Why only for advanced?

[The Kraken]

You know, the thing about it is the fact that a conscientious diver will learn to handle his/her gear regardless if it's a bp/w or jacket style b/c.

You fly the airplane, it doesn't fly you.

It's the diver, not the gear.

the K

 

[djanni]

Most advanced divers use BC's, not bp/w's.

As MSilva said, a bp/w can be as simple as a jacket BC or ever simplier. Yet it can also be a lot more complicated. Just depends on how you equip it.

Just becase a bp/w uses a steel plate to hold the harness and bladder together doesn't mean it's any more "TECH" ready than one that uses a soft back to hold the harness and bladder together.

Although I've never dived with twin tanks it does seem the steel plate system is better for managing weight distribution than a soft back system. I have quite a few dives with a bp/w system, although, as a single tank diver, I prefer the softback.

I hope all you twin tank divers using a softback system don't think I'm nut's about the steel plate making that a little better.

BP/W's are not better BCD's they are different BCD's. You don't say where you live or will doing most of your diving. All of mine is warm water and 70 degrees in Florida would be cold as hell to me. BP/W's seem to be more popular in the north but I don't know why. I can tell you that after 5 years of diving I could count the number of bp/w rigs I've seen on 1 hand and that would include counting me. So go figure.

 

[lamont]

One theme I have come across in a few places is that a BP/W setup is not for the novice diver.

I did my 4 OW checkout dives in a jacket BC and every dive after than in a BP/W. They work just fine for novice divers.

 

[robway034]

Wow....., After everything is said and done I guess it comes down to personal taste. I would like to add this: A more traditional BCD (if there is such a thing) does float you differently on the surface. I have one of each and I notice the difference between the two. The way the wrap around waste works on my standard BCD (scubapro) places me in the water like a cork. My Back inflator, especially when the air is low or my wieghts arent dialed in properly, tends to give me a forward tilt. I think the mythology surrounding the whole "advanced" thing comes from the fact that the standard BCD doesnt require much if any technique for "bobbing on the surface"(someone said just "lay on your back" for instance among other comments). To be honest, regardless of which BCD I choose to use, I almost always do the "lean back" thing on the surface! So, that's my 2 cents

 

[H2Andy]

my take is that i don't dive on the surface

i dive under water. thus, i'll pick the gear which will serve me best underwater.

in my case, that's the bp/wings. you can't beat it for horizontal trim. it does
make things easier.

when i went from an Oceanic Probe to a bp/wings, it was like night and day.
it was almost effortless to keep proper trim.

so, yeah... that's the one for me

 

[lamont]

Wow....., After everything is said and done I guess it comes down to personal taste. I would like to add this: A more traditional BCD (if there is such a thing) does float you differently on the surface. I have one of each and I notice the difference between the two. The way the wrap around waste works on my standard BCD (scubapro) places me in the water like a cork. My Back inflator, especially when the air is low or my wieghts arent dialed in properly, tends to give me a forward tilt. I think the mythology surrounding the whole "advanced" thing comes from the fact that the standard BCD doesnt require much if any technique for "bobbing on the surface"(someone said just "lay on your back" for instance among other comments). To be honest, regardless of which BCD I choose to use, I almost always do the "lean back" thing on the surface! So, that's my 2 cents

the "floating on the surface" thing tends to mostly be a problem with Al80 tanks. the tanks are buoyant and behind you, the wing is buoyant and behind you, and that means that its going to be trying to drag all that stuff up and pitch you forwards. If you've got steel tanks then it balances you out better. I've got double steel tanks with a 10# v-weight and the problem is inverted -- I have a hard time getting off my back when its time to stand up and walk up the shore...

 

[*Floater*]

One theme I have come across in a few places is that a BP/W setup is not for the novice diver. Could someone elaborate a little on this for me?

You need a bp/w setup or something similar for diving with twin tanks and rebreathers, which are generally used by more advanced or tech divers. However, if you think you might be interested in that sort of thing later on then you might as well start with a bp/w. Jacket bcd's are easier to begin with though.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
I pretty much agree with most of what has been said so far. I tried a BP/wing and for various reasons I did not care for it. There is nothing wrong with them for a novice and if I were going to do more advanced diving that involved double tanks they would be my BC of choice as well. There were features that I wanted in a BC that the typical BP does not include which I wanted and I found very little difference in it's performance with the type of diving I do- single tank- open water as compaired to my back inflate BC.
One thing that you may have missed or misunderstood is there are basically 2 types of BC's used today, the jacket style which you most likely trained in and the back inflate. Notice I did not say BP. The BP is a member of the back inflate family but not the only one. Typically, the "BP/wing" is a metal plate with a single length of webbing, 3 or 4 D-rings and a buckle along with a bladder of some sort. It is designed to be simple, rugged and pretty much bulletproof which is the reason it's popular with tech divers. Other members of the back inflate family offer more features such as quick releases/ easy to adjust shoulder straps and intergrated weights.
Bottom line, if you like what the PB offers, there is no reason for a new diver not to use one but it's also not the be all end all that some would have you believe. Try a jacket, try a BP and a back inflate or 2 and see which YOU like the best.

 

[The Horn]

I dive with a zeagle Ranger and find it great as it is a back inflate with a soft stle harness. If you want to jump to doubles you can swap out the soft back for a stainless or aluminum back plate and keep the wings. sort of like getting the best of both worlds.

My buddy was torn between the Ranger and the BP/W set up and finally decided on the BP/W but added the weight pockets...he loves it. He also said it was a pretty hard coin toss between the two. Now he is set for progressing to doubles if he chooses and I can add the plate if I want to.

Don't let the perception of "Advanced" scare you. There is nothing "Advanced" about a BP/W style bouyancy compensator, actually its a return to a simpler design to scotch tape a tank to your back and go diving!

 

[radinator]

I hated my jacket BC, and was very happy to get rid of it. I found it the most difficult thing I ever dove with. It squeezed me when inflated, and on the surface I found that I would start to slide out of it to the point where I would wear it around my ears.

My BP/W has never moved around on me at all. Must be that wonderful invention called a crotch strap.