First BCD

When Uncle Sam gives me money the first of the year, it will all go to my local Dive shop. He sells mainly Oceanic and Scuba Pro. I need to keep my costs down as much as possible, while still getting what I need. I am debating between integrated weight or not.......what other features would you reccomend. I am a woman, and am "fluffy". Would that make a difference in what I get?

SkyBird

My first BC was non-integrated, but my current one is integrated. I like having an integrated one so I can choose to wear a belt or not. Thus far I've chosen not to wear a belt and use my integrated system.

Word of advice though. Try on as many different BCs that you can find before you buy. The #1 concern you should have in buying a BC is to find the one that fits you best, regardless of brand or which shop you buy it from.

My experience was that you have to find a BC that will be comfortable while still snugged down around you enough that the tank doesn't shift while you are diving. That can be easy to do, or difficult, depending on your frame size.

Look at a lot of things, and try what you can, before you spend your money.

Depends on what kind of diving you are doing. I have a weight integrated that I really don't like. It's a woman's cut and the weight pockets are right below my rib cage and that tends to make me top heavy when diving my drysuit. I prefer my lead closer to my hips so I wear a harness instead of a weight belt or the integrated weights. The weight pouches in my integrated only hold 10 lbs each with an option to put more in trim pockets near the shoulders. I need 26 pounds in my drysuit and putting any weight (let alone 6 pounds) in the trim pockets just makes the top heavy situation worse. When I'm diving warm water or diving in my wetsuit the problem isn't as pronounced because I wear a max of 14 lbs. My shop told me the men's cut has a longer torso which would put the weight pouches where I like them.

My bc doesn't have any pockets with the exception of one that rolls up and stows on the right side. Unfortunately when you want to use it the thing is dangling below you so you have to make sure it doesn't get snagged on anything.

The nice thing about the weight integrated I own is the zippered weight pouches, they make a great place to store my extra light and other goodies since I have no pockets

You might see if your shop has any used BC's also, I noticed some at my shop yesterday.

Ber :lilbunny:

This is not a hijack....

Since you are "fluffy" and female, a "regular" BC may be hard to fit you. But a Diverite Transpack, or harness system like it, with a hammerhead aluminum plate and weight pockets and other pockets may give you the best fit you can find. Also, a single tank wing would be great too.

The DIR and Hogarthian systems discussed so often on the board are probably not what you are looking for, but you could be very happy and comfortable in what I have just described.

Just an idea to get you a comfortable fit and easy to use gear. Not an invitation to drink the cool aid.

DivingCRNA:

The DIR and Hogarthian systems discussed so often on the board are probably not what you are looking for, but you could be very happy and comfortable in what I have just described.

Just an idea to get you a comfortable fit and easy to use gear. Not an invitation to drink the cool aid.

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DivingCRNA, you sure have a lot of certifications to have less than 100 dives! Wow!

And what's wrong with kool-aid? :07:

Hi Skybird,
I just finished reading the post below, talks a lot about what you may be looking for.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=115067

My loss on missing the last two weekends at the quarry, but it was good to get the reports from the folks that did make it.

Good luck
Randy

LOL

Nothing is wrong with the cool aid! But it is not something everyone necessarily wants or needs to drink.

As for my number of dives and certs....

Career, education, and children have interefered with my diving time in a big way. Taking classes gets me in the cold, dark, empty lake to improve on and learn skills. Does it make me better than the guy who dives every weekend on his OW card? Probably not. The certs give me goals, and they are fun

I dive for me, not to impress everyone else. It is nice.

PerroneFord:

DivingCRNA, you sure have a lot of certifications to have less than 100 dives! Wow!

And what's wrong with kool-aid? :07:

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I hear ya there. Half my dives right now are class dives. I'm working to improve the ratio, but I have class this week!

Some of the women's BCs have shoulder harnesses and vest designs that are more fitting for a woman's curves. I think that one way they are customized is to have the should straps curve more to the sides of the breasts rather than straight over the top. That might help with the fluffiness.

With some brands, such as Zeagle, you can mix and match the should straps (a height adjustment) with the vest part (how big around you are). That way, a BC can be made to fit a tall thin person (perhaps XL shoulder straps with a M bottom half) or a short round person (maybe M straps and an XL bottom). Do try on a variety of products and drive further away if necessary.

David