davidbaraff
Contributor
I'm going to start PADI certification and decided to get my own gear. The LDS is recommending the XS Scuba Advantage BCD.
Any opinions? From what I hear, XS scuba seems to be "good stuff." I do specifically want back-inflation, and integrated weights.
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On a slightly related topic, wondering if anyone has ever experienced/heard of the following? In August, I was doing some intro/discovery dives in Maui. I had a wrap-around BCD. They had us inflate the BCD's before we waded out into the water, to put on our fins. As I was bent over, pulling on one of my fins, I guess a wave or something pushed me off balance -- but all of a sudden there was an excruciating pain in my side, which I thought at the time was just a pulled muscle. It was bad enough that I could no longer bend enough to get my fins on, but had someone help me. I did a bunch of dives over the next 2 days -- i was fine if I was "stretched out" but bending over hurt really badly.
After getting back from vacaction, this persisted for long enough (6-7 weeks) that I'm now convinced I somehow bruised or cracked a rib! So here's what I know:
(a) I didn't hit a rock -- no rocks around in the water.
(b) I don't *think* i could have been banged against my tank -- it's on my back, right, not on my side?
(c) That leaves --- the BCD being too tight -- i.e. dangerously clamping on my ribs or something -- and somehow getting bumped into it just wrong?
I'm assuming now that I just totally over-inflated my BCD -- that far less air still would have been enough to float, and you shouldn't feel it tightening in on your ribs when you inflate it -- but being a newbie, what did I know?
Well, sorry for the long-winded rambling, but if you've got an opinion on what happened, I'd be happy to hear it -- cracking/bruising a rib while diving is an experience i don't wish to repeat (and in retrospect, i was possibly an idiot for continuing with the dives anyway).
So with all that, i'm pretty convinced back inflation is the way to go!
Any opinions? From what I hear, XS scuba seems to be "good stuff." I do specifically want back-inflation, and integrated weights.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a slightly related topic, wondering if anyone has ever experienced/heard of the following? In August, I was doing some intro/discovery dives in Maui. I had a wrap-around BCD. They had us inflate the BCD's before we waded out into the water, to put on our fins. As I was bent over, pulling on one of my fins, I guess a wave or something pushed me off balance -- but all of a sudden there was an excruciating pain in my side, which I thought at the time was just a pulled muscle. It was bad enough that I could no longer bend enough to get my fins on, but had someone help me. I did a bunch of dives over the next 2 days -- i was fine if I was "stretched out" but bending over hurt really badly.
After getting back from vacaction, this persisted for long enough (6-7 weeks) that I'm now convinced I somehow bruised or cracked a rib! So here's what I know:
(a) I didn't hit a rock -- no rocks around in the water.
(b) I don't *think* i could have been banged against my tank -- it's on my back, right, not on my side?
(c) That leaves --- the BCD being too tight -- i.e. dangerously clamping on my ribs or something -- and somehow getting bumped into it just wrong?
I'm assuming now that I just totally over-inflated my BCD -- that far less air still would have been enough to float, and you shouldn't feel it tightening in on your ribs when you inflate it -- but being a newbie, what did I know?
Well, sorry for the long-winded rambling, but if you've got an opinion on what happened, I'd be happy to hear it -- cracking/bruising a rib while diving is an experience i don't wish to repeat (and in retrospect, i was possibly an idiot for continuing with the dives anyway).
So with all that, i'm pretty convinced back inflation is the way to go!
