Equipment Trends: The BCD

[Octopusprime]

I would like to try one out in a pool or shallow water.

 

[divino92]

I just recently switched to a dive rite transplate and rec exp wing from a cressi backjac BCD. Dont get me wrong I like the cressi BCD a lot, however I can say I wish I knew now what I didnt know then....I would have saved myself a lot of money. I love how versatile the BP/W set up is. No matter where I decide to take my diving skills in the future, the BP/W can follow me there and be upgraded as necessary. If it were me teaching a new class of students I would recommend a BP/W for its lifetime upgrade ability.

 

[AdivingBel]

Well, I can't disagree with you there. I think the big turn off for new divers when seeing the BP/W is its spartan appearance!!

That's interesting. I first saw a soft plate and a small, warm water wing on a boat headed out to the Vandenberg. I thought how much smaller, streamlined, and efficient it looked compared to the BCD I was wearing. Thought I should try one. Haven't looked back. Great travel rig. Different strokes.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Well, I can't disagree with you there. I think the big turn off for new divers when seeing the BP/W is its spartan appearance!!

Which is simply confirmation that a lot of new divers are clueless. Their loss.

 

[jscan1]

Well, I can't disagree with you there. I think the big turn off for new divers when seeing the BP/W is its spartan appearance!!

The Spartan appearance is exactly the reason I went to one! Free up the front side, feels very liberating , and makes handling cameras all that much easier! Plus was able to shed a lot of weight in the process

 

[KeithG]

A 100% "uptick" would still probably not be detectable from the 50,000ft view in terms of recreational scuba. Go to Bonaire next week and you might see TWO visitors diving a BP/W. 100% increase would be 4 people.

Agreed. I have never even seen a BP/W. BCDs only for us vacation divers.

When my current BCD wears out (in about 10 years?) I will consider a BP/W. But only if it is lighter in my luggage...

 

[claymore]

I think one of the biggest problems for BPW's is the dive shops. Many do not want to even display them because they are "TECH" or do not understand them or "this what REC has been for years and or the major manufacturers they sell do not really want to sell BPW's. They want to sell jacket style BC because of profit margin, "the bling factor" ect.

 

[Centrals]

BP/W looks more or less the same to untrained eyes! But jacket bc is just the opposite.
Only the All Black wear black!
I seldom met female divers on BP/W.

 

[danvolker]

It seems like I've had quite a few random thoughts lately...who knows, it may be the cold weather getting into my brain. So here we go!

I know that there are quite a few divers in our fun little community here on SB with many being advocated of the BP/W. Of course we represent a small cross section of divers as a whole. To that end, in my last couple of dive trips I have noticed a slight uptick in the use of the BP/W by divers.

So, I'm wondering...is the BP/W gaining popularity among recreational divers? Will it ever give the Jacket BCD a run for its money?

I'm interested in what the grand court of SB has to say about this.

And....go.

I think a major obstacle (that has so far prevented the bp/wing from a rapid increase in market share with the jacket styles), is that MOST Dive Shops do NOT have divers on staff that could effectively HELP customers in getting custom fit/configured to the bp/wing. As long as they are ignorant of the optimal configuration strategies, they will be afraid to put these in store inventories ( as they rightly should be). Some "could" hire some tech guys that are used to bp/wings, but even here, many divers that use bp/wings are NOT good at adjusting these systems for other people, and were challenged just to get their own system tweaked well.
Better would be having bp/wing manufacturers do a "Clinic" that teaches how to configure the bp/wing and how to do hose routing ( using canisters, or pockets, or whatever--or shorter primary hoses). the clinic SHOULD involve a GUE fundamentals level clinic on finding the correct configuration for proper trim--but this really requires a swimming pool. This IS what the shop needs to be GREAT at fitting their customers, but will not be possible for many shops. Since the jacket style BC gets to a level of sloppy mediocre trim quite easily, compared to what can be almost non-functional with the bp/wing given no a priori knowledge, a majority of Dive shops will continue to resist moving toward the bp/wing, and they will continue to PROPAGANDIZE against the Bp/wing as offering no real benefits to their customers...."to be only for tech or cave, etc."

 

[Centrals]

Hi Dan,
Do you really have to mention GUE in every post? Scuba diving is a recreational sport and I am pretty sure not every diver would want to be looked alike from tip to toes.