Fresh ammo for the bp/wings debate

[SeaJay]

Awwww...

Now see... That worked out great!

Certainly the Easter Monkey would be so impressed.

 

[Windwalker]

SeaJay once bubbled...
I get asked all the time why I'm so crazy about my bp/wing. It was a long, hard road of discovering for myself what I liked best!

I've posted the "basics" (what every diver investing their hard-earned money in a BC should know) here for those of you who are just learning about these awesome pieces of equipment!

Enjoy! (No making fun of my sketches, now!)

I am having problems getting to your article, has the address changed? Thanks..

Thanks for your Insights

 

[GearHead]

Windwalker once bubbled...


I am having problems getting to your article, has the address changed? Thanks..

Thanks for your Insights

I think this link will get you where you want to go:
Buoyancy Compensators

 

[SeaJay]

Nice catch, Gearhead!

Yes, the address did change. I switched servers. The article is the same, though... I just switched the whole site over.

I switched it from my local ISP to... My own server. I now officially own an internet service provider. It's been three years in the building. Yipee!

Sorry, couldn't help but to brag. I'm a very proud papa.

Totally wireless, too... Oooooo... Can you say, "high speed internet?" I'm so pumped I can't even stand it. This has been a dream in the making for many years.

Okay, sorry... Back to the subject at hand.

 

[Windwalker]

You make some excellent points. I am very new to diving, and have tried a jacket style (the style I learned in) and I was allowed to use an instructors BP/Wing for a couple of dives. I have to admit, I prefer the BP/Wing to the Jacket simply because it kept me more horizontal in the water. I did however learn about the over-inflation or "AquaPlant" problem and how to avoid it. One thing I did notice was when I was diving around my arm would get slapped by the wings every once in a while when I changed directions. I hear that some wings have a "bungie" retraction mechinism. Please excuse my ignorance. I am still learning the lingo, do's don'ts and what not.

Thanks for the excellent article! I am sure it will click more and more as I continue to dive with various BC's in my search for the Ultimate.

 

[Amber]

All in all, this thread was informative. There were some rocky parts but I got a lot of good opinions and information.

I am new to diving in that I don't have many dives under my belt, but I've been interested in bp/wings for a while now. I havn't had the oppertunity to try it yet though. I like reading everyones opinion on the subject.

 

[Allen42]

What exactly is wrong with using trim weights? If my bc/tank/weight configuration requires some weight be moved to the upper part of my body to help with my preferred orientation when motionless, something's wrong with ME?

Seriously, I don't understand. There seems to be a fine (imperceptible to me) difference to adding weight to a BP or STA to affect trim, and changing the placements of your supplemental weights.

As I'm always looking to improve, can someone offer a bit of polite education?

 

[JeffG]

Allen42 once bubbled...
What exactly is wrong with using trim weights? <snip>

Where does you get that???? The article says that Trim pockets are an improvement (over not having them)

 

[Charlie99]

Allen42 once bubbled...
What exactly is wrong with using trim weights? If my bc/tank/weight configuration requires some weight be moved to the upper part of my body to help with my preferred orientation when motionless, something's wrong with ME?

Seriously, I don't understand. There seems to be a fine (imperceptible to me) difference to adding weight to a BP or STA to affect trim, and changing the placements of your supplemental weights.

As I'm always looking to improve, can someone offer a bit of polite education?

Nope, can't educate you at all. There's nothing wrong with using trim weights at all.

 

[Allen42]

Walter, in his initial review of the article (I can't open the article itself):

"Not all divers, however, are big fans of back-inflate style BC's. These are notorious for pushing the diver "face forward" at the surface, and therefore are not favored by many divers who spend a lot of time at the surface, such as instructors, students, or boat divers.”

Any healthy diver can rest comfortably in a supine position while on the surface in a back inflate BC. To counteract this problem in both of these styles of BC, many of today's manufacturers are selling their BC's with "trim pockets" placed behind the diver and on either side of the tank.”

This is another example of trying to change gear to compensate for poor training."



And then Northeastwrecks:

"Perhaps you could show us how to use trim weights to compensate for poor skills." and as an insult later "Just make sure that you bring your trim weights."