Anybody feel like giving a rundown of back inflate BCDs to a SCUBA noob?

[KevinNM]

If you need particular gear to teach a class for a given shop they should a) have it in their rental fleet they can just let you use for free and b) get you the rather huge instructor discount from the vendor if you want to own it. If a shop expects their instructors to pay the shop anything close to list for gear needed to teach a class I would suggest you don't want to teach for them.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Send me your email and I'll send you an article you can show them on BPW's and back inflates for new divers and students. The truth is if a shop can't have it's instructors teach students wearing jackets and the DM's and instructors in BPW's without confusing the students then the shop needs to retrain it's staff. There is no difference. A BC is a BC no matter if it's a BPW, a back inflate, or a jacket. The difference is having an instructor who can clearly explain and adjust to the differences. If they can the students can. If they can't maybe they should switch to golf or tennis.

 

[boulderjohn]

I wear a BP/W for my personal diving and for the OW portion of the classes. I do agree that it is good to use the same sort of gear as the students when demonstrating skills, so when I am doing the pool sessions, I wear the same gear as the students--using the same rental gear they are using. I like the idea of having someone else pay for the gear that is immersed in chlorine regularly. If I needed to have my own BCD for instructional purposes, I would do the same as TSandM and just get a cheap used one. You can get them for next to nothing.

 

[phlegm]

Big thanks to everyone for their responses. I knew this place was heavily skewed toward the BP&W but wasn't expecting that, haha. Don't worry, I'm more than sold on their advantages I was just wondering about the viability of back inflate options. I understand that what the dive shop told me is likely motivated by sales, but that's not particularly surprising and I don't condemn it. Great points about borrowing from the rental fleet or wrangling for a keyman discount. I think I'm leaning back toward BP&W. All external factors aside I'd get one in a heartbeat, I'm just trying to get the most mileage out of my gear by getting something I could teach with down the track.

How popular is Zeagle in your area?

Excellent point. I read recently that since Zeagle merged with some other company (forgive me) there have been very few shops left who can import to Aus. I can obviously import them myself from DGX or DRiS but I'm a little concerned about where I'd get them serviced. Shame really, I was really liking the look of the Zeagle Extreme Tech (this is essentially a mostly non-modular travel BP&W right? I can't tell what the plate is made of). It at least looks more like jacket BCDs than a usual BP&W rig. Simple, ticking a lot of boxes.

I dive a backplate and wing with students in OW. Since there are no demonstrations of skill in OW, it really doesn't matter if one dives equipment similar to that used by the students.

Interesting. In my OW course there were plenty of skill demonstrations. And I would have thought teaching skills like out of air diver would be much easier using a jacket BCD and therefore the same hose lengths/ secondary donation rather than the obvious differences with BP&W.

Are you in Sydney or Melbourne? I might be able to give you a lead on a shop that wouldn't mind you in a BP&W.

Melbourne. That would be greatly appreciated mate.

Couple of options, back inflates are all junk imho.

Care to elaborate on that position? I'm mostly interested on how they compare to BP&W while diving. I get the BP&W has advantages like being robust and modular, but how do they compare in terms of trim etc at depth? What don't you like about back inflate?


Finally, does anybody have any opinions about travel systems like the Voyager PAC, Dive Rite Travelpac, Mares Hybrid Pure, or Zeagle Covert?

Thanks again.

 

[diversteve]

An Express Tech has a soft backplate - soft being a relative term. You can bend it but it's pretty stiff. I'm not sure I'd want to bolt a set of twins to it though, it might flex a little - my Ranger does. Everything Zeagle makes is back-inflate only. I'm getting one eventually myself for travel purposes. I almost linked to the Travelpac in my earlier reply as a viable option for you also. I've been looking at them also.

Covert is the latest single tank travel BC. Haven't seen one in person yet. Some of the Zeagle line is not as modular - it and the Stiletto are examples. It doesn't have any pockets or use the Personal Fit System and the Stilettto has a permanently attached lumbar pad - and I think the wing is not interchangeable on either. Both are single tank only. Stiletto is marketed as travel BCD also due to size, not weight. Covert is about the lightest travel BCD I've ever seen - under 4lbs. Even the Express Tech or Aqualung Zuma weigh more.

I can't speak to Zeagle availability in your area. Huish Outdoors bought Atomic Aquatics, Zeagle, Bare and Liquivision recently and none of them seemed to be greatly impacted here.

I've wned a Ranger for a decade. I've had it in for service once because the shop I bought it from offered to do it free a the end of the 1st year. Since then I've changed the power inflator since it stuck once (my fault, salt crystal buildup from improper cleaning) and I wanted their new (at the time) BX Inflator since it allows you to flush your BCD bladder with a garden hose. Everything else still works properly - it's not even too faded...

Might make sense to buy something you can source locally though. I prefer that whenever possible. Generally it's the same price if you buy from a major mfr. - I get exactly the same price on Atomic gear locally as from LeisurePro or Scubatoys or the other big online retailers so I don't mind paying the sales tax to support them - I like to be hands on with most expensive gear I buy first.

I'm not a fan of Mares. They seem a little "gimmicky" to me. Playing old tapes, I've found two of their red-handled weight pockets near boat moorings in different countries. But not recently - about 6-7 years ago. My buddy dives one (not sure what model) and she lost two in one summer a few years ago - one before a trip locally and it's replacement dropped out our last dive of the trip walking in thru the surf line.

That's one thing I like about Zeagle's Ripcord - unless the cable breaks (not likely - the BC will disintegrate first) all you need is any type of weight. I originally used lead shot in their weight bags for local dives, now I just use whatever combination of hard/soft weight I find on the boat. My buddy had a single 1lb. bullet weight drop through his ripcord once but he jumped off a dock in 4' of water and hit the bottom hard. Obviously there are other similar options from other mfr's.

 

[TSandM]

There are lots of skill demonstrations in the confined water portion of the class, but in open water, the students perform the skills.

As I said, our shop sells a lot of Air2 type setups, so demonstrating a primary donate system doesn't seem like a bad idea to me, or to my instructor husband.

I'm reaching out to my friend in Melbourne for some shop names . . . I'll get back to you.

 

[phlegm]

Thanks so much!

 

[sportsmn700]

I got the zeagle ltd back inflate with integrated pockets, love it but pockets are a little small

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Demoing skills for students in the pool in a BPW is the same as with any BC. Donate is donate, doff and don, and all other skills are not in any way confusing. As long as the instructor is capable of giving a good briefing before hand and allows the students time to digest the info and try it a few times. I always put a student in a BPW at least once for a pool session. Then let them decide what they want to use on checkouts. Put the decision in their hands and allow them to use the skills, education, and their own decision making processes.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

As stated already the shop wants you to buy their gear and then have you sell the year you wear to your student as most will first consider the equipment their instructor is using as they believe it to be the best. I educate my students in on various different types of gear models and brands, most of my students can't afford to spend the money right away for the gear I use or don't want to invest that much right away. I even recommend other places online to shop around so they can get the best they can afford for themselves.

You need to take the time to choose gear that suits you. As for BCDs and teaching there is not set requirement on traditional BCD, back inflate, or bp/w. I have seen many instructors teaching with different BCs, some shops may require you to use certain gear though per their policy. I use a standard BCD when teaching open water and then my bp/w for all other courses.