Great idea on teenager/young adult BC

[Wafflebird]

Hello everyone first post here but thought the outcome was worth sharing.

So my son is OW certified (currently has just two more dives to be AOW) and has basically all of his own stuff except........... The BC. He is GROWING @ 13 years old so initially I decided I would just wait a while before I got him a one. But after doing a bunch of dives with him and renting BC's I DID NOT like how on one dive he had an Aqualung I3 and the next time he had something else and then the next time...................... I watched him several times reaching in the wrong place for the inflator/dump and i just thought to myself NOPE. He needs to have HIS own that way he knows from now on where everything is. But how do I do that I kept thinking cause he is rocketing up and up in height and size.

I thought about it and did a good bit of research and then made the decision. He is big at about 5'8" and on his way to being 6'2" + so what to do.

Our Local Dive shop we use has a huge inventory Mares/Aqualung/Tusa (the list goes on and on) and I saw they have a whole Dive Right Transplate set up there, in large. Large might be a tad big now but hey when he grows we just let it out a bit. And he is now down to just needing 2 pounds of weight in the pockets. I got the 35 pound lift wing and we also got him a nice pouch connected that goes around his leg. Now a few of the straps had to be cut like the cumber bun and the chest strap but I think those are made for a huge size difference so no worries there.

His first dive on it was a shallow one just to get use to it (20 feet maximum) and on our way home I asked him what he thought about diving with it. He loves the "Freedom" it gives him. He said that he doesn't feel it and he is just a lot more free to move under the water. He also said he just doesn't "Feel like he is wearing anything". these are the words you want to hear.

Now this was not a cheap option but safety first and by the time he was grown enough to buy a BC I figure we would have paid this much for rentals or multiple BC's if we had purchased several through the years. I do know there are many, many other similar dive rigs out there that I might have been able to get for a little cheaper but I believe in supporting our local businesses here and the folks at the shop are quite frankly awesome.

Comments/questions welcome and thanks, I hope everyone has an awesome Holiday weekend.

 

[divad]

Great choice re "jacket BCDs". He can easily switch out the noodley straps later for a single continuous strap... for even greater "Freedom".

 

[loosenit2]

Bit of an aside but I always marvel at the order of equipment purchase most recommend. Most divers say the most important skill in diving is good buoyancy, but when asked what order equipment should be purchased in they say something like fins/ mask, then PDC, then regulator, and then BCD. BCD was the first real thing I bought the kiddo besides mask/fins. If buoyancy is the most important skill then the BC is the first thing you should make consistent to promote the skill.

Glad the BP/W worked well for your son out of the gate.

 

[rongoodman]

I agree that fins and BC contribute most to the actual process of diving, but I think people are nervous about the condition of rental regs, which is why they're recommended as an early purchase.

 

[Wafflebird]

What has been great has been to see how well he has done with his buoyancy from the outset. I coached him even before he started to dive about small adjustments and how they were usually all that was necessary.

Looseinit2 I don't disagree with what you say but these are also big ticket items and with one that is growing at a surprising rate I was trying to figure out how best to get him in something that would last and I made it there after a bit.

I dive a ScubaPro Hydros Pro but if I had it to do over again I really think I would go the same route with the Dive Right. Nothing wrong, at all, with my Hydros but this thing (Dive Right rig) looks like it could last the apocalypse and two of the Instructors where we dive both use the same rig and they have hundreds of dives on theirs. I just love the fact that it is "His" and that it will grow with him. Should he decide later on to do some "Doubles" diving with just a few modifications he is good to go.

 

[broncobowsher]

Does Dive Rite still do the youth program where you can trade in gear as they grow?

 

[DBPacific]

I have a friend who isn't going through growth spurts but tends to fluctuate very quickly and widely enough in weight to make a BCD not fit well, and most BCDs she's found don't fit very well in the first place. She uses an Aqualung Rogue since the different segments can be tailored to size pretty easily and just switches out strap sizes as needed

 

[aviator8]

Does Dive Rite still do the youth program where you can trade in gear as they grow?

I contacted them and about this a few months ago and that was discontinued.