Hello! New to diving! BCD sizes on wetsuit vs drysuit?

[Mikanx]

Hi,

I was recommended a size "S" BCD of Oceanic Biolite(yes my very first BCD) in store if I were to wear it with a dry suit and purchased it. I went on my first dive with it with a dive shop in a tropical country with wet suit, it drags around(left,right,up) even though I pulled it to the tightest fit, and the dive master said it was kinda big for me so I ended up using the rental on size XXS and XS( both fits me comfortably and doesn't drag around while I'm diving). So I'm wondering, is the size S only for drysuit so it fits me snugly without being too tight or was I just recommended a size too big? I'm still hoping it will fit me when I put on a dry suit......................................

I bought the BCD in a tropical country(vacation in Malaysia) so I didn't get to try it with a rental drysuit yet till I get back to Canada.

 

[SeaHorse81]

I'm thinking you were told to buy too large a size. I dive both wet and dry and have not noticed any difference in BC fit between the two.

 

[Marie13]

BCD specifically marketed as travel/tropical use are probably not going to have enough lift for a dry suit. This is totally separate from the actual size (M, L, etc).

Check to see if your BCD is specifically recommended for warm water use only (aka less exposure protection/weight needed).

 

[Marie13]

Biolite

Biolite is a lightweight travel BC. The small has a lift of 25 lbs.

I read something on FB recently from either DAN or PADI about an inexperienced dry suit diver (first dry suit dive with a rented suit and no class/training) who dove that dry suit with a travel BC. Diver ended up drowning, I believe.

Travel BCDs and dry suits are not a good combo. Travel BCDs generally don't have the lift needed to handle the heavier weight of a dry suit and the additional lead dry suits require.

OP, a dry suit class/training is strongly recommended. Many places will not rent dry suits unless the diver has proof of training.

 

[tbone1004]

you likely were just recommended the wrong size unfortunately... See if you can return it. If you are swapping between tropics and drysuit, you really should look at a backplate and wing because they are infinitely adjustable as long as you have the right length backplate. The backplate size doesn't change with exposure protection, so you trim the harness for your drysuit use, and just snug it up a bit for wetsuit diving.

 

[Rechno]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not see the issue of the extra weight of the drysuit.
The drysuit weights more, however in the water it has a positive buoyancy, thus you nee extra lead to compensate for that. So if properly done it should sum up to zero difference. (If you do not flood the suit).
In case you flood the drysuit, you either need to be able to compensate by having that extra capacity in your wing, OR being able to ditch lead.

So the question to me is rather, if the BCD is able to, securely, hold the amount of lead, because loosing it might cause some serious trouble. If not, you should use a belt.

What seems more relevant in terms of additional negative buoyancy is additional gear, that you might take with you when diving cold water or steel vs aluminum tanks.

Please take note that I do not promote using a travel BCD, just that I do not see the "drysuit-weight" issue but other reasons.
I also recommend a drysuit class or at least the guidance of very experienced drysuit -diver, since without it, people tend to be highly overweighted when they begin diving the drysuit to compensate for air left in the suit and of course learning the handling as well as emergency procedures is necessary.

 

[Mikanx]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your reply. I am dry suit certified but since it's my first time purchasing equipments , I just bought whichever BCD is recommended to me without knowing much about BCD having sizes or that they could be not that great a fit with dry suit until a few dive masters pointed out it's a bit big on me while I went diving with them...now I'm learning that a travel bcd isn't the best for drysuit.......................... and it's big on me

 

[Mikanx]

you likely were just recommended the wrong size unfortunately... See if you can return it. If you are swapping between tropics and drysuit, you really should look at a backplate and wing because they are infinitely adjustable as long as you have the right length backplate. The backplate size doesn't change with exposure protection, so you trim the harness for your drysuit use, and just snug it up a bit for wetsuit diving.

Receipt says non refundable unfortunately, I would love to at least exchange it for a size down but I don't think it's happening. I'll just sell it Probably gonna go to an expert of both dry and wet suit.

 

[tbone1004]

Receipt says non refundable unfortunately, I would love to at least exchange it for a size down but I don't think it's happening. I'll just sell it Probably gonna go to an expert of both dry and wet suit.

I would highly recommend looking at a backplate and wing if you're regularly going back and forth since that is honestly going to be the only rig that will easily interchange with both rigs. This has nothing to do with my bias towards bp/w's in general, but more about how this is really going to be the best rig for you based on what your diving parameters are

 

[SeaHorse81]

I would highly recommend looking at a backplate and wing if you're regularly going back and forth since that is honestly going to be the only rig that will easily interchange with both rigs.

My personal experience has been that my conventional BCD switches back and forth just fine. I've never noticed any issue at all in that regard. Nothing feels different, works differently, or has to be adjusted, ever.

On the other hand, I tried a BP/W once and hated it. Not because there's anything wrong with a BP/W, because it's a fine rig that is greatly beneficial and preferred by many. The point is, individual preferences vary and the only way to know is by trying stuff out, whether renting or borrowing, before investing in it.

@Mikanx, don't feel too bad. The misdirected purchase is unfortunate, but I'd say the vast majority of us bought something (or a bunch of things) early on that ultimately didn't work out for some reason or other. It's part of the learning curve. You learned a valuable lesson both about gear fit and about the risks of buying something sight-unseen just because somebody suggested it. Sometimes that will work out, but often, it won't.

Welcome to diving!