Why a Back-Inflate BC Instead of BP/W

In my continued research for building my first kit, I've been looking at the Oceanic Excursion back inflate BC. But knowing I want a back-inflate, I could save a whole lot of money, and make travel easier with a BP/W with the standard harness. So what is the advantage of the BC? Is it simply a matter of comfort? Does that vertical stripe down the backplate get annoying? With a wetsuit or drysuit, does the narrow harness webbing rub and cut?

I don't think I'll ever dive caves, but I will want to do caverns, and some wreck penetration...not anything nuts. Mostly I'm looking at trim in the water considerations, but also travel weight, comfort and ease of use.

Back inflate BC's come close to a BP/W for trim (at least much, much better than a jacket style BC) but that is where the goodness ends.

The BC's have inherent buoyancy which means you will need to carry additional weight to offset it; they are much heavier for travel over an AL plate and travel wing; have more drag with all the pockets and weight integration pockets; and they do not have interchangeable wings to allow switching from singles to doubles, etc; and just plain don't dive as well as a BP/W.

As far as comfort... I dive a plate with a 1mm neoprene up to a DS and I never had a comfort issue. If you do there are BP pads that are sold.

I started out with a back inflate BC and once I switched over I can never go back.

Scott

the back inflate could be more comfortable out of the water. but that's where it ends.
what do you mean about the vertical stripe? you dont even feel that

Lemonster, There is no discomfort issue with BP/W with hog harness - it will go on and off much easier than conventional bc, is infinitely adjustable for different wet suits or other divers, and, with a single aluminum 80, straps will not dig into your shoulders. If adjusted correctly, which does require a little trial and error, you will not feel the metal plate - the vertical ridge is to the outside, away from the body. I have used all three types of bcs starting with the jacket, moving to back inflate, and then to the wing and plate. BP/W, for me, is much simpler, enables better horizontal buoyancy, is easier to travel with, and is adjustable to meet my needs by moving d-rings and having more strap space for small knife, shears, pocket, etc. The nice thing about this system is that you can use products from different manufacturers and build your kit by components.

The Excursion is a well-made BC in the rear-inflate category. It does have some nice features such as metal D-rings and integrated weight pockets that are not huge and do release well. As scott&sara mentioned you do have the inherent buoyancy from all the padding to overcome with some extra lead in your pockets.
The major advantages to a BP/W are trim in the water and modularity. With some of the weight along your back (in a SS plate avg 6#, an AL plate avg 2#) you are able to trim out more horizontally in the water due to not having all of your weight in a ring at your waist. To me this makes a big difference in a wreck or somewhere with a loose bottom: I am able to keep my feet up and not not send the viz to 0'.
As to modularity, since all the pieces can be swapped out individually it is easy to 'build' the BC that is right for the conditions and for your equipment. Switch between single and double cylinders? Change the bladder to the appropriate amount of lift. Need to add some pockets or attach a canister light? Easy to do. Add or remove D-rings as necessary. Switch exposure suits from a .5mm tropic to a dry suit with undergarments? Just adjust the webbing.
If you find that the webbing does irritate you with thinner suits there are shoulder pads available from different manufacturers that can slide over the webbing.
As to travel, most complete BC's, whether jacket or back inflate, tip the scales somewhere between 5 and 9 pounds. (The exception would be the really light 'travel' BC's, but then you usually lose something like lift capacity or metal D-rings. ) An AL plate with webbing, D-rings and a bladder should weigh in at close or less that that, with virually no inherent buoyancy to compensate for. SS plates add about 4 pounds to the rig, but more weight comes off your belt.

In either case I would suggest that if you can you try each style you are thinking about before you buy. A BP/W will adjust to almost any kind of diving that you might want to get into down the road but you might find you really like the comfort of the Excursion. If you can try both in the water. The Excursion might feel more comfortable standing in the shop, but it is with a tank on and in the water that you will really feel the difference in the BP/W.

Good luck with your research and whichever system you decide to go with!

I'm a dedicated BP/W user, but there are some advantages to a back-inflate BC. One is ease of donning and doffing (quick releases ARE easier than a harness, although a harness is quite manageable once you get the hang of it). Another is pockets -- with a BP/W, you have to add pockets somewhere to carry small items. I honestly don't think there's any difference in comfort in terms of straps or chafing, but for me, there was a HUGE difference in comfort in the water. That was because the BP/W setup kept the tank absolutely still on my back, which my BC did not.

I have found the advantages in trim, weighting, modularity and simplicity to outweigh the few advantages of the BC for me.

scott&sara:

The BC's . . . do not have interchangeable wings to allow switching from singles to doubles, etc;
Scott

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Don't know about other back inflate BCs, but the Zeagles have interchangeable wings which switch out easily.

Thanks, everyone. And the BP/W is so much less expensive! It's going to be the last thing I buy if I buy my stuff piecemeal, but I'm trying to do budget planning for the next year (if that's possible).

One is ease of donning and doffing (quick releases ARE easier than a harness, although a harness is quite manageable once you get the hang of it).

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Is there any reason quick releases could not (or should not) be added to a BP/W, similar to the DiveRite Transplate Harness?

If I were to go down that track I think I'd be looking for something like that. All the 'comfort' (big wide straps, D-rings and quick releases) of a back-inflate without the clutter of pockets and 'stuff'.

I miss my pockets, really. But the fact that the tank is solidly on my back, more than makes up for that.

The BCs that I have used, all had inherent boyancy and the tank felt loose. I never tried a back inflate BC, though. But the harness really holds the plate close to you and I would think the BC wouldn't do that as well.