Buoyancy Compensation Preference

[Chad Carney]

I dive the new Zeagle Stiletto.

http://www.zeagle.com/index.php?src=gendocs&link=Stiletto&submenu=RecreationalBC

Not wild about this photo, and the copy needs a rewrite too, but the BC is great!

Chad
"Zeagle biased"

 

[Mandy3206]

:06:

You guys are obviously the experts, but...

I can't imagine ever having enough air in *any* vest BC to notice *any* squeeze except possibly on the surface. FWIW, the current crop of vest BCs that I've tried pretty much are designed to expand outward. Not like the older BCs that we used for training, IMO. I suppose that, like anything, BC inflation could be overdone. YMMV.

Exactly, I like to inflate the BC at the surface and lay back on it until the boat comes to pick me up, just my preference

 

[-hh]

I can't imagine ever having enough air in *any* vest BC to notice *any* squeeze except possibly on the surface.

You're right for generic rec warmwater, for you should never need to have that much thermal protection on to need to offset a ton of suit squeeze at depth - - if you do, then it probably means that your real problem is that you're overweighted.

Sure, there are exceptions if you're wearing doubles and/or coldwater diving in a heavier wetsuit. But this isn't plainest vannilla resort recreational diving, and as you go on to say...

FWIW, the current crop of vest BCs that I've tried pretty much are designed to expand outward. Not like the older BCs...

Yup, the 21st Century reality is that a good Jacket BCD is not the obscenely evil beast that it has been demonized into.

And in addition, these newer Jacket-style BC's have also moved their air bladders "down" the body closer to the hips (and weightbelt), rather than up around the neck, which has helped offset those pesky during-the-dive trim complaints too.

In general, the only time that you should need to really pump up your BC is on the surface during certain water conditions. I'd call these "fairly rough" as sometimes you'll prefer floating high so that your bouyancy lifts your face over the waves rather than floating low and having every one of them break over your head and/or in your face. This type of water condition may not be common where you dive, but its quite fatiguing and not particularly condusive to "just rolling onto your back" for a surface float...between that and my heavy UW camera that tips me forward (a faceplant makes it hard to see the boat), I've been planning on getting rid of my BP/W as soon as my wife isn't paying attention to my finances and go back to a Jacket.


-hh

 

[Mr. Sunday]

DUI Delta wing currently. I also have a Beuchat Masterlift Tek. I am thinking about a Oxycheq Signature #30 for my next wing

 

[Ron Brandt]

This thread is two years old and still going.

I now use an Oxycheq Mach V wing and bp set-up. This wing is fantastic and I am honored to be able to sell them.

Ron

 

[caveseeker7]

Dive Rite alu and ss backplates and harnesses (only because I hadn't seen Tobin's yet ) and Oxycheq wings, oval 45 lbs single tank and horseshoe 40 lbs for doubles (with a rebreather in between ).