BC, BP/W, back to the drawing board...could use help

So I'm just getting back into diving after a LONG break from the Navy, where I was trained as a combat diver.

When we werent running rebreathers we ran BM Doubles, so thats where I thought I would start. So I chose the Ranger LTD because of its history and reputation and was about to pull the trigger and buy it.

Then after talking to my LDS our DM pointed out that if I ever wanted to do overhead or tek diving then a "regular" BC wasnt sufficient because the ranger cannot do SM. He suggested the Hollis SMS 100.

After reading a few reviews here it seems that the Hollis performs poorly using BM doubles.

So at this point I'm lost. I thought about a Halcyon but I really hate alot of logos and they are super expensive.

Can someone give some suggestions that I might be able to try? Or a direction to start looking.

Thanks.

I just got a DSS complete set up. You will need a different wing for singles and doubles. But, the BP and harness are of course the same. Talk to Tobin at DSS. He makes a wonderful rig and will help you figure out exactly how much lift you need.

Did the LDS imply that you couldn't do technical or overhead diving without going sidemount? Goodness, gracious -- where will it end? Sidemount is ONE approach to cave diving; it is not the only one, and there are plenty of folks diving BM doubles in caves.

If you want to use BM doubles, a plate is probably the best approach. If you want to sidemount, you don't want a rigid plate on your back. So, if you are going to switch from one to the other, you're probably best off with a rig which is optimized for each. You don't have to sidemount (unless you want to) until you are going into spaces where you can't fit in BM -- so why don't you start with what you know and like, and worry about those small spaces if and when you get there?

TSandM:

Did the LDS imply that you couldn't do technical or overhead diving without going sidemount? Goodness, gracious -- where will it end? Sidemount is ONE approach to cave diving; it is not the only one, and there are plenty of folks diving BM doubles in caves.

If you want to use BM doubles, a plate is probably the best approach. If you want to sidemount, you don't want a rigid plate on your back. So, if you are going to switch from one to the other, you're probably best off with a rig which is optimized for each. You don't have to sidemount (unless you want to) until you are going into spaces where you can't fit in BM -- so why don't you start with what you know and like, and worry about those small spaces if and when you get there?

Click to expand...

It was more that they teach SM and that with tek diving it seems that bottles are hanging everywhere, and the BC I had selected is not capable of handling it. So they were steering me in the direction of a rig that would grow with me, and something they would be able to sell me, which I dont mind.

My interests lie in the direction of S&R, Rescue, Wreck, Night and Navigation. Ofcourse I would like to relearn closed-circuit, unfortunately at this point it is cost prohibitive (Great when the military pays for everything). And I think eventually I wouldnt mind learning overhead or deeper water diving, doing a tek40 or tek50 class.

So you guys think a BP/W would be the best choice given my direction?

I can only speak for Backmount, as I've never even tried SM. But it seems like a BP/W will take you a looong way down the path you're considering - if not all the way.

While you may eventually want to end up with 2 x BP/W - one for single tank diving and one for double, just swapping the wing will work just fine for now. I ended up with 2 sets, 'cause I do my local cold water diving in drysuit and doubles, and pretty much only do singles dives on vacation in a 3 mil, so I went with a much lighter and smaller plate for traveling.

I own both Halcyon and DSS plates and both work well and have their "plusses" and "minuses". Can't go wrong with either.