Drysuit + Jacket BC

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jim2386

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
199
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7
Location
Lexington, KY
# of dives
200 - 499
Hey guys,

I'm thinking about purchasing a DUI drysuit sometime next fall (did the DUI demo days and had a blast!)

However, I currently dive with a Scubapro Classic Plus jacket type BC and I love it very much and am very comfortable with it.

When I see most drysuit divers though, they are typically diving a Backplate + wing BC setup. Is there anything particularly wrong with diving a drysuit with a jacket BC? I figured it'd be better for me to skip getting a 7mm wetsuit and instead get a drysuit because it would give me more flexibility for cold water diving. Also, spending $1500+ on a drysuit and then having to buy an expensive backplate + wing setup wouldn't be affoardable for me right now. Might I get a BP+W later? Sure...it's possible. However, just getting my new classic plus 2 years ago, I'd rather get good use out of that for now.

Sorry, I'm rambling, but maybe you see my situation now and someone out there can enlighten me on the subject.

Thanks guys!
Jim
 
It's like anything else. Plenty of opinions. Plenty of views. It all comes down to what you prefer. Are some configurations more optimal than others, for some conditions? Probably. But, with maybe very few exceptions, it's going to comedown to what you prefer, and what you prefer will be perfectly fine and safe, even if it isn't "optimal".

Up here, one shop rents out drysuits with a SP Classic. I don't see any of their divers dying.

Buy your drysuit, use it with your BC, and if you want to change something later, go ahead.
 
It is perfectly possible to dive with a drysuit and a jacket B.C. and it works just fine. Because of the bulk of the drysuit, however, many prefer back inflate B.C.s so the diver feels less confined. I presume some people go the next step and move to wings because they can substitute some of the weight of the backplate for lead plus wings also allow flexibility in gear configurations.
 
Many people I dive with in Puget Sound are wearing DUI drysuits and using "regular" BC's not BP/W's. But probably most people I dive with are using BP/Wings but that's just because that's what they use!
 
I am strictly warm water these days.

But when I used my dry suit regularly (it hangs in a lonely corner of the basement now) I never bothered with any BC. Get a basic hard backback and just use that. There is probably one in your ScubaPro jacket. Or buy one used somewhere if cost is an issue. I always had that sort of set up with my doubles anyway. All you need is the inflation in the drysuit.

If the drysuit has any neoprene in it you are going to float like a cork anyway.
 
I used a drysuit with a BI BC all last winter and know a bunch of people who use one with a jacket BC. I don't really see a problem with wearing a drysuit without a BP/W.

I have to say though, I need a hell of a lot more weight on with a drysuit so I am glad I now have a SS BP rather than my very padded and thus quite buoyant BI BC now as I can remove a bunch of weight off my belt this winter when I go back to my drysuit :)
 
I live in the upper north east, maine to be exact and although i am new at diving myself. Alot of the divers here i have noticed use a bc with a drysuit, in fact, i have never heard of the bp/w until i started doing some research on here..
 
Out of curiosity, if you're not getting your drysuit until fall, why not look into getting the bp/w now (if that's what you want, of course)? Personally, I dive a bp/w with my drysuit, but I also dive my bp/w with any other exposure protection.

I have not tried diving a drysuit with a jacket BC (or a back inflate, for that matter), but I can't see that it would be a real problem. You'll probably need a ton of lead to be properly weighted, but it certainly can be done.

As for diving without a BC, and using just your drysuit for buoyancy, it's certainly not something I would recommend. While there are many people who use a drysuit for buoyancy (and use only the wing or BC for buoyancy on the surface), I feel like it gives me far less control and prefer to use my wing for buoyancy and drysuit for warmth. But that's a debate for another thread....and is in many threads already....
 
99% of divers world wide use jacket style BCs. The same is true with drysuit divers. There is no reason at all to think you need a wing with a drysuit - a jacket BC will work quite happily.
 

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