Diving without a BC, anyone do it...

[justleesa]

you could pretty much say that most of the vintage divers dive w/o a BC....it is much less restictive...every now and then I enjoy it...

 

[jj_freelord]

I think I can do that. Most of the time I use my lungs to control buoyancy anyway. So I'd just need a tank holder? Any suggestions. Thanks.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I can't imagine wanting to dive without a bc. I had too many dives back in the dark ages without a bc to ever return to that

 

[Dectek]

I think I can do that. Most of the time I use my lungs to control buoyancy anyway. So I'd just need a tank holder? Any suggestions. Thanks.

They are on ebay all the time for as little a $5 sometimes....Heck...I may have a couple around here. Do you want the flat commerial kind with the SS tank straps or do you want a molded one? I don't think any molded ones here have straps on them.

Here is one for 0.99 on ebay

 

[jj_freelord]

Thanks, Dectek. What does the molded one mold to? Maybe I'll check on the commercial kind. The shipping will probably be more expensive than the payment for the tank holder >_<

 

[DiverBuoy]

This is at 80' in the Bahamas

Your picture reminds me of a couple of scenes in the movie "Into the Blue".

 

[divinginn]

used to dive no bc and no weights,just a backpack tank and single secondary,no gages had j valve,correction still have j valve, your tank would automaticly take you up when air ran low,good thing didnt have mandatory safety stops. those were the days. its a wonder we never got bent,but im sure alot did. good luck o some of the backpacks had weight built in,mine finally fell apart,had to retire it for one of those new fangled jacket bcs

 

[Loneranger]

Did all of our shallow diving with hard hard packs 15+ years ago. It just takes a little time to get your weighting right. We used these mostly in the Florida Keys diving from inflatables. They are great for shallow water.

 

[ItsBruce]

Why bother with the plastic tank holder? My first dives involved a tank and piece of rope. (See the photo.)

 

[Puffer Fish]

Ahoy,

I dive with out a BC these days and love it. I have an old US divers tank holder. just a chunk of plasic and some straps. I love to feel unencombered, in warm water there is nothing like it. In the cold water you just need to be very aware of how your wet suit is going to behave.

Does anyone still use these kinds of gear, i also only need a very small amout of weight, im skinny. in warm water with out a suit, i only need 2 lbs of lead and i strap it to the tank.

Im a big proponent of minimalist diving, i use a single stage, regulator and have two regs and a gauge. i use a regular watch for most (non-multi depth) diving. it seems to me that people are WAY over geared these days.

As you can see, all the old guys remember diving with very basic equipment (including yours truely).

I would think it depends on where and what kind of diving you are doing. Warm water, shallow depths and little danger, heck all you need is a tank, reg and some sort of snorkle vest (for safety), and a weight belt if needed. (dive steel)

Most divers are not just doing that kind of diving, so come prepared for the worst.

Some come prepared for anything, me included. Take a trip away from home, to do unknown diving, and I would suggest all the stuff is nice to have.