Another newbie's 1st BC

[SkimFisher]

Nope, def not for travel. The Stiletto's are probably a little better for that. Still not the best though. The Express Tech is pretty popular for travel.

 

[Shark Bait!]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...h-first-last-bc-most-will-ever-need-want.html

 

[rstofer]

It was mentioned above: why not consider a backplate and wing? You could use a stainless steel backplate to move 6# from your weightbelt to your back where it would help with trim and then change to an aluminum or Kydex plate for warm water or travel.

Before you make your decision, look at www.deepseasupply.com They are located in So Cal (Pasadena) and the service is superb.

One point I keep making re: integrated weights and cold water diving: there is too much anecdotal evidence of weight pockets falling out to support the idea. Those pockets would be carrying a lot of weight and, if dropped, would leave the diver dangerously positive. Integrated weights make sense in warm water where only a few pounds of lead are required. Consider a DUI Weight & Trim Classic harness instead. DUI is also in So Cal (San Diego).

At least give it a look before you spend a ton of money on a BC.

Richard

 

[fnfalman]

Do yourself a favor, just get a BP/W in the long run , you will end up getting one. Save yourself time and aggrevation. I did it, and 3 BC later here i am with BP/W love it.

For SoCal diving? Definitely get a backplate/wing combo with the stainless steel plate.

Can you dive with jacket BC? Sure you can. Thousands of people in SoCal do it. But do you want to be the one whining about how your BC doesn't fit right or float too much, float too little, pinch this, pinch that? If you don't want to be unhappy about your BC then get a BPW and call it a day.

A typical jacket BC weights about 3-7lbs. The lower extreme tends to be the ones geared toward travel. Sounds good, right? Ahhhh, no. A jacket BC tend to be positively buoyant and you need to carry lead to sink it. So now, as a SoCal diver who wears either a wetsuit or a drysuit, you need to carry lead not just to compensate for the floatiness of the exposure suit but you need to carry lead to compensate for the floatiness of the jacket BC as well.

An aluminum or steel backplate is negatively buoyant. It sinks. It doesn't need additional weight to compensate for its positive buoyancy because it isn't positively buoyant.

Take my equipment rigs for example:

A) My Dive Rite Transpac (soft BC almost like a jacket BC but not quite the same) + Faber HP100 M-series tank + regulator + tank valve + 4-lbs trim weight attached to BC = 68-lbs.

B) My Dive Rite BPW (stainless steel plate & single tank adaptor) + same tank + same regulator + same tank valve + 0 trim weights (don't need it) = 67-lbs

When I hit the water with option A, I still have to put on 4-lbs of lead so the total weight of the rig is 72-lbs.

When I hit the water with option B, I am good to go. With option B, I shaved 5-lbs off the weight that I have to carry on my back.

The weight of the backplate; especially a stainless steel one, acts as ballast. The weight of the jacket BC is dead weight/wasted weight. I have carry it AND the extra lead to sink it.

PS For travel, the BPW weights about 7lbs versus, say, the Aqualung travel jacket BC Zuma at 4.4lbs. If you dive in the tropics while renting aluminum 80 tanks with the Zuma, you'll have to carry extra lead to compensate for the AL80's positive buoyancy when it runs low. With the BPW, you're good to go. Besides, what's the big deal between 7lbs and 4.4lbs?

 

[fnfalman]

One point I keep making re: integrated weights and cold water diving: there is too much anecdotal evidence of weight pockets falling out to support the idea. Those pockets would be carrying a lot of weight and, if dropped, would leave the diver dangerously positive. Integrated weights make sense in warm water where only a few pounds of lead are required. Consider a DUI Weight & Trim Classic harness instead. DUI is also in So Cal (San Diego).

At least give it a look before you spend a ton of money on a BC.

Richard

There's integrated weight pouches and then there's integrated weight pouches. The weight pouches on a typical BC tends to fall off if they were not clicked in place correctly in the beginning (diver's error) or if the buckles were worn and they'd slide off while diving.

Dive Rite integrated pouches are positively clicked on and there's no way they'd come off without the diver purposely undone the buckle and then yanked out the velcro flap that secured the ditchable pouch in the main pouch. It doesn't take but a few seconds to ditch the weight (I had to do it once), BUT it won't just come off on its own.

Let me be a bit more clear with the Dive Rite pouches' buckles. You have to use your fingers to undo the buckles and then you pull the velcroed flaps off to free the ditchable pouch from the main pouch. With other types of weight pouches with buckles, you pull hard on the release handle and the buckle pops off on its own. When the plastics on the buckles wear off, they can come off under their own weights. Next thing you know, you gotta do some emergency BC venting, body flaring and all the good stuff to prevent yourself from popping up to the surface like a missile.

 

[rstofer]

I haven't tried the Dive Rite pouches. I don't want the weight on the rig so there's no reason for me to go that route. I'm really too old to lift the better part of 70#.

I have seen integrated weights secured with Velcro. This NEVER works. Sooner or later, the Velcro loses its retention.

We have one SeaSoft harness that uses buckles to retain the weights in the pockets. I'm not ecstatic about it and that harness will be replaced with a DUI in the very near future. I believe it is a very good harness but we might as well all use the same gear. One thing I do like about the SeaSoft is that the individual soft weights are inside a separate zipped bag that can be removed from the top. That makes it easy to remove the weights and toss them into an inflatable.

The Weed Wacker cord retaining the DUI pockets is a PITA to thread but I can't see any way in the world that it will fail. It is possible to remove the individual soft weights from the top of the pockets but it isn't anywhere near as neat as the SeaSoft approach.

DUI recommends that the top of the weight pocket be at the top of the hip bone. This is very low - well below the waist and a long way below the waist belt of a BP/W. It seems to work ok but its not like I have done a comparison.

Richard

 

[Joe21]

Id go with the sea quest ballance. Sea quest makes some good gear,and Id definately stick with a back inflate,youll be much happieer with it down the road.

 

[stakanak]

Thanks for the info all. Its a great intro into ScubaBoard.

 

[Deep South Divers]

+5 or 6 on the backplate and wing.

 

[goaliemn]

I'm a big guy (6'5" 350) and use a knighthawk. I take about 32lbs in a 7mm suit, and it can hold it all, plus I feel comfortable in it. I used a BP/W during my training, and the knighthawk feels alot like it, but for me, it feels better.. It has a bigger bladder than the BP/W I trained with, so I think that's a big contributing factor on why I like it better, but it has much of the advantages of a BP/W with the conveniences of a jacket (built in weight pockets, and pockets for slate and such)

I think its a great way to go for the money