First Dive with BP/W...

[fisheater]

Man this was the post I have been looking for. I'm in the process of replacing my jacket style BC and am considering a BP/W. I was kind of worried the transition was going to be a big learning curve but from what I'm hearing its not.

Best to learn quickly that your BP/W shoulder straps should be way looser than you had your standard BC straps. The backplate will keep your tank steady, so you don't have to reply on strap tension to do that job. Here's a great place to see how to adjust your harness. http://www.baue.org/faq/backplate_sizing_inline_images.php


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[bpotkin]

No big deal changing to a BP/w. I use a diverite transpack with a stainless steel back plate. Helps with keeping horizontal trim.

 

[Hatul]

Do you mean with aluminum doubles because of the buoyancy when empty? Or because of the steel plate's greater resistance to deformation under weight?

I was thinking of BP/Wing as opposed to a soft BC. An aluminum plate may be fine.

 

[FM1520]

I am making the the switch as well - Deep Sea Supply 30lb horseshoe wing and SS backplate. What are you using for ditch-able weight? I see two options: weight belt or weight pockets attached to the waist strap with the quick release pull down tab.

 

[mblazer]

I am making the the switch as well - Deep Sea Supply 30lb horseshoe wing and SS backplate. What are you using for ditch-able weight? I see two options: weight belt or weight pockets attached to the waist strap with the quick release pull down tab.

I'm making the switch as well - DSS SS plate with Torus 35lb wing (for dry suit diving). I'll be getting a separate, lighter rig for warm water. Regarding weights, I ordered the DSS bolt-on weights, which add another 8 pounds to the plate, for a total of 14. For the rest I use a Seasoft weight harness -- that splits the weight between the BP and the harness, weights in the harness are easily ditchable, and I don't have to worry about a weight belt sliding off of my non-hips.

 

[Golo]

I am glad I found out about BP/W before I bought a regular BCD. I had been renting BCDs, and was hoping to find one some day that would fit properly and not do stuff like move around or ride up or was too tight. I also never really liked the feeling of the jacket around my chest, though that was more of a small annoyance than a problem to me. Plus I thought it's just ill fitting BCDs. But having had a bunch of ill fitting BCDs, I certainly didn't want to buy one without trying. After I first saw people using BP/W on a dive boat, not knowing what it was, I got intrigued and talked to them about it. They recommended I should just try one, so I actually got the dive ops personal BP/W for a few dives. Even though it wasn't really adjusted to my size, once I was under water I instantly knew, this is what I want. I bought BP/W and couldn't be happier! Before, diving was fun. Now it is great fun

I guess a backinflate would have done the job as well, but I didn't have a chance to dive one of those yet.

 

[billt4sf]

Wow, that is GREAT to hear! It gives me hope. We tried wings for the first time and had lots of problems, but no doubt a good part of that was because we already had problems and we were trying to fix some of them by changing to wings. Maybe in retrospect that wasn't the wisest idea but we're committed to getting it right. We want to take the wings into a pool to work out the nits before we go back to the (cold) ocean.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/448238-cold-water-diving-pita.html

- Bill

 

[TSandM]

The secret to backplates is the crotch strap Seriously, a snug crotch strap can make up for a harness that is a bit loose (although not one that is uneven).

 

[FinnMom]

I do love a BP wing but if my drysuit didn't have pockets i would miss that 1 feature from a jacket BCD.

I dive cold water => thick undersuit => needs lots of weight. A BP/W is really nice because you can pair it with a 6mm backplate weighing nearly 6 kg. That's a nice, steady and wide distribution of that weight. With doubles you can also easily add 3-4 kg between the tanks, and if I wanted I could even get 2-3kg along the inside spine of the backplate (or a zippered pouch to which you can add & remove lead pellets, allowing 0-2,5 kg). For me this adds up to no weight belt at all. Many of the same wings can be paired with an ordinary backplate at about 2kg, or an aluminium plate, or maybe even a titanium plate.

Not being a cave diver, it's also acceptable for me to have quick releases on both the right and left sides. It's really nice for any time you want remove the rig with speed & ease. I esp. like quick releases when I need to hang onto a zodiac and get the BP off: just hang on tight with the "downstream" arm, release the upstream clip and the current/waves will generally remove the BP for you and leave it dangling on your downstream arm.

 

[billt4sf]

it's also acceptable for me to have quick releases on both the right and left sides..

Hi FinnMom:

What quick releases do you use? Did you add them to the rig after you bought it, or did they come with the harness system?

---------- Post added April 4th, 2013 at 10:18 AM ----------

For the rest I use a Seasoft weight harness -- that splits the weight between the BP and the harness, weights in the harness are easily ditchable, and I don't have to worry about a weight belt sliding off of my non-hips.

I have some of the same problems, thanks for mentioning this.

Can those weight pockets slide all the way to the front? How do you ditch them? Do you think the weight harness would fit a tall guy (6'6", 195cm)

Thanks,

Bill