Any special skills needed for bp/wings?

[tparrent]

I've been thinking about trying either a back inflate bc or a bp/wings setup. My full jacket bc seems to get a lot of air trapped in it and I have to contort quite a bit to get it all out. I would switch in a heartbeat if another style would give me a better bouyancy control.

(Now that doesn't mean my control is bad. In the Caymans I had it down cold but last week in SoCal in a 7mm I was Mr Elevator Man.)

I know that a good diver can have excellent bouyancy control in a jacket bc but I am beginning to wonder why I went with the one I got anyway. Can't be a bad idea to try out other configurations, right?

 

[Daylonious]

I'd say find someone to let you dive their bp/w setup. You'll become a fan.

Personally I'll never go back to a bcd.

Special skills? Well, apart from adjusting the harness and knowing how to trim the wings for different tank setups, there's really nothing much to it.

D.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Sometimes it bothers me when people confuse bcd with bp/w. All bp/w setups are bcds...but not all bcds are bp/w's.

I would say that one special skill is to keep your mind open. Many people will tell you how bp/w setups are only for tech divers or will kill you or whatever. Don't listen to them.

 

[Jason Ooi]

I will be suggest BCD is more suitable for new diver or recreational, BP/w more in technical setup..

 

[Rogue_Diver]

I have recently switched to a plate and wing from a jacket BC. There are no new skills to learn, but it takes some getting use to. When I bought my setup the guy there recommended my first dive or two be in the pool. Diving in the ocean with a buddy is not the place to get used to the new set up. I took his advice and dove the pool at the LDS. I was use to it in no time. I took the set up out the next day and dove the oil rigs (also in So Cal) and all went well. So far I have no regrets and no plans to switch back to the jacket.

 

[tparrent]

Is there a big difference between bp/wings and back inflate bc?

 

[SparticleBrane]

I will be suggest BCD is more suitable for new diver or recreational, BP/w more in technical setup..

I disagree. I was trained in an Eclipse and didn't know jackets existed until I had to go rent gear for my open water checkout dives. Hated every second of it...ended up buying an Eclipse.

 

[fishb0y]

I will be suggest BCD is more suitable for new diver or recreational, BP/w more in technical setup..

I couldn't disagree more... What makes a BP/W more difficult to dive?

Please don't say it is the face down/horizontal position. As instructors, I think we are doing a disservice to our students by having them do skills on their knees and severely over weighting them... Take away any of those factors and the BP/W becomes superior to a jacket BC.

 

[Jason Ooi]

So much different...BCD and Bp/w...
I used Halcyon setup...
I recommend Halcyon or dive rite and OMS single double setup...
Here the link Halcyon http://www.halcyon.net/catalog.shtml
OMS http://www.omsdive.com/sitemap.html
Dive rite http://www.diverite.com/

Is there a big difference between bp/wings and back inflate bc?

 

[Rogue_Diver]

Even though they are doing the same thing (bouyancy control) there is a big diference. For example: My jacket BC weighed 15 pounds and required 5 pounds of lead to get it neutral at the surface. My plate weighs 5 pounds and is 5 pounds negative already. This means my setup requires less lead for me to carry. Less lead eqauls less mass and better bouyancy control at any depth. Another difference is that my jacket BC was pretty bulky, which for me meant I could not look down to see my waist area because my mask hit the jacket. This was annoying when trying to get things from and put thing into pockets in the BC or pockets in my drysuit (I admit the 5 mil gloves add to the pocket problem.) Anyway, thats my view. On the flip side there are many more streamlined jackets that will not have the same issues, so don't rule them out. Do plenty of reading and figure out what will work for you.