Equipment Trends: The BCD

[AdivingBel]

Really interesting discussion! Especially the part about taking some effort to get the fit right. At the risk of going off in a bit of a tangent I'm interested in how significant this getting the fit right thing is. Since bpw's are not that prevalent in lds I assume a lot of folks buy them online. Is that a bad idea since you are on your own getting the fit right? Just how bad can it be getting the fit down? Would it be worse than a so-so fitting bc? I am at end of life of my Dacor Falcon bc which is a very basic back inflate - plastic plate, no pockets. I plan on replacing it with a bpw this spring as I'm used to a basic rig already and really like the idea of being able to customize it to my needs. But this discussion has me wondering if I would be making a mistake not buying from a lds.

Not necessarily. It just took me several dives to figure out the nuances. I bought mine online, but I had also seen them used and had them explanied to me by a diver (who is now a friend) I met while vacationing. I did not have the opportunity to try it out before I bought, but I did have other experienced divers to help me out after I bought it. Just do some research and make an informed decision. If you have access to face to face resources (whether friends, mentors, or LDS), take advantage of them. My point was that it wasn't automatic, but it's certainly doable if you have reason to try it out. IMHO. Good luck.

 

[geoff w]

My wife and I are on vacation in Hawaii this week, and we both have DiveRite steel backplates, TransPlate harnesses and wings. Of the five dive trips we've been on, we've been the only ones with bp/w, except for one staff member with the dive operator (Big Island Divers) who was diving on his day off (he used to be a tech diver here). Two people were interested in our setups, one young woman who was thin and complained her BC never fit right, then she tried on my wife's, and another guy with a Zeagle Ranger who said he wanted a backplate setup, but was going to wait until his Ranger wore out. Interestingly enough, both were from Florida.

Personally, I'd dive a lot less if I had to go back to a jacket style BC, and my wife would probably stop diving

 

[rhwestfall]

being a person whom nothing off the rack fit properly (or even reasonably close), the XL pattern DSS and a simple harness sized to me was pure bliss... I have owned 3 different BC's since I started this over 25 years ago, and quite frankly, everything was a miserable compromise.... It would have been nice to have this option from the start... No shop however was any part of this solution for me.

 

[boulderjohn]

...And more likely to need to be replaced, years down the road, than a BP/W ( other than harness, accessories, etc.).
I wonder: to what extent does "future replacement sales potential" impact an LDS in stocking/not stocking BP/W?

I suppose it could vary regionally, but my guess is that it would not enter into their thinking at all. For most shops, the percentage of customers who buy multiple BCDs over their diving lives would be so small that it would not be a major consideration.

Considering future purchases might actually work in favor of the BP/W. If I have a steel BP and singles wing, I might decide I need an AL backplate for travel, and maybe I need a doubles wing, and maybe the doubles wing I bought for steel tanks is too big for the aluminum doubles and maybe a Kydex wing is better for travel after all, but then I might want a different singles wing, too. I could end up with a big shelf in my basement full of BPs and wings--as I do.

 

[rhwestfall]

I suppose it could vary regionally, but my guess is that it would not enter into their thinking at all. For most shops, the percentage of customers who buy multiple BCDs over their diving lives would be so small that it would not be a major consideration.

Considering future purchases might actually work in favor of the BP/W. If I have a steel BP and singles wing, I might decide I need an AL backplate for travel, and maybe I need a doubles wing, and maybe the doubles wing I bought for steel tanks is too big for the aluminum doubles and maybe a Kydex wing is better for travel after all, but then I might want a different singles wing, too. I could end up with a big shelf in my basement full of BPs and wings--as I do.

Seriously, have you been peeking in my garage? Please don't tell my wife...

I honestly believe 90% of the business model is "one and done" meaning they aren't even considering the individual as retention base.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Even my SCUBA-hating ex developed a strong preference for my Halcyon BPW over her Zeagle BCD as soon as she tried it. She didn't ever really want to go diving, but if I was going to make her I had to give her the SS BP with the Pioneer 27 and dive my doubles on an AL plate. At least she never developed a preference for my SW computers.

 

[Octopusprime]

I think part of the reason that BPW are less common is it is more complicated to buy. Think about it... If your looking for a BCD, what are you looking for? Maybe you want extra attachment points and integrated pockets I can research manufactures and reduce the options down to a few that meet your needs then you can make a decision between brands based on price, warranty, service costs and even color if that is important to you.

If there is a new diver that wants to stream line and have great trim and they are looking at BPW... because they are so customizable it can be overwhelming to a newbie just to figure out what parts and pieces they need to get stared and why you make a decision of one vs the other. I spent a ton of time at DRIS talking to Chris about this exact thing.
Why do you us a webbing harness over a TransPac? Singles or doubles? what if I want to switch back and forth? Where is your dump able weight? Aluminum or Stainless Back plate? what size wing? Donut or Horse shoe? Etc then you finally make all of your purchases then you have to figure out how to thread the webbing to the plate, attach the wing, oh and where to I put all of the rings?

Most people today make the decision to buy before they walk in the door. They have researched online, talked to fellow divers and if they can not at least figure out what they would need to do a wing they are more likely to do a back inflate BCD which I have started seeing more like the Aeris Jetpack.

It would be really nice if there LDS sites had a configurator that would walk you through selecting all of the parts and suggest some bells and whistles while explaining on why you would get one over the other. From harness to tanks. For example a new diver may be more comfortable with adding dump able weight pockets and doing an AL plate and AL tanks so they have dump able in an emergency were a highly trained may choose the SS plate and ST tanks and no dump able weight.

 

[rhwestfall]

Most people today make the decision to buy before they walk in the door. They have researched online, talked to fellow divers and if they can not at least figure out what they would need

umm, me thinks not.... I'd say 95.44% of the new divers walking into the stores up here have no idea what scuba gear is.....

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

It's happening slowly here around South Florida. My wife and I dive a lot in West Palm (with Dan quite a bit). We are advanced rec single tank divers. We see some bp/ws on the trips, a lot more than we see in the Keys, for example, but still only 5% (or less) of the total divers. However, back inflate BCs are very popular.

We had the chance to attend a Halcyon demo day a few years ago. My wife was newly certified (10 dives) and I had many years under my belt in a jacket style. She was having problems controlling her buoyancy. I thought bp/w was for tec h diving and too complicated for her, and probably not for me. The folks at Halcyon fitted us up, gave us tanks, and told us to dive the rig as long as we wanted. this was at Blue Heron Bridge so we were in the water a long time!

I instantly forgot I had the thing on. No chest strap, no cummerbund, no constriction, just hanging around effortlessly. My wife, who had been a little bit of a yo-yo, was hanging one foot off the bottom, in only 10 feet of water, the whole time without bouncing or kicking up the sand. This is the hardest buoyancy control of all.

When we got out, her first words were "I want one of these". Never went back to the old style and never will.

This is not confirmation bias, because we did not buy the gear first and have to justify it. There was just no comparison

They were well worth the little extra effort to set up. In this respect, Dan is right that demo days are very important to sell these.

Also, the new Halcyon "cinch" system takes almost all of the quirkiness out of the fitting. No longer a need to rigidly lock the harness in place. No matter what exposure protection you have on, just sit, don the gear, and pull the straps for a nice fit. We added that to our systems as soon as Halcyon came out with it and it overcomes many (not all, but most) of the "too complicated" concerns. You get the same benefits with a Transpack set-up with its more traditional shoulder buckles and strap adjustments there.

When I took my AOW (yes, 1000 dives but I had to get "the card" for some ops), there was a lot of interest in my bp/w, the instructor was very open to it and explained what it was, and one of my classmates actually got one after the course was over.

So, is it a "trend"? Yes, but not a big one, yet.

 

[Octopusprime]

umm, me thinks not.... I'd say 95.44% of the new divers walking into the stores up here have no idea what scuba gear is.....

With new divers I was referring to certified divers not OW students. I think that divers with 50+ dives in know a bit about what they want.

---------- Post added February 20th, 2015 at 04:14 PM ----------

I too agree demo days are a big deal. to get a manufacture out and be able to try it will take all of the guess work out of it. I'm in the market for a dry suit and I will be going to both the DUI and Whites Demo days and dive multiple suits before purchasing it.