New Diver here looking to make my first gear purchase. I decided to investigate @ BP/W. Loved the feel, pack-ability, & versatility. I really don't like the restricted feel of a jacket. I visited several dive shops & received kudos for my choice at all but one. Other than the speech about it being "Tech Gear" he felt that at the surface the back inflate tended to push you face down. No one who used the gear themselves mentioned it. It seems to me that under full inflate it may exert minimal pressure forward if the center of gravity of the tank was centered on the wing. From what little have seen the C.O.G of the tank is lower than the center of lift of the wing, therefore balance the lift. Does this make sense? Since jacket BC's tend to make me lean back my guess is that a BP/W should make me float either vertical or maybe a little forward. As long as it would keep the wearers face out of the water in an unconscious diver scenario i'm OK with it. I would like to hear from the minions of BP/W users here who have helped me so far............................Thanks
Im not sure where this misconception comes from bit I hear it all the time. Usually from people who have never tried a BP/W or tried it once and didnt get on with it. Heres my opinion in particular order:
-Some older 'rec tec' style systems had oversized wings and soft backplates. The Zeagle Ranger comes to mind. I often used to see divers over inflating oversized wings on the surface - this will push you forward as its like putting a life raft on your back.
-Proper fit = good buoyancy and trim. You will struggle to get properly trimmed in an ill fitting rig.
-Jacket BC's rarely fit correctly. You can easily adjust waist size, but you cant change the cut and stitched material that forms the shoulder area from your back, over the shoulder to the chest. This is area is crucial for a good fit. Same problem with soft harnesses as backplates with stitched shoulder 'bananas'. They look adjustable, but theres not much you can do.
-30lb wing is plenty for single cylinders up to around 100cuft. You simply dont need as much lift as is provided on some of these rigs.
- A simple steel or aluminum backplate with a nice clean wing, tank adapter and uncluttered webbing will do nicely. Halcyon, DeepSeaSupply, Oxycheq etc.
- When at the surface, I like my head just under or right at the surface. I keep my reg in and can easily see divers below me, other divers on the tag line & ladder, the crew on the boat and more importantly - I can see if the prop is turning.
