tangfish
Contributor
theskull:Definitely try a back inflate BC before deciding. It is preferred by nearly all the recreational divers I dive with, as well as me.
I rented jacket styles before I bought my own gear, then I did some research (as you are now) and decided on back bouyancy. I do exclusively tropical diving and here's my experience so far with the SeaQuest Balance BC. I love the simplicity and the streamlined design, it also packs nicely for traveling. However, due to the back bouyancy I've noticed A) I still end up vertical if I stop swimming (Yes I've adjusted my weight distribution) B) I am pretty annoyed with the tendency to faceplant on the surface (yes I don't inflate too much) C) The air sometimes gets stuck on one side or the other, keeping me in that slanted position until I overcompensate and the the bladder goes : blub blub blub and the air finally gets to the other side. You may say that this is no big deal but its one additional thing to always be doing. I dunno, I haven't tried other BCs of this type in the water, but judging by the design, I would imagine that this would occur with most if not all of them. I still like my BC, but next time I get one I will try out some other jacket style ones as well and maybe switch back. I really didn't know that much about diving when I first bought my bc, now I feel I know quite a bit more but am still far from being an expert. Just my opinion.