why would any one get a jacket BC

[String]

Why try the filet mignon if you grew up on steak and cheese sandwiches and see no need to change?

Because you don't know what you might be missing. If you're in the market for a BC, do yourself a favor and try one out so you can form your own opinion. If you aren't in the market for one, and like what you have, stick with it.

... and lots of people do try it and prefer the jacket. The ease of adjustment means any suit/no suit combination without fiddling with a harness, trim can be fine, they can be comfortable, they have pockets if needed.

No more reason to switch to a wing than to stick with a jacket if it works for you.

Ive tried both (jacket BC and wing), currently i use a wing although there are some things with it i prefered with my BC. I know others that tried wings, hated them and went back to BCs. By all means try both, make a choice and use what you prefer but the original topic of this thread "why would anyone want a jacket BC" is decidedly biased by the original poster.

 

[String]

I can lay back when on the surface without difficulty.
Are my fears unfounded ? or is this a real problem with wing style BC's ?

Not a big issue provided youre weighted correctly and the wing is a sensible size to the amount of weight carried. Too big a wing or too overweighted and it can tip face first. Otherwise its fine.
Just dont fully inflate the thing on the surface with a single tank diver.

 

[NadMat]

Having never tried a wing system, I'm not in a position to comment on which is safer, however I am wary about the idea of having all my buoyancy on my back, as I have this image of being pitched forward on my face when on the surface.
I like the jacket style BC, as the bladder surrounds me, and means that by careful distribution of my weights, I can lay back when on the surface without difficulty.
Are my fears unfounded ? or is this a real problem with wing style BC's ?

Properly set up and with a little experience in their use, it is not really that big a problem. It is usually more of a perception thing. Any bouyancy device requires a little experience and proper set up to work at it's best. Try all of them and find out what fits you and your diving style ( or in my case, perhaps lack of it :11doh: ). It is all about you being comfortable and enjoying your dive.

 

[Walter]

To Walter; Maybe my memory is playing tricks on my, but I could have sworn that the original ‘wrap around’ BC was call the Stab-Jacket, although when I teach intro’s I call it a ‘vest’ also.

Your memory is correct. I dived a Scubapro Stab-jacket for years. It was a vest. I'm still using the original hardware with a Classic Sport vest.

BTW, you made excellent points in you post.

I hated every BCD I ever tried. They rode up on me, squeezed me, shifted. Tried a BP/W and loved it.

That's a contradiction. The BP/wing is merely one of several styles of BC. If you loved the BP/wing, you didn't hated every BC.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I like the idea of the Oceanic Probe which is a a back inflate but in a jacket like form. i like most people am learning in a jackat but like i said before i don't like the fact that it feels sloppy when not fully inflated.

Just to clarify the Probe is not a back inflate. The chute series, the new excursion, outrigger, and the islander are the back inflates in oceanics line. I myself have and prefer the probe. It has pockets which I like when working with students Enough d-rings for me in the right places including ones that allow me to sling a pony, and it fits well with the depth compensating cummerbund at the surface and down deep without having to adjust it. All that said I'll probably be adding a more tech setup later this year and am leaning towards the transpac but I'll not be selling my probe.

 

[MSilvia]

... and lots of people do try it and prefer the jacket. The ease of adjustment means any suit/no suit combination without fiddling with a harness

It's a minor nit-pick, but adjusting the fit of a BC is, by definition, fiddling with a harness. It may not be a single piece of webbing like the hogarthian harness used with a backplate, but it's a harness nonetheless.

On the flip side of that coin though, folks who dive regularly and rarely change the type of exposure protection they use often prefer the hogarthian harness. If you use one, you get to fiddle with it once and then never have to change it unless you change size substantially. If you get the adjustable one, you get to fiddle with it every time you use it. Incidentally, when I adjust my harness for a change from drysuit to dive skin or vice versa, I only have two adjustment points, and it takes me all of about three minutes.

 

[NadMat]

It's a minor nit-pick, but adjusting the fit of a BC is, by definition, fiddling with a harness. It may not be a single piece of webbing like the hogarthian harness used with a backplate, but it's a harness nonetheless.

On the flip side of that coin though, folks who dive regularly and rarely change the type of exposure protection they use often prefer the hogarthian harness. If you use one, you get to fiddle with it once and then never have to change it unless you change size substantially. If you get the adjustable one, you get to fiddle with it every time you use it. Incidentally, when I adjust my harness for a change from drysuit to dive skin or vice versa, I only have two adjustment points, and it takes me all of about three minutes.

Just because it is adjustable doesn't mean it must be adjusted. If it was adjusted properly in first place, and conditions have not changed ( i.e. different suit, to much good holiday food, sudden growth spurt) it should not have to be re-adjusted

and once again matt, might I suggest the phrasing "when I got the adjustable one, I had to fiddle with it everytime I used it."

 

[MSilvia]

Just because it is adjustable doesn't mean it must be adjusted. If it was adjusted properly in first place, and conditions have not changed ( i.e. different suit, to much good holiday food, sudden growth spurt) it should not have to be re-adjusted

Well... if I can adjust mine in a few minutes but rarely need to, and you can adjust yours in even less time than that, but only do so on rare occasion, it makes adjustablitiy a pretty weak differentiation point, don't you think?

and once again matt, might I suggest the phrasing "when I got the adjustable one, I had to fiddle with it everytime I used it."

You may suggest that if you like, but I've grown rather accustomed to my writing style and am not particularly likely to change it and start using cumbersome turns of phrase or simplifications in order to appease anyone. I'll try to avoid overgeneralization, but in this case I said what I meant. I deliberately chose not to use "I" because I didn't mean "I". I mean't "you", in the plural, as in "you adjustable widget likers", as opposed to "we" which would include me, or "they" which you already gave me crap about. It's been my experience that the majority of divers I've seen with adjustable quick releases and whatnot generally snug everything up once they get their buckles buckled.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Incidentally, when I adjust my harness for a change from drysuit to dive skin or vice versa, I only have two adjustment points, and it takes me all of about three minutes.

Or you/we/I/us/they/everyone can own more than one BP

 

[NadMat]

Well... if I can adjust mine in a few minutes but rarely need to, and you can adjust yours in even less time than that, but only do so on rare occasion, it makes adjustablitiy a pretty weak differentiation point, don't you think?

Yes, however it was you who brought up the point:

If you use one, you get to fiddle with it once and then never have to change it unless you change size substantially. If you get the adjustable one, you get to fiddle with it every time you use it. Incidentally, when I adjust my harness for a change from drysuit to dive skin or vice versa, I only have two adjustment points, and it takes me all of about three minutes.

You may suggest it if you like, but I've grown rather accustomed to my writing style and am not particularly likely to change. I'll try to avoid overgeneralization, but I didn't use "I" because I didn't mean "I". It's been my experience that the majority of divers I've seen with adjustable quick releases and whatnot generally snug everything up once they get their buckles buckled.

As to that, perhaps it is because they are so easy to adjust that some loosen them for comfort/ease in donning and waiting for others to get into their less adjustable gear, and then adjust them back to provide maximum comfort when in water.
( notice how I did not say "your less adjustable gear" )

And I dive with some BP/W users and notice them adjusting waist strap tightness often once get to planned dive depth (especially when wearing wetsuits)

Just trying to get away from the 'my gear is better than your gear' and move towards 'I like my style of gear because' and 'I didn't like that style of equipment because'.

You could also actually attempt to put the phrase 'in my experience' in your post rather than in your explanation of post.