**Used BCs vs. New BCs.**

Ok I'm kind of confused. I am working on getting new gear, but there's so much to choose from. I probably don't dive as much as some of you here because I'm a busy guy. What's your thoughts about buying a BCD on Craigslist?

As far as new BCs what is your best recommendation for performance and price.

-ScubaDo

Nothing at all wrong with used BCs. If they will hold air for an hour or so (fully inflated but not over inflated- be careful using a power inflator), if it inflates and deflates using all of the associated valves and there is no visible signs of damage, fading is ok, it's good to go. Even one that leaks is not an immediate reject, a grain of sand under a deflator or one that is a little loose will leak. Those are common problems and nothing a good cleaning or tightening will not fix. Same goes for the power inflator. Those give problems from time to time but are easily repaired or simply replaced ($35ish ).

As for recommendations, you are going to get a wide range of opinions, some are better than others. I would suggest you decide what your major diving is going to be and buy with that in mind. Travel to warm spots is best done with a lightweight BC, cold water diving with large tanks is a different animal are really requires a different BC. One BC will not do it all well, regardless of what some would have you believe.

herman:

Nothing at all wrong with used BCs. If they will hold air for an hour or so (fully inflated but not over inflated- be careful using a power inflator), if it inflates and deflates using all of the associated valves and there is no visible signs of damage, fading is ok, it's good to go. Even one that leaks is not an immediate reject, a grain of sand under a deflator or one that is a little loose will leak. Those are common problems and nothing a good cleaning or tightening will not fix. Same goes for the power inflator. Those give problems from time to time but are easily repaired or simply replaced ($35ish ).

As for recommendations, you are going to get a wide range of opinions, some are better than others. I would suggest you decide what your major diving is going to be and buy with that in mind. Travel to warm spots is best done with a lightweight BC, cold water diving with large tanks is a different animal are really requires a different BC. One BC will not do it all well, regardless of what some would have you believe.

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So in your opinion what is the bleeding edge brand, cutting edge brand and good brand? I've always rented gear, but now I'm ready to own my own gear.

For California diving, I think that BP/W type designs are more useful.

I've purchased my fair share of used BCD's and have found the best value to be in a modular unit(BP/W, Transpac/Wing) vs. a jacket style. The main reason is with most wings you can replace bladders, inflator assemblies etc. for a rather modest price. Most jacket BCD's if the bladder is bad the entire unit is bad. For example I recently purchased a 6 year old transpac harness for 50 bucks, and a Rec-Wing with a bad bladder that had been sitting for 75 bucks. I replaced the bladder for 60 bucks and cleaned the inflator and replaced a couple of 5 cent o rings. Total investment=185.10 and 30 minutes of my time for a BCD that would retail at 600+ new. I've put a whole season of boat dives on it with zero problems. Heck with the savings vs. buying new I could have purchased a gently used singles reg set.

i have used backplate/wing, stab jacket, and everything in between. it really is a matter of function and personal preference. a few years ago, bpw was the rage and what all the cool divers had to have, even if they only dived in non-tec conditions. that is ok, dive gear can be a means of self-expression. figure out what works for you.

I have bought some gear off of craigslist, but not any bc or regs (the ones that I see people either want too much compared to other suppliers or the stuff is pretty well used). If the ad says "bought at an estate sale" or "not been used in a long time" be cautious. Parts may be hard to come by. the same rules applied at california swap meets in the 1980s. I worked pt in a dive shop. a kid came in with a regulator that was obsolete (today we might consider it vintage though) and for which parts could not be had. We would have sold him a rebuilt rental reg with warrantee for less that he paid at the swap meet.

the best dive gear is the gear I have because I dive with only the best gear. keep in mind, there is nothing quite so hard on a diver's gear than another diver

ScubaDoSD:

So in your opinion what is the bleeding edge brand, cutting edge brand and good brand? I've always rented gear, but now I'm ready to own my own gear.

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There is really no such thing in BCs ....or regs for that matter. They are bladders that hold air and strap to a tank, there is no "technology" to change. You will get a lot of BS about one brand or style being so much better than another but fact is there is little difference as long as you are comparing 2 BC of the same style-and grade, basically jacket style vs. back inflate. There is a good bit of variance in quality of BCs but again it's not as great as some would have you believe as long as you stick with a major brand, i.e. Aqualung, Mares, Sherwood or Zeagle (plus a lot of others) are fine but you should avoid "Fred’s Dive Shop and Auto Repair" BCs.

There is also a lot of hype and plain old BS put out about BP/wings. They are fine BCs but most of what you get is from love stuck owners. Sure parts are replaceable but the need to do so is rare if a BC is taken proper care of and most of the parts that break are replaceable on all BCs- inflators for example. Sure they are widely adjustable but why do you need it to be? It's your BC and unless you contract and expand like a puffer fish where is the need? The whole modular thing where you can modify it as your diving changes is more fluff than fact as well. Yes it can be done but by the time you replace the bladder you have spent the cost of a mid price range BC and it's a pain in the rear to do. If you press them, you will find that those who tell you how great they are because you can swap parts around actually own 2 or 3...wonder why and what is the difference in that and owning 2 or 3 BCs for different diving? They are good BCs and the best choice for double or tech diving but for single tank rec diving they are no worse or better than any other BC for a skilled diver.