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I've just been diving for 3 weeks in Borneo and have been very jealous of the BP divers. Seems like they have lovely trim plus the BP appears quite light to cut down on the plane baggage fees.
Can anyone discuss the advantages and disadvantages over a hard backplate style BCD like we have, but didn't bring along from the states due to airline weight restrictions?
Would we have to get different length regulator hoses than what we have with our regular style BCDs?
Their trim has little to do with the BP but rather with the skill of the diver its attached to. I see the BP given credit for it lots of times and in some respects it may help cover for less than perfect skills of the diver but bottom line is a skilled diver can dive with any BC....or none at all for that matter and make it look good. Certainly nothing wrong with them and with the right combination of wing and BP it can be a great light weight travel rig but its not going to make you look like they do. That is training, practice and skill, something you can do in your current BC.
The BP/W has a lot simpler construction than a standard BCD. The standard BC floats you higher, an advantage at the surface in rough seas, if you're not diving dry. The BP/W has a lot less "fluff" allowing you dive with less weight. Some people claim it's more streamlined but I haven't noticed any difference, guess I don't swim fast enough for it to make a difference.
Their trim has little to do with the BP but rather with the skill of the diver its attached to...
I agree with herman. If I might suggest an alternative wording to that above, it would be "trim has little to do with the BP but rather with the diver's ability to distribute weights about his/her person and BCD (be it a jacket or BP), possibly placing weights on the top or bottom cam bands of the tank, so as to achieve (near) perfect balance in the water in all axes." I have achieved nice (but never perfect) trim with my rear-inflate jacket BC. My weights are on my belt, and on the top and bottom cam straps of my BC.
The trim is purely mechanical/physical (so long as your motions don't fight against the trim). Now, not thrashing about like a fish out of water and controlling your buoyancy - that requires skill.
If your BC had integrated pockets you may have fallen into the trap of thinking that you can only put weights in the pockets.
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In my opinion, most of the benefits of a BP/W are lost upon warm-water divers. I don't have much cause to inflate mine in a skin or 3mm wetsuit, so the big remaining benefit is redistributing weight from a weightbelt to further up the torso--which you could accomplish with trim pockets just as well. It's nice to lose the buoyant padding a typical BC has, but you can find good vest-style BCs without it too.
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I've just been diving for 3 weeks in Borneo and have been very jealous of the BP divers. Seems like they have lovely trim plus the BP appears quite light to cut down on the plane baggage fees.
Can anyone discuss the advantages and disadvantages over a hard backplate style BCD like we have, but didn't bring along from the states due to airline weight restrictions?
Would we have to get different length regulator hoses than what we have with our regular style BCDs?
Thanks so much!!!
PS Castle
I only wish it was that easy... a bp/w won't give your perfect trim but it will make packing easier !
The advantages/cons have been discussed to death already so I'll just go over some other details.
If you want a light travel bcd that is secure, streamline, you can consider these alternatives.
The length of your regulator hoses is not related to the type of BC you use.
But I'm confused a bit by your original post. You say: "Can anyone discuss the advantages and disadvantages over a hard backplate style BCD like we have, but didn't bring along from the states due to airline weight restrictions?" To me, this implies you already own a backplate setup, and are contrasting that with a "BP" you are seeing in Borneo. As I would think backplate and wing rigs are relatively uncommon in Borneo, can you explain what you are seeing there?
It only makes sense if the OP typically travels with his weights. I have met people who do that, but the vast majority don't!
A BP may very well be light if it's made of aluminum or resin, but almost all BPs out there are stainless steel and they are most certainly not light.
And once again, the term "BP/W" implies a relationship that doesn't hold. If you use a BP you'll probably have a W, but it's easy to use a W without a BP.
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Originally Posted by herman
