Lightest Travel BC

[mksmith713]

A 2 lb aluminum backplate, with an Oxycheq wing, and with 15 ft of webbing, and 4 D-rings, together with a belt buckle, would be the lightest. And also the strongest, for the weight.

I myself prefer however a 6 lb steel plate, because it gives me better trim, and less weight on my belt.

I beg to differ.
My Zeagle is much much lighter than your set-up.
I would venture to say it might weigh a little better than 2 lbs total.
It may not be stronger but it packs smaller and travels lighter.

 

[TN Traveler]

I find that the 2# weight for a Zeagle BCD is a little unbelievable.

An 18# Oxycheq wing alone weighs 2.6#.

Unless the Zeagle is nothing more than a bladder and a strap, I think it would weigh more - especially since it comes with a bigger bladder and D-rings.

For the OP - check out the thread for the new Oxycheq Lightweight BC - DwainT has provided the actual weights for the assembled system.

 

[SnorkleFL]

I guess everybody has seen the May 2008 issue of Scuba Diving with the Travel Ready BC article. The lightest BC was the Cressi Flex at 4 lbs and 5 oz. It has 1.1 lbs of boyancy inherent. The next "true travel" BC was the Oceanic Islander at 7 pounds dry. It has .5 pounds of inherent boyancy. Both BCs had cargo pockets in front.

The Mares Icon looked great and was only 7 lb 15 but had interent buoyancy of 2.9 lbs. I don't know how small the BC really breaks down. I would like to look at one and see. Space and weight are at a premium for a day pack to carry on board a flight. Great integrated weight system but no pockets I know of for storage for the survival gear and fish id pad.

The Mares Pegasus had a dry weight of 7 lbs and 7 oz. It had 2 lbs of boyancy. Weight integrated. No pockets.

I have a steel back plate and a dive rite travel wing now. I could go for the plastic back plate but I still don't have any pockets. (I'm not crazy about the ones you attach to your belt) Too sloppy. Does anybody know how much the plastic back plate weighs compared to the steel back plate? I don't mind strapping on weight at the exotic local. I rather go light and not heriate my disks in the airport lugging heavy dive equipment around.

 

[SnorkleFL]

The article also claims that the Zeagle Escape is 7 lbs 13 oz with 2.25 lbs in inherent boyancy.

Does anybody know what is the weight of the plastic BP vs. aluminum BP?

 

[Rhone Man]

I was on a business trip 2 weeks ago and I bought some diving magazine that had an excellent feature on the lightest BCs for travel. If I could remember the name of the magazine (or their top recommendation), then that would make this post a whole lot more fruitful. Sorry.

 

[Underwater Ogre]

The article also claims that the Zeagle Escape is 7 lbs 13 oz with 2.25 lbs in inherent boyancy.

Does anybody know what is the weight of the plastic BP vs. aluminum BP?

I have an old Seaquest plastic back plate it doesn't weigh much about the same as my mask...if that helps.

 

[PerroneFord]

The article also claims that the Zeagle Escape is 7 lbs 13 oz with 2.25 lbs in inherent boyancy.

Does anybody know what is the weight of the plastic BP vs. aluminum BP?

My Backplate weighs about 1 pound. With the wing and harness, ready to dive, I'd guess it at ~3 pounds with zero inherent buoyancy. It will also nearly fit into a FedEx Envelope. It's darn near bulletproof, and reasonably cheap.

If you want a standard BC, then go with whatever the magazines tell you.

 

[judestudio]

I'll answer the question you asked. (BC is different than BPW)

Doesn't BC stands for Buoyancy Compensator? The wing in the BPW system definitely compensates buoyancy....mine does!

I'll also agree with the rest on BPW systems being the lightest travel BC, it packs small and you can take it apart. I have a DSS setup, I use a steel plate locally and bought an extra Kydex plate specifically for travel.

 

[halocline]

I have a steel back plate and a dive rite travel wing now. I could go for the plastic back plate but I still don't have any pockets. (I'm not crazy about the ones you attach to your belt) Too sloppy. Does anybody know how much the plastic back plate weighs compared to the steel back plate? I don't mind strapping on weight at the exotic local. I rather go light and not heriate my disks in the airport lugging heavy dive equipment around.

Just out of curiosity, how did you attach your travel wing to a backplate? Do you by any chance have one of the jetharness flat plates?

Anyhow, I can't imagine that there is anything much smaller and lighter than a plastic BP, 18lb wing, and hog harness. For weights I would use the XS scuba cam band pockets, or a weight belt.

 

[pickens_46929]

Think there was this very question or nearly so on another board.

Deepseasupply.com (DSS) has a 17# Travel Wing plus a Kydex (plastic) backplate. Think the whole thing comes in at 3# total.

Oxycheq.om has an 18# wing plus a Stainless Steel Travel Backplate. Total comes out around 4# I think...