that my old vintage Horse Collar BC can't do as well or even better. Mine has less drag, gives me buoyancy control while underwater, allows me to dump my gear and still retain my flotation and will allow me to float on the surface while still wearing all of my gear and still be relaxed. Properly adjusted, it doesn't pull at any of the straps but there are more straps than with a jacket type vest.

From reading the comments here and my own research, I've come to the conclusion that the biggest difference between the Horse Collar Buoyancy Compensator and the back wings and jacket type Buoyancy Control Devices are the two different purposes behind their designs.

The HC BC vest was designed to allow the diver to adjust his buoyancy underwater as needed and to serve as a life saving device on the surface in an emergency. They will save an unconscious diver on the surface and I've never even heard of one trying to roll a diver over.

The jacket or back wing types were designed to allow the diver to adjust his buoyancy underwater as needed with very little effort put into it to serve as a life saving device on the surface. They will drown an unconscious diver on the surface without any input from his companions.

I think I'll stick to my vintage Horse Collar. It does everything I want it to and nothing bad. Plus, it's an antique like me!!

 

[Cthippo]

@Waterwulf How were they for surface swims?

My diving tends to involve a lot of surface swimming and the idea of a surface only flotation aid that I can orally inflate before i get in the water and then dump before descending would be nice. I can envision something like this being built into the shoulder straps of a BP/W system, again, for surface use only.

 

[Edward3c]

When I started the ABLJ (adjustable buoyancy life jacket) - horse collar type - was considered to dangerous for beginners, we had to do a familiarisation course. On the replacement of my second ABLJ I opted for a Stab Jacket for its comfort and pockets. AP Vales still sell ABLJs to order (see bottom of page).

 

[jadairiii]

I certified in an At Pak. It was really hard to keep vertical on the surface. But I was wearing a weight belt. The At Pac was designed to be filled with lead shot which would have changed the balance a lot.

The problem with the At Pac was really just the size of the wing. It had 60lbs of lift, but back in the day, lift was everything, I think my USD horse collar was close to 60lbs of lift, Fenzy may have had even more. All that lift would make it difficult if you were inexperienced in its use. Why the At Pac retractable bladder was such a great upgrade. Most BP/Wings for recreational are 30 and shaped in a doughnut shape (which oddly, when properly set up, how the At Pac retractable bladder was sort of shaped). And you did need to put weight in the balance box.

Now understand, the selling point of the At Pac/SP BCP was you could "ride" them out to the reef, laying on top of the pack, then put them on. Which I did a lot on beach dives.