minimalist bcd?

[Bombay High]

I struggled with a BCD the first time I used one. I had dived for years in a hotwater suit in cold water as a commercial diver, and with no BCD in warm water as a holiday diver.
My first cold water dive with a BCD was one long struggle to maintain buoyancy (this was after 17 years as a diver ) .
Now that I am used to it, it is a non issue. I use Jacket and BP/W style BCDs and do not have a problem with either.
The backplate system is much more stable and more streamlined. It is closer to what we use as commercial divers, with a harness, so I found it very logical to use.
The lack of padding also means it has consistent buoyancy characteristics on the surface and at depth.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Lots of good alternatives. One you might also consider is in fact to use a bcd, but a very light one. Conditions will vary from one place to another in the Caribbean, as well as season to season, and they are different from the Red Sea. Hawaii is much different still- colder by up to 10 degrees depending on the season. Minimal is fine as long as your are comfortable and safe. Try out the various suggestions long before you travel to the Red Sea or other location. Select what works for you. Not everything is a "one size fits all.
DivemasterDennis

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

The lowest drag BC ever made is the FENZY (see avatar pic).

...

The backplate system is much more stable and more streamlined...

Thal, do you have any other Fenzy pictures?

 

[Thalassamania]

Thal, do you have any other Fenzy pictures?

A few, but I also have two FENZYs right here. What do you need?

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

How about a picture (or pictures) of someone diving in a FENZY?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

 

[Thalassamania]

Those are not FENZYs!

This is a FENZY

 

[Brendon]

So I've been feeling bulky. Wetsuit, BCD, Scuba system, computer, console, blah blah blah (this isn't meant to be hostile, just me nattering on in my own mind).

My dream of scuba is minimalism and being sleak. What are the requisites for safe diving (caveat is I'm talking warm water recreation diving, ie carribean, hawaii, red sea, etc)? Wetsuit (not always, but makes an hour long dive better), fins, scuba, snorkel, BCD, weights (belt or in BCD), SPG, dive computer (probably watch for minamlist/sleakness reasons), and knife/emt shears ('cause I'm not a complete idiot). Am I missing anything?

So how do I stay as low profile and light as possible? The only BCDs I've had exposure to are quite bulky, in the grand scheme of things. My question is: What is the least bulky BCD which works (don't need anything fancy), and whether weight belt or integrated weights leads to better hydrodynamic shape?

Please, chime in. I'd like to go out as "natural" as possible, though without sacrificing safety.

--Me

That would be something called, a Poseiden MK VI Rebreather...

 

[gmanstan]

I'd note that those recommending not using a BCD are all very experienced divers. Understanding the inter-play between weighting, buoyancy and safety contingency matters can mean that a suitably experienced diver can forgo using a BCD - but without that understanding, a less experienced diver may encounter difficulties that have very real safety consequences.

I've seen a few of the "Ol'school" divers going "HardPac" when I've been on lobster hunting trips(coldwater 7mmsuits),just a plate and tank & weight belt.I've been wanting to try this but I think I'll take the advice I've been given and log 3 or 400 more dives first.

 

[RonFrank]

Getting back to 2011....

Zeagle makes some nice Back Inflate BC's that are rather low profile and lightweight like the Stiletto. A BP/W is spartan and old school, but a plate can be heavy and can be bulky. Here is a minimalist non-rigid back plate.

Express Tech Backplate - Backplate BCs - BCs - Zeagle Dive Systems

I personally like the Zeagle Stiletto. At about 6lbs its compact.

There are a lot of options out there....