Diving with BP/W - learning curve?

[herman]

There is really very little difference diving a BP/wing and any other back inflate BCs if you put a little weight in the rear of the BI BC to compensate for the weight the BP would add. The biggest difference is adjusting of the BP- assuming a standard single web harness- with a standard BI BC you just pull the straps- it's adjusted, with a BP with the standard single web harness you have to remove it, adjust it and try again. Also, before buying consider what you will use the BC for. If it's local cold water diving then a steel plate may what you want. If you travel a lot by air, a SS plate will add a good bit of unnecessary weight to your luggage or if you dive a lot in warm water a steel plate may well be too heavy. In my case, a SS plate will overweight me by around 5 to 6 lbs in warm fresh water and around 2 in salt, an amount of overweighting I find unacceptable. You can always add a few pounds to your weight belt or to the BP if it's too light, one that is too heavy is always too heavy.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

My son has about 25 dives and has always used a jacket style BC. Recently he used my BP/W kit and his comment after two dives was "why does anyone use anything else?". I realize they may not be for everyone and other systems work for most recreational divers, but I love my set up. Good luck with your decision.

Along the lines of what triggerman365 wrote, OW instructors should spend a little time explaining to students the importance of horizontal trim and how to achieve it. In fact, it should immediately follow the conversation on being properly weighted and how to conduct a weight check.

With a little patience, any BCD can be adjusted to promote horizontal trim by paying attention to where and how much lead is positioned on the rig. The problem is that most people lack the patience or knowledge to do this. Considering that most novice divers have head-up/feet-down trim (too much weight in weight-integrated pockets or on a weightbelt) with a conventional BCD, it's not surprising at all that when they move to a BP/W, which places more weight over the lungs (and subtracts some that's normally positioned on the hips), they magically become more horizontal in the water.

The vast majority of beginner divers that I see here in SoCal are doing the nearly vertical head-up/feet-down bicycle kick, which silts up the sand below. This is caused by thick wetsuits necessitating a lot of lead that's all plopped into weight-integrated pockets on the BCD.

I have a BP/W, but for my kind of recreational diving, any ol' BCD would work just fine.

 

[TSandM]

Like everybody else says, once you have the rig properly adjusted, diving it is like diving any other BC -- you put air in to float and let it out to sink.

I would STRONGLY encourage you to take ae3753 up on his offer. Don's a super nice guy and a UTD instructor, and you couldn't get better guidance on setting your stuff up properly.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I experienced no learning curve transitioning to a BP/W from a jacket. It is a very basic and simple piece of gear which is also its strength. It did take me about 2 hours to assemble it correctly from the parts and about 4 dives to get it adjusted exactly right. If I had a mentor around, 1-2 dives would have done it.

 

[wasabipanda]

Thank you all for your feedback! I feel a lot better now knowing that diving a BP/W may not be as difficult as I thought. I've already been in touch with Tobin from DSS and he's given me his profession opinion on what rig would work best for diving around here. That being said, I will definitely double check my weighting in the water.

ae3753 - PM sent!

Thanks all!

 

[Ragnar]

Yup, I just used the sheet with pictures that you'll get from Tobin along with the BAUE website to get it close and within a few dives had it dialed in. Enjoy!

Equipment Images

 

[Rascally Rabbit]

For an experienced diver that has mastered trim and bouyancy under varying dive profiles there probably isn't much of a learning curve. For someone still dealing with these issues all the variables may add to the difficulties. Having an experience BP&W diver to help may aid in dealing with the choices of configuring.

 

[fnfalman]

Get the Halcyon Infinity rig with the quick adjustable harness and call it a day.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I would recommend accepting help with the set-up of the harness. The cheerleaders for BP/W seem to be forgetting to mention a MAJOR, potentially life threatening difference between a BP/W and a jacket BC. That being the the weight belt and crotch strap issue.

You were most likley not taught with crotch strap. If you wear it over your weight belt then this complicates the removal of the weight belt. It is quite different than a typical BC which uses either integrted weights or an unrestricted weight belt. You can no longer simply pop a buckle and be pretty much assured that you can instantly ditch your lead in an emergency (as you can with the typical recreational BC).

If you choose to run your crotch strap UNDER the weight belt (which I find very inconvienent) then you will have to learn to do that set-up.

If you avoid using the crotch strap (which I do whenever possible) many people will tell you that the BP/W will be to sloppy and loose and might not support you nearly as well on the surface.

Once the harness is adjusted properly and you have figured out the crotch strap issue and adapted to the idea that you have no pockets to store anything (unless you add them to the harness) ..diving with the BP/W is not much different at all.

 

[wasabipanda]

Thank you for the advice. To be honest, I did not consider the placement of weight belt in relation to the crotch strap. A very important point indeed.

Since you do not use the crotch strap on your BP/W, do you set your shoulder straps tighter to keep everything secured to your back when you're on the surface?

I just ordered my rig from Deep Sea Supply (SS plate, Hogarthian Harness, Torus 26 Wing, 6.4 Lbs bolt on weight plates). I will try to put it together first (here's hoping anyway!) and ask for an expert to check that everything's set up right, before I dive in it. As well, to check for any adjustments that need to be made.