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Post your question in the Deep Sea Supply sub forum in the manufacturers forum. Tobin will answer your questions.
Deep Sea Supply makes a fantastic product. It is simple, well thought out and very well made.
Highly recommended.
Tobin at Deep Sea Supply (cool_hardware52 here on scubaboard ) ... https://www.deepseasupply.com/ .. I know, one more thing to choose from
but he is more than helpful in determining what you need and customer support , and here on SB
I am a relatively new diver (70 +) so this is strictly my opinion and personal experience... When I took my OW it was in a full jacket BC which I frankly hated. It was not sized very well and given the huge amount of weight slapped onto me and my gross inexperience i was pumping the BC to the max all the time to stay off the bottom which obviously caused massive buoyancy issues. The instructor was literally grabbing the BC to haul my butt down for training. Not a fun experience but I loved being underwater so much I continued. YAY
So when I looked to buy a BC I was doing the paper/plastic dance just like you and many before us. I was definitely leaning toward a harnass and wing setup. My LDS let me try one which unfortunately was not correctly sized for me. That really confused the decision process. I eventually ended up buying a back inflate travel BC which I really liked. My diving plans are to progress into the more advanced and tec diving areas so I was I think pre-destined to end up with a BP/W.
This past spring I was in Ft Lauderdale diving. Once again my LDS loaned me a harnass and wing, properly fit this time. Once I sorted out my trim the harnass was easy to dive and I really liked the idea of being able to configure it to suit my diving needs. My instructor and good friend mentioned there was a great diver supply company in the Ft Lauderdale area so we made a short road trip after we returned from our afternoon dives. Needless to say I was properly fit with the harnass a stainless steel backplate and a wing that will allow me to dive singles for now. I didn't plan on a purchase like that on the trip but I do not regret it.
I have about 15 dives on the BP/W now and I really like it. I definitely like not having all the jacket stuff wrapped around me and having lots of attaching points is great. This setup will work for me for just about everything I intend to do. When I progress to needing doubles I will only have to get an additional wing and will be able to move on.
One negative aspect for me... I have been diving a steel tank so the additional weight of the backplate means I have virtually no weight in a belt. If I move that into trim pockets to adjust my horizontal plane I have no ditchable weight. So depending on dive conditions I have to be very mindful of how I configure the setup.
Ditching weights is some thing they teach new diver because they are typically grossly overwieghted, just like you experienced. When you are properly weighted, you have no need to ditch weight because you will have no problem swimming to the surface and inflating the wing to stay there. If you were in some extreme situation and needed to ditch weight, you could remove the BC and drop the tank and regs.
" Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
."
check out www.lakediver.com for all your inland diving.
Ditching weights is some thing they teach new diver because they are typically grossly overwieghted, just like you experienced. When you are properly weighted, you have no need to ditch weight because you will have no problem swimming to the surface and inflating the wing to stay there. If you were in some extreme situation and needed to ditch weight, you could remove the BC and drop the tank and regs.
Shenanigans.
Read up on the concept of balanced rig. You need to be able to stay on the surface in event of a wing failure. In some configurations, that means dropping weight.
Yes, when I dive vintage I have no wing so I have to be able to maintain myself on the surface by swimming (a little). For me at the end of the dive I am just a little positive. Generally I do this in good conditions as I would not like the idea of floating that way in a chop. In those conditions I would either have a flotation device or something ditchable. Planning to ditch ones aqualung is a valid-but costly option.
Read up on the concept of balanced rig. You need to be able to stay on the surface in event of a wing failure. In some configurations, that means dropping weight.
Shenanigans to you!
If a diver is diving with the correct amount weight, there is no way they will be so overweighted that they can't stay on the surface without air in thier BC. don't confuse the OPs question about diving a single tank in Caribbean waters with a dive on 230 foot wreck.
" Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
."
check out www.lakediver.com for all your inland diving.
On a large pile of smokin' A'a, the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. 2,175 miles to Alaska, 2,390 miles to California; 3,850 miles to Japan; 4,900 miles to China; 5,280 miles to the Philippines.
Shenanigans to you!
If a diver is diving with the correct amount weight, there is no way they will be so overweighted that they can't stay on the surface without air in thier BC. don't confuse the OPs question about diving a single tank in Caribbean waters with a dive on 230 foot wreck.
The issue is that at the start of a dive a properly weighted diver has only enough air in the BC to create the correct amount of buoyancy required to offset the weight of the air in the cylinder. Thus were the diver to not have any BC supported buoyancy at the surface, at the start of a dive, the diver would sink.
I refuse to believe that corporations are people until Texas executes one.
"Too often ... people enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought" - Leapfrog
"They are the McDonalds of diver certification. Quick, inexpensive and tasty. Pardon me for saying so, but I also believe it to be a health hazard." - DCBC
"It truly does boil down to motivation ... if you believe something is hard, or unnecessary to learn, you won't learn it ... even if it's completely within your capability" - Bob (Grateful Diver)
The issue is that at the start of a dive a properly weighted diver has only enough air in the BC to create the correct amount of buoyancy required to offset the weight of the air in the cylinder. Thus were the diver to not have any BC supported buoyancy at the surface, at the start of a dive, the diver would sink.
From a standpoint of being neutral I am following this. However a diver on the surface may want his head above water (~10#) and perhaps some margin above that. Face down with a snorkel, treading water or back floating works too. We can cloud it with the stowaway buoyancy present in gear at the onset of the dive but that can't be quantified categorically.
On a large pile of smokin' A'a, the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. 2,175 miles to Alaska, 2,390 miles to California; 3,850 miles to Japan; 4,900 miles to China; 5,280 miles to the Philippines.
I refuse to believe that corporations are people until Texas executes one.
"Too often ... people enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought" - Leapfrog
"They are the McDonalds of diver certification. Quick, inexpensive and tasty. Pardon me for saying so, but I also believe it to be a health hazard." - DCBC
"It truly does boil down to motivation ... if you believe something is hard, or unnecessary to learn, you won't learn it ... even if it's completely within your capability" - Bob (Grateful Diver)
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Originally Posted by fire_diver
