First BC Advice wanted

[Grumblefish]

I'm looking for any recomendations for my first BC.

I'm OW certified with around 30 dives logged, and doing AOW soon. all of my dives so far have been fairly simple, single tank dives, but I am interested in pursuing more technical diving, and hope to work my way through dry-suit, twins, Nitrox and mixed gas diving and deep wreck diving over the next few years, although probably not serious tech diving or cave for many years (if ever).

I'm looking to purchase my first BC, and want one that will grow with my diving experience - at least for a few years. At the moment, I've got my eye on the Scubapro S-Tek, but I'm unsure wheteher this is a good compromise or just a gimick - any comments or recommendations would be most welcome and taken on board.

 

[The Kraken]

Grumblefish,
I'll go ahead and stem the tide of the BP/W proponents (Back Plate and Wing).
A BP/W setup is the most functional, cost effective way that you can possibly take to follow your planned course of development.

A good stainless steel back plate and a wing for a single tank will cost you around $400. Throw in a few bucks for some 2" nylon webbing and a few more dollars for some d-rings and you're set for life.

When you get ready to go to doubles all you will have to do is buy a wing for doubles.

For those who plan to advance their levels of accomplishment in scuba diving, the bp/w setup is the most rational approach.

By the way, I think Dive Rite is having a current special on BP/W packages.

 

[yknot]

Grumblefish-the biggest problem with the BP&W advice is that as a new diver looking to buy gear, they are difficult to quantify. Out of eight different LDS's within a reasonable drive of my house, only two even carry BP&W's and they don't seem to know much about them. In fact, the employees tend to walk right past them when a customer is looking for a BC. They are also intimidating because not all brands are sold as a complete unit, like a weight integrated BC would be. Every piece may be purchased separately and there won't be any obvious info stating that your kit is complete. A BP&W may be the ideal choice for a BC that can adapt and grow with an increase in your demands and should be looked at further. Start with trying to meet with divers in your area that use this type of gear for a demo and further instruction. Chances are, these divers won't be affiliated with the shop thats pushing the Scubapro.

 

[Essroc123]

I'm looking for any recomendations for my first BC.

I'm OW certified with around 30 dives logged, and doing AOW soon. all of my dives so far have been fairly simple, single tank dives, but I am interested in pursuing more technical diving, and hope to work my way through dry-suit, twins, Nitrox and mixed gas diving and deep wreck diving over the next few years, although probably not serious tech diving or cave for many years (if ever).

I'm looking to purchase my first BC, and want one that will grow with my diving experience - at least for a few years. At the moment, I've got my eye on the Scubapro S-Tek, but I'm unsure wheteher this is a good compromise or just a gimick - any comments or recommendations would be most welcome and taken on board.

Back plate and wing is the way to go. Why buy a jacket style now, and a bp/w setup later on? Start with a single tank setup and a smaller wing at first, and then as noted above, all you really need to do is get a larger wing and some additional hardware for the backplate.

Now the next question that you need to ask is which brand do you want to go with? I myself say Halcyon. But that is just me. I know people that swear by other brand names.

 

[Seabear70]

Back inflate? Cheaper, and has most of the advantages of BP/W, and a few advantages I do not think that a BP/W has.

Ok, switching from neoprene to nomex now.

 

[rollinssm]

If you are truely interested in Tech Diving later on, then I would strongly recomend a Dive Rite set up. I dove a good quality non-tech Back Inflated system for years but once I started to carry Deco gas under my arm pit the non-tech Back Inflation system no longer worked (or worked as well). I have switched to a Dive Rite system. There is nothing wrong with my older non-tech Back Inflation system but it just could not meet the needs of tech diving.