Back Inflation BCDs

Hi,

I am prety new in this sport. I would like to buy a new BC, and I am not sure if choose between a back inflation BC or the traditional jacket. My guess is if the back inflation push my face down all the time during the diving, or in the surface. I don´t know if the BD do not allow me stay in vertical position, if for expample I want to be looking at a coral wall, or sharks.

I am thinking in buying the Aqualung dimension i3 or the Tusa 8000C X-WING. Do somebody has bad experiences with them? Do you recommend another similar model?

Thanks in advance for your help

Miguel

If you are unconscious at the surface, neither type of BCD will float you face out of the water, they are not life jackets. Under normal circumstances, both work fine on the surface. If over-inflated, then the rear mounted bladders will tend to put you face forward if you are motionless.

A big part of the jacket vs back mount is personal preference. I find keeping in trim (horizontal) is easier with a back inflate since the air bladder is slightly above your center of mass. I also find the back mount BCD's keep th gear out of my sight and interfere less with my other activities (photos, looking for small critters, etc..). Either should allow you to rotate to vertical under water (or any other position) if your weights are distributed properly in relationship to the lifting force of the air bladder.

miguelpineda:

My guess is if the back inflation push my face down all the time during the diving, or in the surface. I don´t know if the BD do not allow me stay in vertical position, if for expample I want to be looking at a coral wall, or sharks.

Click to expand...

At the surface, it is optimal to remain vertical. The only reason not to would be if snorkeling or fining. Pretty much any BCD will allow you to go face-down and snorkel. When fining you'd normally go face-up (swim on your back) - back-mount works very well for this.[/QUOTE]

The only reason why back-mount or BP&W would push you 'face down' at the surface would be;

1) Bad positioning of weights (too far forward).
2) Over-inflation of the BCD (it doesn't need to be 100% full, just full enough to lift your chin clear of the water)

miguelpineda:

I don´t know if the BD do not allow me stay in vertical position, if for expample I want to be looking at a coral wall, or sharks.

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Not really sure why you'd need to be vertical on a wall, or when viewing sharks (?). I dive horizontal all the time and don't have any issues with my ability to retain situational awareness, regardless of the nature of underwater topography or marine life.

But, for the record, whilst back-mount/BP&W makes it more intuitive to attain horizontal trim, it doesn't prevent vertical trim in any way. When you orientate vertically, the air in the bladder moves to the top... and your trim alters accordingly.

miguelpineda:

Hi,

I am prety new in this sport. I would like to buy a new BC, and I am not sure if choose between a back inflation BC or the traditional jacket. My guess is if the back inflation push my face down all the time during the diving, or in the surface. I don´t know if the BD do not allow me stay in vertical position, if for expample I want to be looking at a coral wall, or sharks.

I am thinking in buying the Aqualung dimension i3 or the Tusa 8000C X-WING. Do somebody has bad experiences with them? Do you recommend another similar model?

Thanks in advance for your help

Miguel

Click to expand...

Many people believe this, thanks to forum wisdom.

A back inflate BC is a good choice.

-Mitch

Miguel, it is a personal choice but IMO you might just as well start where you will end up. In other words, get yourself the back inflate now. If you stick with diving, ultimarely you'll end up buying/diving back inflate anyway.

Do take note of the previous comments regarding being horizontal during your dive and vertical at the surface. As you become more experienced you will learn that horizontal is how you will look at reefs, fish and eventually even sharks.

As for vertical on the surface Devon Diver explains it very well.

Whow, thanks very much to all of you guys

I didn't want to spend money in something wrong, so I definitely will go for the back inflate BC. I really appreciate your advices

Miguel

Im sure there will be someone there against my opinion but here it goes.... The biggest thing that helped me was to try as many different types and styles as I could, but I ended up with a jacket style with extra back support padding even though I wanted a back inflate or bp/w. But due to my lower back issues that was what was most comfortable. So the key is to get what you want/need in present and future. Just think long term investment and you get what you pay for.

Ducati916x:

But due to my lower back issues that was what was most comfortable.

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Do you mean the most comfortable in the showroom? In the water? Or if walking whilst carrying kit?

Given the relative buoyancies of scuba kit attached to a BCD, you're not really 'load bearing' when in the water. More foam just adds more requirement for weight (to sink it)... causing greater strain on-land than it could ever alleviate..

Ducati916x:

Just think long term investment and you get what you pay for.

Click to expand...

With regards to scuba equipment, in particular BCDs, this is something I am highly dubious about. Many manufacturers add all sorts of dubious and irrelevant gizmos and features, simply to justify a market position and/or a high price tag. There's an awful lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to truly defining low, medium and high-end BCDs. Price tends to be a poor contributor to that definition IMHO.

I've gone through the same progression over the past year myself. After diving in the navy many years ago, I've moved back to the coast and now getting my feet wet in the world of recreational diving. Along with this is sorting through the multitude of gear options, reconciling needs vs wants, and all that other stuff that you don't need to worry about when all your gear is issued to you. I too wrestled with the jacket/back inflate question, and now after the fact I frankly think people over-analyze it. Obviously if you're diving every day, the nuances of your gear become more pronounced, but for the average recreational diver there really isn't a ton of noticeable difference when moving around in the water.

I decided I wanted a back inflate BCD because during my Open Water course the rental jacket BCD squeezed me uncomfortably at the surface (looking back I now realize that it was likely caused by being so over-weighted that I needed to fill the bladder to capacity). But more, as others have said, I figured I would eventually go to the back inflate style eventually anyway, so it seemed to make sense to just start with one be done with it. I ended up finding a lightly used Dimension i3 at good price, and so far am very happy with it. It's a quality piece of kit and very comfortable in the water. It does everything I need. If I had to do it over I would buy it again.

Most back inflate BCDs have trim weight pockets attached to the tank strap so your weight is more evenly distributed when vertical, and I was happy to find it doesn't push me forward while at the surface - at least not to such degree that simply leaning back a little doesn't rectify the situation.

To me the most important quality is fit. If the BC fits well then you will be fine, if it doesn't then you will have some minor problems like a tank instability or having the BC ride up. That is why many people prefer the BP/W concept because of the fit. Also if you gain a few lbs you can adjust the webbing to fit. If you gain a lot of pounds you spend $15 and buy new webbing and your good to go. Often times factory BCs are not all that adjustable.