leadweight once bubbled...
Rice
The Transpac II is an excellent warm water BC, especially when paired with the Travel Wing. It is comfortable, streamlined, easy to adjust, packs small, does not require a crotch strap to work right, keeps the tank close to your back and is reliable. All the performance benefits of a BP, none of the negatives in the comfort and convenience area.
Walking on land with a backplate is hell. Don't let anyone tell you anything different. With thin or no exposure suits the continuous harnesson on a BP will make you sore in the underarm area. BP's are difficult to adjust as the shoulder straps must be adjusted out of water. This trial and error process can use up a week of boat diving. You really need to go to a shore location where it is possible to get in and out of the water several times. BP's do not work properly without a crotch strap. I personally found the five point harness to feel confining.
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The BP is a poor choice for warm water recreational diving for these reasons. However, there is a group of divers in this forum who feel that the BP is the weapon of choice for all diving applications. It was invented for doubles, and that is what it does well. The ridge in the center is there to hide the wing nuts. That is why a single tank adaptor is needed and the single tank winds up two inches away from the divers back, hardly optimal.
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A lot of the participants in this forum are cave divers or other technical divers. That is a small minority of divers in the total world of diving. But this is the internet, not reality. If you are going to be diving warm water in a recreational setting there is no need to buy into their way of doing things. Next time in the tropics look around, if you see one backplate that is a lot. The guys around here won't stop preaching until the fish are wearing BP's.
I respectfully disagree with some of the statements.
As a preliminary matter, the TPII seems to be an excellent BC. You could make far worse choices.
That said, I believe that a BP&W is a better choice. As Rax said, terms like failure point, streamlining, etc... are real and have an effect upon your diving. Whether the effect is great enough to influence your choice is for you to decide.
When you're in the Carribean looking at the other divers, check out how many of them can't dive at all. Are these really the people you want to emulate?
I shore dive regularly, particularly when I'm assisting at OW classes. I am in and out of the water several times with each class and on each dive. I dont' have any problems walking to and from the water while wearing a BP. Note that I need to walk up a ramp or a hill and across a parking lot.
If the BP pinches, chaffs or is otherwise uncomfortable, then the BP is probably not adjusted correctly.
It is inconceivable that it could take a week to adjust the BP properly. I spent Saturday afternoon helping to outfit a diver with his BP&W. Everything, including assembling the thing from scratch, configuring regulators, explaining how some of his new toys work and pausing to watch the football games, took about 4 hours. We could have gone faster if we had needed to.
My single tank is right up against the plate. No STA is needed. It takes a little bit of care to hang the tank, but no more than a typical BC. It quickly becomes second nature.
Similarly, the crotch strap is neither uncomfortable nor difficult to use.
Overall, the BP&W is a great choice for all around diving. I've used mine for all types of diving and have been impressed.
Finally, I believe that a typical BP will be less expensive than a BC. This was not a factor in my decision to use one, but it was nice.
The best advice I've seen is from the people who have told you to try the equipment out before you buy.
