assistance on picking future BC

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southpaw1746

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Messages
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Location
Westchester County, NY
# of dives
50 - 99
I was wondering if anyone could assist me in choosing between a:

1) DR Transpac XT/Voyager EXP package

2) DR Transpac XT/Travel EXP package

3) DR Travelpac BCD

I recently went dining in Bonaire and a few divers had these BC's. They looked extremely comfortable and loved the streamlined look of the regulators (nothing hanging or dragging while diving).
This is my primary dive circumstances: Warm water diver, 3mm full suit, carry camera with one flash, I am 5'09, 192 lbs, and use 12 lbs of weights with my setup.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.
 
couple things to think of. With Dive Rite you are supporting local business to you as these are all made in Schenectady so that's an extra perk.

first. You are more than likely wearing too much lead by about 4lbs, fyi.

Second, these rigs all float. Yes they are comfy, but they float, are heavy, and take FOREVER to dry *I do own 3 different transpacs for reference*. With a 3mm suit, you have no need for all of the padding that is on those rigs. They are unnecessary due to the neoprene you are wearing, and they are also floaty which means you need more lead. Bad news bears.

Third, before you start asking questions, you need to figure out how much lift you have/need. With 12lbs of lead, you are assuming that you and your suit float about 8lbs *12-4 for the tank, and 2 for the regulator* this is too much since most 5mm's are around that level of buoyancy, but we'll go with it. You have to calculate 8lbs of potential lost buoyancy, plus the 12lbs you are carrying in lead, plus the weight of the gas which is 6lbs for an al80 so you need at bare minimum 25lbs of lift. If you were weighted properly it would be easier, but such is life.

Anyway, after that, you now know your minimum wing size, and the Travel wings are OK for that, so no real need to look at the Voyager unless you are doing a lot of local diving at home with larger tanks/thicker wetsuits.

Now, here comes the fun part.

Travelpac weighs 6lbs, but requires at least 2lbs of lead to sink due to the backpad and all of the other padded stuff that is on it, only has 1 cam strap, and isn't modular. If you go with the XT Lite backplate, with two cam bands, a basic harness, travel wing, and STA, you are at 8lbs, but you get to take between 4-6lbs off of your weight belt and isn't much more expensive. Despite what anyone says, you do need a STA with the Dive Rite wings on a hard backplate. The wings have a narrow center section to mate with the Transpacs, and because of that have no inherent roll control.

There are some other options worth looking at as well especially for travel, but since you posted in the Dive Rite section we are limited to their products. Either way, I love my Dive Rite gear, a Transpac with Travel wing was my first BC and I still own it although it doesn't get used much anymore. I currently have a few of their plates that I use for loaners *I'm rather tall so they don't fit me properly*, two Nomads that were customized for me, and a whole bunch of other stuff with their logo on it. I've been to the factory where all of their soft goods are made a few times, and have no qualms recommending it to anyone.

Best piece of advice is this. Look at the end goal of your diving and buy the gear for that first.
 
Geez. That's great advice. I'm overwhelmed that you took the time to be so detailed. I really appreciate it.
My end goal would be strictly recreational diving with photography and basic wreck diving in mind.
I was unsure if the travel wing would have enough lift, but you cleared that up for me.
Again thank you for your input. Your info has prepared me to ask better questions at the shop. [emoji106]🏼
 
glad to help

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-custom-dive-rite-transplate-singles-package

Keep that in mind when you're talking to the shop. $555 for a transplate, single tank rig, weight pockets, and crotch strap.

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-custom-dive-rite-bcd-and-streamlined-xt-regulator-package
$888 for the hunterpac with regs isn't bad either.

Cave Adventurers - Home page - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!
These guys will be able to help you out as well, give them a call and tell John or Edd that I sent you over. They'll be able to put you in something similar with a hard backplate and regs for around $900. The Dive Rite XT regs are truly wonderful regulators as well, so I wouldn't hesitate about seeing if you can make a package deal with them.
 
I have tried to figure out the hunterpac differences. I Couldn't find anything on YouTube. I only knew about it when I went on DR site and it was featured as a new product.
Would this be along equal consideration with the travelpac?
 
I prefer the hunterpac to the travelpac. It's more of a minimalist design. Bit more lift, but it's concentrated at the hips which is where you need it to help offset the weight belt for good trim.
 
At this time, I am also looking at the Transpac XT as a travel BC.
When I do the integer arithmetic with the above assumptions, I don't come up with the same figures. Tbone, do you mind going over your calculations in more detail?
I was surprised to learn that the Transpac XT is buoyant as the reviews seem to indicate it is neutral-was your +2 lbs figure specific to the Travelpac?
 
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The Transpac will be buoyant with the back pad on there. It's about neutral without it. I would not recommend the Transpac XT over the Hunterpac due to the cost increase. If you are looking at the Transpac, you are much better off getting a proper hard backplate
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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