How much difference does it make really???

[scubajoh44]

I normally don't get into the BC vs BP/wing debate. But I was thinking. Why even have a BP or a BC. How about just a harness that holds the tank and maybe a horse collar? To me that would be about as stream line as you can get. What about switching wetsuit materials so to the material that down hill skier use which have less drag. Maybe someone can build a tank that is oval and fitt tighter against a persons back.

You may have started something here. Let me know if you find one.

These opinions are pretty much what I thought also. I just wanted others opinions also. So, if I'm an instructor and need to take lots down with me (slates, extra weights, lights, etc...)......I'de more likely want something with lots of pockets. That's a known. Anyone have suggestions on how to streamline a lot of extra crap taken with me? Something better than BC pockets?

 

[do it easy]

Bellows pockets work great!!! And you can glue them onto wetsuits, drysuits, and business suits. Kidspot has posted a thread about his own, but they are also commercially available if you don't want to DIY.

There are other threads about pockets, glue, and placement.

kidspot's DIY pockets

pattern

 

[dherbman]

Let's face it, while BP/Wing users are vocal here, unless diving doubles, you just don't see many people out there diving them, and a very large number of people who certainly COULD be diving the BP/Wing setup (Scott Zeagle, Chad, Larry from ScubaToys, etc.) don't.

I'll be diving BP/W again after being sold on a Black Diamond when I returned from a prolonged SI. I plan on becoming an active DM next year. Guess what I'll be diving when working. I'd prefer BP/W, but will have to dive what the shop wants to sell.

MAybe people don't dive BP/W because the people they trust to advise them aren't selling them or have not even been exposed to that style themselves. As a consumer, I would expect the 'professionals' I trust to advise and instruct me to have experience with all types of equipment. Unfortunately, that is the exception rather than the rule.

I'd expect that the people who sell and advise people on equipment purchases would have that persons best interest in mind. That is certainly not true in many cases. I think students look to their instructors as the model for what equipment they should use. How many of those instructors are diving equipment because they were given an awesome promo deal by the manufacturer? Of those manufacturers pitching, how many do you think would speak of their equipment as anything but the best option?

 

[waynne fowler]

 

[scubajoh44]

I'll have to try that....

There are an aweful lot of people that have "I'm right no matter what!" views. I'm glad this didn't turn into a BP/W vs. BC war. (yet....)

Thanks for the info. I'm sure it will be helpful!

 

[scubajoh44]

LOL. I spoke too soon.

 

[dherbman]

As a point of validation, it would be interesting to know which styles people giving opinions have actually dove. I've dove "mae west", horse collar(Scubapro), BP/W(AT-PAC), Stab Jacket(Scubapro) and rear inflate (Black Diamond). I haven't and won't say which is best for anyone other than myself and the diving I do.

 

[Nemrod]

"I normally don't get into the BC vs BP/wing debate. But I was thinking. Why even have a BP or a BC. How about just a harness that holds the tank and maybe a horse collar? To me that would be about as stream line as you can get. What about switching wetsuit materials so to the material that down hill skier use which have less drag. Maybe someone can build a tank that is oval and fitt tighter against a persons back."

Just purusing the threads and caught this---hey---you are right and I like what you said! No, you actually don't need a BC and yes there are harness set ups in use since the beginning of diving that require no BP whatsoever. A steel 72 which has perfect bouyancy for no BC, no BP diving when installed in such a harness fits very close into the round of the back. Top it off with a good old USD DA Aqua-Master double hose regulator and you are STREAMLINED, neutral and efficient. For warm water diving it is all you need. You will be amazed at how fast you can swim, how little air you use, how much more efficient you become, how much more 3 Dimensional you feel, how much more a part of the marine environment youbecome instead of feeling like a dive shop that dropped in on the reef---lol--with tanks and lights and extra lights and extra tanks and spare this and that banging and clanging around festooned on a plethrora of D rings--gotta love it. There is another way and it is calling you quietly. N

 

[BabyDuck]

i think the 'open mind' thing is the key. several folks on sb have tried different set-ups and posted their preferences (don janni sticks in my mind, for instance, since he ended up deciding he didn't care for the bp/w he was trying out). as long as folks are discussing things they've tried instead of things they've been told about gear they've never seen (and can keep from sounding like zealots!), it's valuable. all that being said, a good diver should be able to make most configurations do the job. the choice comes down to what things make it *easiest* for someone to dive the way they want to.

have you thought of trying x-shorts for the pockets?

 

[scubajoh44]

x-shorts? What do you mean?