In the market for BC, help.

itr1416 · Mar 6, 2008

I'm in the market for a BC. It'll be my first. I live in South Florida and this will most likely only see warm water diving. I'm relatively new to diving, have about 12 dives. I'm looking for a BC in the price range of 200ish to lower 300s. I'm primarily concerned about the type that tend to push your face down while on the surface. I'm obviously not looking to break the bank here so I don't expect this BC to be the greatest ever. I still need more dives for me to really get specific in what I'll need in the future.

But I know a couple of times I got stuck with a rental BC that was just shoving my face into the water while waiting for the boat to come around for the pick up, trying to stay away fr om those. Thanks!!!

almitywife · Mar 6, 2008

why was your face being shoved into the water? was your bcd over-inflated?? what type of wing?

im a huge zeagle fan, dived with a zeagle tech for almost 10yrs and last year swapped over to a bpw

if you can trydive a bpw rig i highly recommend you consider this

cheers and goodluck

whoji · Mar 6, 2008

Im with Almitywife on this one. Simplicity is the key and you cant go wrong with a BP/W

EastcoastdiverLLC · Mar 6, 2008

I dive zeagle as well but sell a promate BC that may be just up you alley.

itr1416 · Mar 6, 2008

EastcoastdiverLLC:
I dive zeagle as well but sell a promate BC that may be just up you alley.

That BC is 389. Little more than what I was looking to spend.

almitywife · Mar 6, 2008

if you are going to be making purchases solely on price then you better stick with renting for a while because (i speak from experience) a bad 1st choice usually means you end up buying a 2nd set later on when you know more and can appreciate better quaility (and thank gosh for ebay to fob off your old gear)

dive gear can be life saving equiment (and not to forget you want to enjoy diving it it also) and spending an extra $50 most prob will be well worth it

i see even scubatoys have the zeagle brigade at $400 (but mention SB and you get a 10% discount)

just some thougths to consider

cheers

Rickg · Mar 6, 2008

I believe there are quite a few people on Scubaboard that are happy with ScubaL products which look to be in your price range.

scubaL.com - Scuba Gear and Diving Equipment Store

msg · Mar 6, 2008

I agree -- Money spent on a cheap (only because it is cheap) BC will result in disappointment. If you are going to buy equipment save the money, and get a good BC. You can check e-bay, but Scubatoys can usually do pretty well for new stuff, with a
warranty!!
Good Luck.

fisherdvm · Mar 6, 2008

itr1416:
But I know a couple of times I got stuck with a rental BC that was just shoving my face into the water while waiting for the boat to come around for the pick up, trying to stay away fr om those. Thanks!!!

Some BC, especially back inflated BC, when over inflated, will push your face into the water. That is one of the reason why many divers like to stick to the jacket style with air pockets to your side and to your front. I wonder if the BC you rented was a back inflate BC jacket type? Next time, just deflate it a little bit, and you will feel alot better.

Stu S. · Mar 6, 2008

Try on a few at Diver's Direct. They have good prices and multiple brands. And, since they are from South Florida, the selection of gear is right for your area. They have a Scuba Board discount for on-line orders.

I believe the back-inflate face-plant is now mostly myth. It dates to the 1977 Scubapro back inflate unit. I tried it back then, and the BC concept had yet to be perfected. There are not a lot of face-down divers floating around today.

The real heavy-duty gear is not necessary for South Florida. I use a Sherwood BC that cost $280 two years ago, and it is holding up well.

Good luck with it.

In the market for BC, help.

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