Diving without BCD?

[Compressor]

This is becoming an interesting thread after all. We can dive our own ways for sure. I love passionate debate when all sides think they are right.
For me here the answer: I want redundant flotation if my body acts up. Not so much at depth but on the surface. Examples would include leg cramps where I cannot be + buoyant, I get separated from boat and have to swim a long distance.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I weight myself so at the end of the dive when my suit is compressed and cold and my tank is just about empty, I’m starting to get light at about 20’. Going to 15’ from there doesn’t mean rocketing to the surface, it only means kind of an annoying lightness that can be overcome by finning down or grabbing rocks and/or breathing from the shallow side to be able to hold position. A lot of times I dive with no BC when I want to cover a lot of ground for hunting. The streamlining and speed is why most modern minimalists choose to dive BC-less these days. Yes, it’s a “thing”. I’ve even mentored divers wishing to learn the basics of the artform. Diving with no BC is just like any other athletic skill, it takes practice and knowledge. People have to remember that with no wing you have no device that can cover for being overweighted. The protocol for getting positive is to dump your weights just like with freediving. Many people have no idea how badly they were overweighted until they attempt to dive with no BC.
I always said the best way to teach somebody about proper weighting is to take away their BC.

Getting back to the balance of weighting. I use a 7 mil freediving suit and mostly use steel 72’s. The way I’m weighted (as described above) also means that I can float on the surface with a full tank and surface swim around with a !!!SNORKEL!!! Oh god gasp!!
No long hose
No bungeed second
No balanced rig w/o ditchable weight
No can light
No scooter
No buddy
No problem

At both the beginning and at the end if the dive I am positive at the surface. I use a 5 Lb FP plate and make up the rest on a rubber freediving belt.

One key word with wetsuits, (I’m going to talk about it anyway even though it appears that talking about wetsuits has been banned in this thread).
Rubatex G231N

It also doesn’t hurt that I was/am a freediver and have a huge lung capacity.

 

[toddjconklin]

Hey mate put up some photos, we like photos

Yeah I'll try and get some up soon. They're pretty dirty looking - was hoping to give them a clean.

anyway if you're strapped and aren't in a hurry I've got some stuff, plus

Umm, I'm not in a hurry, and I don't know exactly what you mean but if it's as I suspect, yes! I'll PM you.

View attachment 511669

and there's always this place

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SCUBA-B...263698?hash=item3d86c81192:g:UzwAAOSw~ihcmK3b
OK, obviously I haven't been looking hard enough! But I'm a bit nervous of ebay - it seems it's a place for people just to flog stuff with buyer beware, whereas on these forums etc I guess maybe a bit more goodwill - maybe I'm kidding myself.

mate what google are you using

LOL, point taken. I was actually googling "Conshelf XI rebuild kit".

 

[Charles Graves]

You *can* go without a BCD, but I personally think it's a pretty bad/risky idea, even if you are an awesome diver....

A BCD not only provides buoyancy, but it also provides really good pockets and straps for you to put all of your gear on.

Maybe some people like to push the limits without equipment, but for me, I like to do awesome dives- deep dives, wreck dives, cave dives sometimes... but the equipment is really important to me, because it's what allows me and people I go with to dive safely and intelligently. I feel like without the equipment, I'm putting myself at a disadvantage and that theoretically could cost me my life if something went wrong.

What if, you feeling tired and your wetsuit being compressed, you started sinking and were too tired to get yourself to the surface? What if the bottom was 300 feet deep? What if you turned into that youtube video guy who died in the Belize Blue Hole, kind of thing? A BCD is really important, because if your body fails you, the BCD 99.999% of the time won't.

 

[CT-Rich]

I haven’t read every comment here, and I regret not seeing every comment on proper weighting makes a BDC completely unnecessary (some day I will pass away and I have other things to accomplish in the mean time....). Here is my take.

Dad is getting older and the tanks get heavier. Things change. If your dad dives the way it was done in the 70’s, he is going to touch everything, rototilling the reef surface and be an ecological disaster. What was okay then is no longer okay. A BCD can be purchased used from the dive shop/ Craig’s list for next to nothing. The gear has changed some in forty years, but the practices have changed more. Vintage regulators that have been hanging on a wall are going to require a lot of work and may not be compatible with newer gear. All the hoses are going to need changing. Borrow or rent to start and then shop the used market.

Definitely invest in a refresher course (or completely retrain, better yet). Ascent rates, safety stops, BCDs, dive computers, LP inflators and how to interact with sea life have all changed in 40 years. If your dad goes on a dive and gets yelled at for doing something, it will be a bad experience.

Avoid dad having a bad experience.

 

[RayfromTX]

^winner winner chicken dinner^

 

[Storker]

</thread>

 

[-Moe]

The problem as I see it is that a diver with no BCD training (and possibly no octo) and a dive buddy who only trained with a BCD using current training standards will not be on the same page when assistance is required and muscle memory needs to kick in.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

The problem as I see it is that a diver with no BCD training (and possibly no octo) and a dive buddy who only trained with a BCD using current training standards will not be on the same page when assistance is required and muscle memory needs to kick in.

Against my better judgment, I will again weigh in here. I actually (believe it or not) agree with this. However, it probably would be hard to find a diver (diving today) that has not had some form of BC training (even if they learned to dive a long time ago in a galaxy far far away). Probably easy to find a diver today who hasn't had the old-style training - i.e., no BC; ditch and don; blow and go; buddy breathing with a double hose regulator (or even a single hose for that matter); free ascent from 30, 60 or 90 feet...

That said, when I choose to dive vintage (sans-BC, no octopus...) under optimal conditions and within my personal parameters (max 45' and a single dive), my dive buddy (usually, and if I even have one - no comments please) has the same old-style training (and modern training) I do.

On the occasion where my dive buddy has not had old-style training I make it very clear at the start that while I am perfectly capable of pulling he/she to the surface and getting them to shore/boat, don't look to me in an out-of-air situation. I have had divers refuse to dive with me as their buddy for that reason and I applaud their decision. As said many times on SB, it is all a matter of risk tolerance. The last insta-buddy gentleman I dove with had a pony bottle and was happy to see how I executed a vintage-style dive.

All that said, a BC should be used 100% of the time UNLESS one has the training and knowledge to dive without one, and only then under conditions and parameters maximizing the chance of a successful dive. While I am confident the views of others will be different, I personally love the feeling of freedom of diving without a BC. It takes me back to my childhood and the way I learned to dive (when diving was simpler it seems). My 2psi. Mark

 

[Sam Miller III]

Well stated SCUBA Lawyer !

SDM