Considering going to a wing or BP\W - Soliciting opinions on my reasoning

Hey All!

I love SB for the extremely diversified opinions, training levels, "old salty divers" and the like... That being said, there is something that I started debating within the last week that I wanted to pose to the community..

I currently dived a Sherwood Avid CQR3, I don't really mind any of the squeeze (does it suck sometimes? yea, but not enough for me to not enjoy diving or to drop the BC). I probably have about 15-20 dives in the BC and am fairly use to it. That being said, i am looking towards my future and "what I want out of my SCUBA funness". My girlfriend is about to be certified as OW (Key Largo trip with the LDS and has already done confined) and is also interested in progressing in the future, although maybe not into some of the gear that I am looking for.

I have been doing some research as well as talking with my LDS and there are tons of recommendations for "Ditch the jacket, go for a wing or BP\W". I do see myself Wreck Diving (I live in Michigan, we have more wrecks than lakes! - Any GL wreck diving groups, feel free to drop me a line), and eventually (a year or so, when I am ready) starting to look into doubles and tec basics.

My LDS carries some Hollis gear as well as Sherwood BCD's and I was looking at a few options, mainly the Sherwood Axis and a Hollis BP\W combo (They have the ride, but not sure if that is a good every day BC?).

The root of the question is this... Do you think that I would be smart to ditch the jacket and start using a wing or bp\w? Or continue to use the Jacket until I am more skilled and ready for that kind of diving that requires that gear?
Secondly - Do you recommend a BP\W versus a Wing for any particular reason, and if so why and what gear do you enjoy?

Sorry for the ultra long post for what I am sure is a relatively "simple" question for most, but I figure the more detail the better.

Thanks for any advice that you can give!

~Spartenos

No fluff is needed with a BP/W. Think simple hogarthian one piece harness and two d-rings on each shoulder. No padding is needed. Carrying less weight, with better tank to body control are the two best reasons for the BP/W.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...cs-weight-systems/451118-first-dive-bp-w.html

Spartenos:

My LDS carries some Hollis gear as well as Sherwood BCD's and I was looking at a few options, mainly the Sherwood Axis and a Hollis BP\W combo (They have the ride, but not sure if that is a good every day BC?).

The root of the question is this... Do you think that I would be smart to ditch the jacket and start using a wing or bp\w? Or continue to use the Jacket until I am more skilled and ready for that kind of diving that requires that gear?
Secondly - Do you recommend a BP\W versus a Wing for any particular reason, and if so why and what gear do you enjoy?

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You might want to consider sidemount. You get complete redundancy without the added weight and rigidity of a backplate and a manifold.

Also, the valves are very easy to reach, where with a BP/W, you need to be able to reach over your head to isolate a failure and turn it off.

The only real down-side is that sidemount requires that you switch regs several times during the dive. Also, if you travel, you can actually pack your sidemount gear and pick up a couple of 80's at your destination, where if you have doubles, it's not practical to expect to find a set waiting for you.

I switched recently and even though I don't have it all sorted out yet, like it a lot better than my doubles. For shallow dives, I still use my jacket BC and a small tank.

Just my 2 cents.

flots.

flots am:

You might want to consider sidemount. You get complete redundancy without the added weight and rigidity of a backplate and a manifold.

I switched recently and even though I don't have it all sorted out yet, like it a lot better than my doubles. For shallow dives, I still use my jacket BC and a small tank.

Just my 2 cents.

flots.

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Not sure if I am ready for the added expense of getting a reg for every bottle, although you have two regs for doubles anyways...... I guess that I hadn't considered it yet...Mainly because I know that you have to do training to do side mount and I don't have said training yet. I will say that sidemount looks pretty awesome and I would enjoy knowing how to do it.

What do you consider shallow\small tank? What is the point where you switch to your SM kit?

We use the Hollis Ride for Instruction with our new students. It is a nice system, but the wing itself could be improved. Without going into detail, I wouldn't recommend it as your primary system.

I personally dive with a Hollis Backplate and the new S-Wing. I have the aluminum plate with 25lb wing for tropical travel and confined water teaching. I also have the stainless steel plate with the 38lb wing for cold water diving. (Heavier weight for drysuit and thick insulation.)
The new Hollis S-Wings are super nice with good placement of hoses, and new oval hoses much like Diverite's. They have a removeable internal bungie which streamlines the bladder and also assists with dumping air.

There are many very nice systems out there. Deep Sea Supply makes top notch systems, and will work with you to make sure you are buying exactly what you need. DiveRite and HOG make great stuff as well. It is imperative that the harness is adjusted correctly and that you set D-Rings and belt buckle correctly.

Keep probing and researching, but here is a recommendation for BP/W.

I too just finished analyzing all the options and loved the idea of the SMS100 from Hollis, single tank, doubles or sidemount seems perfect for me. Some say it tries to do too much and therefore isn't great at just sidemount lets say, but unless diving every week, that's likely not that big of an issue. Spoke with Hollis directly as well and really liked the attitude and quick responses. So I would definitely take a look. I grabbed their sidemount reg package too. <wink>

If you have no issues with your current BC, why replace it? You can work on wreck-worthy skills in any gear (except maybe split fins ).

Reasons to replace your current BC (other than being dissatisfied with it) would be to reduce the total weight you carry, to improve the balance of the gear (which you can often do with trim weights, but not being familiar with your particular BC, I don't know how many options it has for doing that), to allow the addition of something that otherwise doesn't fit, like a canister light, or to take a class that requires that equipment.

Personally, I love diving a backplate and harness, because I love not having anything on the front of me, I love the customized fit, I love the stability of the tank, and I really love being able to drop several pounds off my total required ballast. But I have to dive a little jacket BC in the pool, and I trim out just as well, and my buoyancy is just as good.

Spartenos:

Not sure if I am ready for the added expense of getting a reg for every bottle, although you have two regs for doubles anyways...... I guess that I hadn't considered it yet...Mainly because I know that you have to do training to do side mount and I don't have said training yet. I will say that sidemount looks pretty awesome and I would enjoy knowing how to do it.

What do you consider shallow\small tank? What is the point where you switch to your SM kit?

Click to expand...

I dive a steel 45 on a jacket BC for shallow dives (<40'), and sidemount with two AL 40's down to around 90'.

I haven't done any really deep or long dives with it yet, but would probably take a couple of 80's. That comes this summer.

flots.

My wife and I learned to dive in '94 with jacket style BCs (Scubapro Classic), because that's what our instructor wore. Mine always moved around a bit on me, which I used to think was normal. My wife is fairly small, and could never get her BC (smallest size available) to fit right (except in a dry suit). In 2005, she got a Zeagle back inflate BC that fit her better, but she only used it for one dive trip. In 2011 we tried Halcyon backplates in a pool for a few hours, which fit my wife better than anything to date. Later that year, we got Dive Rite backplates with the Transplate harness. My wife is not into equipment at all, but raves about her dive gear now. I find my diving has gotten considerably more enjoyable after switching, and control in the water is way better. I still have my old Scubapro Classic, that I use with classes in the pool, so the chlorine doesn't mess up my diving rig. Friends of ours who have been diving for decades finally switched to the same DiveRite setup as us and are much happier diving now too

If your girlfriend wants gear if she gets into diving, definitely go with the backplate/wing setup for her. It is so easy to adjust to fit properly, which isn't really possible with a jacket BC, even with a cummerbund. If you dive cold water, having a 6 lb stainless backplate centered on your torso does a much better job balancing trim that 6 lbs of lead around your waist

The purists will say go for continuous webbing, but we like the Dive Rite harness style configuration. And we are purely recreational divers (dry suits, nitrox and DPVs count as recreational). The backplate setup works equally well in warm tropical locations as cold water, the only downside being weight for flights if you're packing multiple stainless steel backplates in the same bag (our friends pulled theirs apart, stacked the s/s backplates, and tucked them into their carry on wheelie. YMMV

You know the saying "If I only knew then what I know now"? Like many many others I started out in the gear that my LDS/instructor was using. Then I started diving with those who used BP/W for everything. Meaning Rec/single and Tec/doubles diving. I spent a couple of years getting as much diving=$$ out of my BC before finally selling it and buying a BP/W. Best move ever and would have taken a greater loss on the BC by selling it earlier had I known.. (Side note.. My GF went straight to BP/W after OW certification) Now I am headed into sidemount. Building my own custom gear set. Found that the pre-built systems for sidemount still need to much adjustment to the stock configuration to justify total cost. Meanwhile I dive my BP/W for everything. REC, Wreck and Cavern. If I were to be able to go back and start over it would be straight to sidemount. Arguably the most versatile SCUBA system IMO. If you can't go straight to sidemount.. Go BP/W. My 2 cents..


Yes..IMO ditch the Jacket if you wish to do more advanced diving in the future.. When you get into team diving Wreck and Cavern you will want a BP/W.

If you need more convincing try borrowing someones BP/W in a pool or shallow dive..

No particular manufacture for our BP/W rigs. MY GF and I call our setups the United Nations. Different components from different manufactures. We did this to save $$ and still have quality.