BP/W or BCD

[spc751]

I am in the market for a new BCD to replace my warm water BCD with enough lift for cold water diving.
I am mainly looking at the zeagle stiletto and the aqualung dimension but tried a BP/W a few days ago.
The BP/W dove very nice (I felt like I was freediving) but I had several problems while walking to the water. The narrow shoulder straps dug painfully into my shoulders. The shoulder straps kept sliding further apart almost to the point of sliding off my shoulders. The backplate kept sliding down until it was almost on my butt instead of on my back.
What was wrong to cause this.

 

[formernuke]

I'm going to suggest that it wasn't fitted properly.

What kind of exposure protection were you wearing.

 

[spc751]

I'm going to suggest that it wasn't fitted properly.

What kind of exposure protection were you wearing.

Fusion drysuit, thermal fusion undergarment, fleece vest. Should the shoulder straps have been tighter?

 

[formernuke]

Fusion drysuit, thermal fusion undergarment, fleece vest. Should the shoulder straps have been tighter?

I'm going to say yes the shoulder straps should be tighter so the plate rest on your back. The waist might also be to lose.

The only time I had digging issues was the time I forgot my 3mill and did some pool work in just swim trunks.

 

[Brette]

I have a fusion dry suit and I just upgraded from aqualung dimension to Hollis bp/w. I liked the dimension and dove it for 2 years. The backplate is a much better fit and trims our better IMO. The wing on the dimension is really big, I think 44 lb lift. You need to have the no/w fitted properly and it will feel a lot more comfortable. You can add shoulder straps to maybe make it more comfortable. The BP/W is more customizable in the long run. I liked the dimension but if I had to do it over again I would have bought the back plate.

 

[divad]

How long have you been a "DIR Practitioner" and what does that mean?

 

[loosenit2]

How long have you been a "DIR Practitioner" and what does that mean?

DIR practitioner in SB just means you have opted into the DIR forum, can mean you did it just to explore and learn what DIR means, does not necessarily mean you actually subscribe to the tenants of DIR or dive DIR style.

 

[loosenit2]

@spc751 as others have said the shoulders were too loose. If you were diving a BP/W with a hogarthian setup it was likely fitted to someone else who is a bit bigger than you? Hogarthian strapping is very adjustable but it takes more work to adjust it to your body. The shoulder straps should be lose enough that you can get a fist easily through the strap. Underwater the rig BP/W is held in place primarily by the waist strap being secure enough.

Using a BP/W does not mean that you have to use a hogarthian webbing system. There are deluxe harnesses like Elite 2 Harness (picture below) that you can use and have the typical adjustment points you would find on a jacket BCD. There are also soft backplates that can be used like Travel Softplate with Back Pad or Ultralight Travel Plate

using a BP/W does not mean you have to subscribe to DIR, allthough if you ever plan on doing technical diving it may be worth it to start building muscle memory with hogarthian rigs as those are much more common.

 

[loosenit2]

 

[formernuke]

DIR-diver.com - Adjust the backplate