Travel BCD

[BDSC]

Agree. I dove for a week in GC with an older very experienced photographer/diver along with the owner of the op. They both had Cressi Sub "poodle jackets". I would put that old guys trim, poise and motionless hovering up against anyone.

I have seen the very same thing. Most of the DM's I have been in the water with typically wear old beat-up jacket BC's. Sometimes I wonder how the thing is still together. But they are exceptional in the water. I asked one of them, Alex at Little Cayman Beach Resort, why de didn't have a newer BC and he said, "How do you think that would improve my diving?" I just laughed and got his point.

 

[Dogbowl]

I have seen the very same thing. Most of the DM's I have been in the water with typically wear old beat-up jacket BC's. Sometimes I wonder how the thing is still together. But they are exceptional in the water. I asked one of them, Alex at Little Cayman Beach Resort, why de didn't have a newer BC and he said, "How do you think that would improve my diving?" I just laughed and got his point.

I asked an LDS owner what his personal gear is, expecting the best of the best, or some tech configuration (as he’s also a tech diver). He said nonchalantly, “Oh, whatever’s left in my rental fleet after all the OW students have chosen their rentals!”

 

[BDSC]

He said nonchalantly, “Oh, whatever’s left in my rental fleet after all the OW students have chosen their rentals!”

Exactly. I've always said anyone can look good in a BP/W but only the exceptional diver can do it in a jacket!

 

[rsingler]

I've always said anyone can look good in a BP/W...

You just proved the point: there's something about a BP/W that makes any diver look good! Yeah, jackets work fine, but no need to bash folks that espouse BP/W. They help horizontal positioning. They are often more streamlined. You can customize one any way you like.
A Go is a great travel jacket.
A Litehawk is a great hybrid.
A small BP/W is a great travel BP/W.
All true.

 

[tbone1004]

I asked an LDS owner what his personal gear is, expecting the best of the best, or some tech configuration (as he’s also a tech diver). He said nonchalantly, “Oh, whatever’s left in my rental fleet after all the OW students have chosen their rentals!”

If I was working for a dive shop and they wanted me in gear that they sold it would be that exact answer. Just give me whatever is left out of the rental pile that I will fit in. I can make it dive just fine. Ask for my personal preference and it will always be a bp/w if I had to actually spend money. If I were teaching for a shop though, despite owning all of my own gear, I'd use theirs in the pool, and mine in OW

 

[Dogbowl]

If I was working for a dive shop and they wanted me in gear that they sold it would be that exact answer. Just give me whatever is left out of the rental pile that I will fit in. I can make it dive just fine. Ask for my personal preference and it will always be a bp/w if I had to actually spend money. If I were teaching for a shop though, despite owning all of my own gear, I'd use theirs in the pool, and mine in OW

I think that was his honest answer, that he no longer cares...he sells tech gear in his shop...Halcyon, xDeep, Hollis, so he could’ve said one of those but he didn’t.

 

[tbone1004]

I think that was his honest answer, that he no longer cares...he sells tech gear in his shop...Halcyon, xDeep, Hollis, so he could’ve said one of those but he didn’t.

why bother owning your own gear when the shop can own it, take the depreciation on it etc etc? now if I owned a shop that had those brands, the rental gear would be bp/w's and I'd use whatever one was left, but still. If you work for a shop, just let them take care of that nonsense

 

[Brian G]

My learnings about warm water BCs.
1. Many BP/Ws have really stiff webbing that is uncomfortable on bare shoulders. I like the softer webbing.
2. On a jacket, the BC is held down in place by the cummerbund. On a BP/W it is the crotch strap. The crotch strap is more effective but the cummerbund is more comfortable (for me). This only matters when you are floating on the surface.
3. My wife has a Scubapro Ladyhawk. The shoulder dump has a tiny lever on it so that it is easy for an instructor to dump. Depending on the exact placement of the cylinder and first stage, the HP hose hits this and dumps the BC for her.
4. The Ladyhawk actually folds very nicely for travel but is still heavier and bulkier than I'd like.
5. The single tank strap for the Ladyhawk works well on boats that use some version of PVC tubing to store the cylinders. The lower tank strap on my BP/W is often below the top of the PVC and I have to lift the tank out a bit to make it work.
6. Many Jacket BCs and some BP/Ws have horseshoe-shaped bladders. Apparently I dive slightly head-down and more air got into one side than the other so I'd be lopsided. Since I've dropped some lead and dive with hardly any air in the BC now it is no longer a problem, but I still like donut-shaped wings.
7. I had a DiveRite plastic backplate with plastic single-tank adapter and a DSS 18lb wing. I thought it was perfect until I actually tried to fit it in a suitcase. That BP plus the single-tank adapter was really bulky. Even taking it apart it was still bulky. Whatever you get, try folding it up as you would for packing and make sure it's as travel-friendly as it says.
8. I use the Zeagle Ziptouch weight pockets on my BP. It's easy to load them with the cast lead weights that the dive boats use and it's easy to dump them (velcro). There are no weight pouches to lose. I love them!
9. For me, the Jacket vs. BP/W doesn't affect my trim at all underwater, since the bladder should not be very full and the air will go to the highest point. On the surface it's a wash for me, as a jacket rides up without a crotch strap so I can't fill it all the way anyway.
10. I like that the BP/W is super customizable. I like to fiddle with stuff though.
11. I REALLY like that the BP/W can fit (almost) any body size. Both my sons learned to dive in my BP/W even though they were about half my weight.

Of the BCs you listed, I'd go for the Covert, Litehawk, or Rogue in that order. The Litehawk is at Leisurepro for $250, so that would be a factor for me. A similar BC not yet mentioned I think is the XS Scuba Companion. To me the Covert, Litehawk, Rogue, Companion, Biolite, and Zuma are almost identical. I haven't looked at them side-by-side though. Lots of choices in the minimal back-inflate travel BC category. The Stiletto is bulky and I have heard stories about the weight system that made me shy away.

Hopefully my ideal travel BC will be an aluminum Freedom plate with my 18lb DSS wing. If that doesn't work I'll probably try an Oxycheq ultralite travel plate.

Have fun shopping!

 

[tbone1004]

@Brian G just going down the line
1. they are supposed to be stiff to make it easier/safer to get into and out of. If you don't like it on bare shoulders which I don't necessarily disagree with on land, then the neoprene sleeve or add-on shoulder pads are easier enough to deal with.
2. similar to above, unpadded crotch straps aren't very comfy in a bathing suit. My single tank rig has a padded crotch strap from Dive Rite that is super comfy
3. I actually have had to use that lever on a student before, but yeah, not a fan of that design in general....
5. why not remove the lower cam band if it's an issue? I have on some dive boats because of the tubes
6. I agree, though I do prefer horseshoes in doubles because it makes packing air to one side much easier for dealing with things like stage bottles
7. STA's=bad for packing, and the Dive Rite plates have a real heavy bend/spine to them, thankfully the DSS ones are flatter and pack really well.
9. In the water it shouldn't matter at all and if wearing a heavy ish weight belt the jackets actually usually are better because they lift at the hips. That said I just find them generally uncomfortable, especially at the surface

My DSS wing didn't want to play nice with my Freedom plate unfortunately but hopefully @Eric Sedletzky can help sort that out for the aluminum one

 

[BDSC]

The Litehawk is at Leisurepro for $250, so that would be a factor for me.

At one time LP was selling some of the older models at a discount. The older model does not have rear trim pockets. I would want the newest model even if it cost more.