BP/W for beginners?

[lowwall]

Our course will be done in cold water in a drysuit, that's correct.

So what we have learned so far is:
Drysuit + cold water = steel bp + steel tank(s) , which reduces the need for weights.

BP/W seems to be preferred by many drysuit divers, but are they also usable if you're diving a wetsuit in warmer waters, or do all parameters change, given the same tank size/weight? Needing to change to a smaller wing, aluminium bp etc?

If it's single tank for both, you don't need to change anything except the amount of lead. A smaller wing will be a little more streamlined and easier to pack, but it's a minor difference. And all an aluminum plate does is cut your baggage weight.

The one exception might be if you are going to dive a large steel tank and a steel plate makes you overweight in warm water with no lead.

 

[Imla]

Our course will be done in cold water in a drysuit, that's correct.

So what we have learned so far is:
Drysuit + cold water = steel bp + steel tank(s) , which reduces the need for weights.

BP/W seems to be preferred by many drysuit divers, but are they also usable if you're diving a wetsuit in warmer waters, or do all parameters change, given the same tank size/weight? Needing to change to a smaller wing, aluminium bp etc?

The answer is as easy and as hard as divers are different. Depends a lot on bodytype/composition. Skinny tall male/male with a lot of musclemass (keep in mind, these are stereotypes) tend to be leg heavy (think balancing scales. Or even better... don't worry too much about it yet. this is slightly on the more nerdy side, and a tad to early to actually introduce before your first class) Back to the explanation. Thin, muscular male. Big lungs. Big airspace up top. very little in the bottom. They may need very little weight if any in warm water. Personally, tall woman, small chest, big hips, couldn't sink in freshwater if I tried. I will dive a steel plate in just shorts and tshirt. I will need weight, and I like my own gear. If I want to travel, i consider what diving I want to do. A 30lbs singleswing will normally work well in most ocean conditions. Both with alu and steel tanks. Keep in mind that your drysuit also act as a tool for positive buoyancy. Your instructor will be fully capable of teachimg uou this.

Howeve. I would like to express the idea that you don't fall completely down the rabbithole before your class even begins. Let the instructor teach you diving, and then ask your followup questions. You will probably find that a lot of these questions will find their natural peg after the class is done.
And... if you want to be an active diver, and already do your class locally, focus on equpment that will make your everyday tuesday afternoon dive pleasant. Not just the week on vacay in warm water, that will make your cold water diving a bit of pain.

 

[Divercouple]

[...] Or even better... don't worry too much about it yet.

Let the instructor teach you diving, and then ask your followup questions. You will probably find that a lot of these questions will find their natural peg after the class is done.

This is of course the most sensible thing to do Thanks for reminding us.

 

[Pearlman]

The only real drawbacks that I can think of:

• Some courses (rescue diver) require removing casualty's harness on the surface as one of the exercises. It's a completely pointless skill because in a real world scenario, you would just cut the harness. Removing the harness requires some skill and few hints from a good instructor - e.g. deflating the wing and drysuit a bit. If you take the course in a tropical destination, you might need to loosen the harness to cheat as local instructors might not have a clue how to help you.

This might help with that : DGX Loop Adj. Slider
I’ve been wanting one for a while now but don’t want to spend $20 + Duty and Taxes on shipping a $5 item internationally… LOL

While I only want it as an optional for “rescue” scenarios (please don’t cut my $40 harness even if I’m dying …) or experimenting with donning and doffing gear in water, it seems to me that drysuit divers might benefit from it as a required convenience…

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Our course will be done in cold water in a drysuit, that's correct.

So what we have learned so far is:
Drysuit + cold water = steel bp + steel tank(s) , which reduces the need for weights.

BP/W seems to be preferred by many drysuit divers, but are they also usable if you're diving a wetsuit in warmer waters, or do all parameters change, given the same tank size/weight? Needing to change to a smaller wing, aluminium bp etc?

BP/W works in any environment. Gear intended for colder water will work in warmer water too. The other way around could be a bit suboptimal.

You don't need a special smaller wing in warmer waters but you might want to consider an aluminium backplate once you get to the point of flying abroad for diving. An aluminium backplate will be about EUR 100-110 unless you pick something fancy and takes maybe 5 minutes to swap.

You would most likely be fine to dive a steel backplate in a wetsuit but it's extra luggage weight and from a safety perspective, it's better to put some lead on a weightbelt - you won't have a backup source of buoyancy in a wetsuit. You might also find out that you like drysuits and longer dives so much that you will fly your drysuits abroad too .

Anyway, I would take it slow, complete your training, do some fun diving and maybe rent different types of gear to see what you like and don't like before buying anything. Most dive shops might have pool sessions where you can tag along after training and try new gear before you buy it. You will also see if you actually enjoy diving - you might become completely obsessed or decide that perhaps you want to enjoy other hobbies.

Since you plan to dive in Norway, your first priorities should probably be a mask, well-fitting hood and good gloves unless you can rent a drysuit with drygloves. That will make your training significantly more enjoyable (read warmer). And once you get bored of leaky rental drysuits, you might want to get your wallet ready for your own drysuit .

This might help with that : DGX Loop Adj. Slider
I’ve been wanting one for a while now but don’t want to spend $20 + Duty and Taxes on shipping a $5 item internationally… LOL

While I only want it as an optional for “rescue” scenarios (please don’t cut my $40 harness even if I’m dying …) or experimenting with donning and doffing gear in water, it seems to me that drysuit divers might benefit from it as a required convenience…

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Sliders defeat the purpose of a single piece harness - to always keep the harness adjusted the way you like it and to ensure that both shoulder straps are of equal length. It's not necessary unless you suffer from serious mobility issues due to health or excess bioprene .

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

What do you do to prevent your SMB unrolling. I've tried and tried, and nothing I've done but stowing it in a pocket worked consistently. I need to get a new one before my (hoped for someday) next trip, and I plan to get one of those mesh pockets you mentioned to deal with the problem.

I'm what you might call motor skills and mechanical intuition challenged.

Good point. I follow the SDI Solo Diver recommendation when solo diving to carry 2 cutting tools. My Trilobyte in on the horizontal webbing strap across my chest; my Spyderco H1 steel knife is often in a pocket. They recommend they not be together so if entangled there's a decent change of being able to reach at least one.

Hope the pictures help, just bungee with ends tied with cave line on the smb, the one I have on the reel (my wife’s in this case) has bungee with a short length of rope just looped on on tied with cave line so it’s easy to deploy even with dry gloves.

 

[steinbil]

Hope the pictures help, just bungee with ends tied with cave line on the smb, the one I have on the reel (my wife’s in this case) has bungee with a short length of rope just looped on on tied with cave line so it’s easy to deploy even with dry gloves.

This might be a little bit of a sidetrack from the thread, but I have never needed an extra "tail" to get the bungee off my SMB. I can do it without problem with thick dry gloves and 2 pairs of inner wool gloves. However, if you want to make it easier, why not just use the double ender to pull the bungee off?

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

This might be a little bit of a sidetrack from the thread, but I have never needed an extra "tail" to get the bungee off my SMB. I can do it without problem with thick dry gloves and 2 pairs of inner wool gloves. However, if you want to make it easier, why not just use the double ender to pull the bungee off?

I don’t need it myself, my Wife sometimes needs a couple of goes at it underwater so when I replenished the bungee over winter the thought occurred to me just before I trimmed the excess bungee back, of course with it been a blank tail it’s not causing any sort of a entanglement problem. yeah a double ender would work just as easily of course.

 

[Pearlman]

Sliders defeat the purpose of a single piece harness - to always keep the harness adjusted the way you like it and to ensure that both shoulder straps are of equal length. It's not necessary unless you suffer from serious mobility issues due to health or excess bioprene .

Isn’t the idea to either quickly tighten it or loosen the harness as required? How difficult is it to adjust the sliding side of the harness to quickly match lengths with the static one on the other shoulder?

 

[Still Kicking]

Isn’t the idea to either quickly tighten it or loosen the harness as required? How difficult is it to adjust the sliding side of the harness to quickly match lengths with the static one on the other shoulder?

If your harness is adjusted correctly and you have a crotch strap to keep everything tight, any kind of sliding BS is completely unnecessary.