How much weight can I lose with BPW?

[Dannybot]

I currently am using a Zeagle express tech soft plate BPW. I normally use 6-8 pounds of weight depending on how much neoprene I wear.

So, like the title says: can I count on dropping most of that weight with a normal 5 pound steel plate?

 

[guruboy]

You won't lose any weight.

Instead of having it as lead, it will be part of your BP.

 

[Scared Silly]

You will probably to drop a pound or two by switching out the soft plate for a hard plate which will make up for the rest. That is the BP will take 5lbs, the other weight will made up by the loss in buoyancy of the soft plate.

In other words, switch to the hard plate and do a dive.

 

[Dannybot]

You won't lose any weight.

Instead of having it as lead, it will be part of your BP.

Yes. That is kind of what I was asking— how much less lead will I need to wear.

 

[Neilwood]

Assuming no other changes (wings etc) the ballast from the plate would be about 3Kg (6.6lb) so I would say that your 5lb guesstimate would be pretty accurate.

 

[Ojai Diver]

There is also all the floaty material in a BCD that no longer needs to be offset.

Back in my glory days of youth, diving with my trusty Sea Quest BC and an aluminum 80, I customarily wore 22-24 pounds of weight.

Now, with a steel backplate and wing and steel tank (the latter of which admittedly also lets me drop weight due to better buoyancy characteristics) I dive with 4 pounds on my belt, 8 pounds if I wear my wetsuit jacket.

I don't know how I did it back then...

 

[boulderjohn]

What kind of plate are you going to get? They come in many different weights. I have a couple, shooing the one I want on a specific dive by its weight.

 

[Bob DBF]

I currently am using a Zeagle express tech soft plate BPW. I normally use 6-8 pounds of weight depending on how much neoprene I wear.

So, like the title says: can I count on dropping most of that weight with a normal 5 pound steel plate?

Mostly you move the weight around, with a 5# plate on your back you take off 5# from your belt.

The only exception is that you will loose the difference in buoyancy between your present BC and the wing. In my case, my old jacket was around 6# more buoyant than the wing I use now. All the padding on a jacket (or on the delux padded harnesses for BP/W) is buoyant and will need more weight to make the rig neutral.



Bob

 

[boulderjohn]

Mostly you move the weight around, with a 5# plate on your back you take off 5# from your belt.

The only exception is that you will loose the difference in buoyancy between your present BC and the wing. In my case, my old jacket was around 6# more buoyant than the wing I use now. All the padding on a jacket (or on the delux padded harnesses for BP/W) is buoyant and will need more weight to make the rig neutral.

As Bob suggests, the answer is more complicated than it might seem. I started diving a couple decades ago with a certain model of BCD. I got quite used to it. Then I became a professional working for a shop that did not sell that brand. When I got a chance to get a nearly identical model the shop did sell at a great discount, I made the switch. Despite the fact that the BCDs looked almost identical, there was a clear 2 pound difference in buoyancy.

 

[Streydog]

I am curious about how my weighting will change as well. I am going from a Zeagle Brigade to a AL BPW. According to my bathroom scale the Zeagle weighs 7.6 lbs and the BPW comes in at 7.2 lbs. It looks like I will be very close to the same weighting as I have been using.