Looking into buying gear. Bcd or bpw?

[Imapseudonym]

Hey everyone,

I've been doing a lot of research recently as I prepare to invest in some gear. However, one area I'm struggling is around this whole debate surrounding bcd and bpw. From what I read it sounds like bpw give better trim? If you could choose what would you choose and why? I was looking into an aqualung i3 but after reading all this stuff I'm just super confused.

Also, how much lift would I need for diving in cold water ocean? I wear a 7mm with a hood/vest.

 

[freewillie]

Most here on Scubaboard will say back plate with wings. But that isn't the only choice. Some divers find the hard back plate uncomfortable on their backs. it does have the advantage of being customizable since you can mix and match components.

Personally I dive a back inflate Zeagle Stiletto BC. Although back inflate BC are rumored to have a tendency to push you forward I've never had that experience. It also has trim pockets in the back to help with trim as well. Zeagle has an advantage in having a component system as well. You can get a medium BC but switch out the straps to a large if you needed the longer torso for example.

the biggest factor in a BC is fit. It has to fit well or style, brand, or cost doesn't matter. Make sure you like the fit first, then worry about style. If you like the I3 and the price is right and it fits well then by all means buy what you like. You can achieve better trim from distributing some of the weight in the front pocket but also moving some weight to the back. You should be able to do this with a regular bBC with weight pockets in the back, it doesn't have to be a BP/W set up. If the BC doesn't have back pockets you can always add some.

You should have enough lift to cover the most amount of lead you think you will use. For example if you dive say 26 lbs. weight in you wetsuit you need a BC with at least 26 lbs. but probably higher say 30 lbs. or even more.

I first came to scubaboard to read reviews on different types of equipment. One diver had posted a review on the Zeagle Stiletto. Several others chimed in to criticize the original post. Since the majority of comments were positive I decided to go with my gut and buy the Stiletto. Which is ironic because the BC I originally wanted was an Aeris 5 Oceans. The LDS didn't carry that one but did carry Zeagle BC's. Looking back I'm so glad I went with the Stiletto. Its not too heavy for travel, is very comfortable, and had plenty of pockets and D-rings for my stuff.

Aqualung has a solid reputation and makes high quality gear. My own personal take is to buy a traditional style BC over a Back plate but that more because I'm more familiar with standard scuba gear. There are advantages the BP/W set up has but that doesn't mean one is better or worse than the other. It's more about personal preference.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

My opinion is BP/Ws are generally better at producing the right trim than BCDs and are more streamlined. I bought a BCD before I knew what a BP/W was. Then I bought a BP/W. Then I bought a second, aluminum one for warm water. Having been there and done that, I wish I had know about the BP/W in the beginning.

As far as lift, it depends on a lot of factors. That said, for single tank diving in cold water I always found 30lbs of lift in the wing as plenty.

 

[TSandM]

If you are diving in cold water, one of the problems you have is the amount of lead you have to wear to sink your exposure protection. The whole gear package ends up heavy, and the last thing you want to do is to have to add lead to sink your tank or your BC. That's why cold water divers avoid aluminum tanks, and why a lot of us avoid BCs that have padding and are anywhere up to 3 pounds positive when empty.

A steel backplate puts 5 or 6 pounds of your ballast on your back, where it helps you balance. It also means you only need to find places for 5 pounds less lead -- or 8 pounds, if the BC you would have used was positive.

A lot of cold water divers use backplates. I have never heard anyone say the steel plate is uncomfortable. I HAVE had people decide that they didn't like the continuous harness, but even that occurs rarely.

 

[Roman_66]

I used regular BC (Mares) with kind of back wing and moved to BP/W, I never hear that somebody from BP/W moved to regular BC. I think it says something.

You should have enough lift to cover the most amount of lead you think you will use. For example if you dive say 26 lbs. weight in you wetsuit you need a BC with at least 26 lbs. but probably higher say 30 lbs. or even more.

I hope you mean to say something else, because amount of lead on your belt (for proper weighted diver) doesn't relate to your wing size. Two different people with the same equipment may need different amount of lead on belt, but it doesn't mean that they need different wing size. In a lot of threads you can find the wing size calculation, once even I did it (#34).
Short - for one tank proper weighted diver with up to 5mm suit and one stage or no stage : 30 lb wing more than enough. I believe that 30lb will be enough also for 7mm suit, but just never checked it.

 

[Degenerate]

Don't make the same mistake I did when I bought my first BCD, found a really cheap used Poseidon Techlift with a ton of lead so I went for it and kind of regret that in hindsight.
After a couple of dives over realized I want something much smaller like a "typical" ~30lbs BP/W, my Techlift has a 75lbs wing that's bloody huge and completely overkill for my diving
If you can try a few different BCDs then do that before settling on one you like

Tapatalked

 

[victor]

Try before you buy.
I think you are in Southern California so a wide range of shops available? Contact a few and see if you can rent a BP/Wing to try out.
I have switched to a BP/Wing from a normal BC and I love it for warm water diving.
Cons: No pockets, Slight tendency to push forward when on the surface.
Pros: Less lead required, lighter, better trim underwater, dry's quicker
I use a continuous harness but I am thinking of adding a clip to 1 shoulder strap to make exiting on the surface easier. I am not as supple as I used to be. Customisation is one of the big advantages of a BP/W you can build what you want.

 

[Storker]

for one tank proper weighted diver with up to 5mm suit and one stage or no stage : 30 lb wing more than enough. I believe that 30lb will be enough also for 7mm suit, but just never checked it.

Exactly, you've never checked it. You keep on claiming that a 30lb wing is enough for any single tank diving, even if you've been proven to overgeneralize from your own experience before. Both DS divers and WS divers using e.g. a 7mm farmer john have found - from experience - that a 40lb wing is just right for them.

And to the OP: You've been advised to try before you buy. That's pretty darned good advice, because as you see, most of us Internet oracles can only speak from our own experience and our own preferences. My preferences may well be different from yours.

 

[tbone1004]

personally depending on where in SoCal you are, I would highly recommend driving to Pasadena and going into Deep Sea Supply's store. Tobin will be able to get you into a very comfortable rig that is going to be epic for that cold water diving. His plates and wings are wonderful, but for cold water they're even better since you can bolt weight plates to them to remove most of the lead from your wetsuit. It's seriously worth braving LA to go up and talk to him in person.

 

[diversteve]

And whatever you do don't buy an I3...

Let's take something as simple and universal as a standard inflator and needlessly complicate it by moving it to a non-standard location - adding a secondary manual inflator in a different position and a complicated series of linkages, several valves with multiple o-rings plus non-standard valves so that divers can push a lever to ascend/descend. Seems like a good idea to me...

Only serviceable by Aqualung trained/certified technicians. I've been to places where there wasn't one though so how does that work?

I was on a liveaboard once - about an hour out from the only port we'd see for the week. A guy next to me powered up his gear and hit the power inflator. We both watched as the other button flew off and into the ocean. The DM laughed and offer the guy a choice of one of theirs or to cannibalize it for the week for the standard - but different brand - inflator. Which he did. I don't buy gear so it can sit waiting all week to be serviced when something fails.