I know backplate is best, but.....

[Grajan]

Mike,
You might also want to take a look at the Seaquest Balance. It is a fairly minimalist back inflate BC that provides many of the benefits of a BP / Wing but also has quick release buckles.

The integrated weight system is very easy to use and the whole rig is extremely comfortable. There is a chest strap but it hardly needs it and I just keep it hooked up but loose.

The lack of metal back plate is also an advantage for warm water divers who travel a lot (there are rear trim pockets for weight distribution).

Worth a look IMO

http://www.sea-quest.com/pages/bc/bc_balance.html

Graham

 

[wch]

Rick Murchison once bubbled...
with 12 (count 'em, twelve!) "D" rings, that BC positively screams "wannabe."
Rick

I hope you ducked Mike!
I don’t understand the "Wannabe" thing. I regularly watch the Discovery channel and the National Geographic channel shows that have anything to do with diving. I have seen OMS BP/Wings set-ups rarely on those shows, and all of the rest of the professional divers on the various wreck/archeology explorations use mass produced BC’s. From the North Atlantic, the Baltic, the Med, and the Pacific, you mean to tell me that ALL of these divers who are daily working on these sites are "wannabe’s" because they use regular production BC’s and not an approved BP/Wing?
I always look to see what the workers/camera men are using. Oceanic, Mares, Aqualung, and Scubapro are the brand names I see regularly on these shows. I am not trying to say what type is better, only want types I see really used.
I personally want to try a BP/Wing, and it may be that in the future it will be the configuration of choice for the masses and the professionals, but I would gladly be counted as a "wannabe" if I could be diving one of those sites in a production bc, with quick releases, d-rings a dangl’n and all.
Bill
And yeah, 12 is pretty excessive!

 

[raxafarian]

buff once bubbled...


I do like the quick release buckles. I have a lot of arthritis in my shoulders and don't have good mobility in them. Just trying to get out of my regular BC is at times painful and difficult.

can you put your arms straight up over your head? If so, it's easy to get into the bp harness. I put mine on my car (old car...don't care about it) and crouch down, put arms straight up through harness and stand up into it. Easy. I was concerned about lack of flexibility and getting the harness on and off... not even an issue. To get out, I bend over to take some of the weight off the shoulder strap, and then chicken wing out of it.

Don't know your situation, just wanted to say that I had concerns about the harness, and these are the ways the guy that helped me set it up showed me how to get in and out of it.

 

[JamesK]

wch once bubbled...

I hope you ducked Mike!
I don’t understand the "Wannabe" thing. I regularly watch the Discovery channel and the National Geographic channel shows that have anything to do with diving. I have seen OMS BP/Wings set-ups rarely on those shows, and (SNIP)

I watch those shows all the time too. However, all I usually see is those same people, who are supposed to be"conservationists", with crap dangling everywhere smacking up the reef, dragging their fins across everything in site, and basically making a mess.

I am not saying that these people would be better divers if they wore a BP/Wings. What I am saying is that I would not necassarily look up to these people as role models.

 

[wch]

I thought the same thing about the "Shark Week" host and celeberty divers. Did you see all the stuff hanging off of Nigel's HUB?
I meant the divers who are doing the wreck exploration/recovery.

 

[Rick Murchison]

wch once bubbled...
I don’t understand the "Wannabe" thing....
And yeah, 12 is pretty excessive!

Looks like you do understand it after all. My objection is to all the unnecessary bells, whistles and doodads on this particular BC. They have attempted to throw everything anyone may have ever heard of that could be associated with "tech" into this sack, and the result is a monstrous joke.
I have nothing against jacket BC's at all - indeed, I use 'em frequently and feel they are the best choice in many cases... that is jackets with perhaps two "D" rings, streamlined pockets and, at most a hardened spine for the tank mount.
I also have no objection to QD's - have a Transpac II that I dive with doubles and love. And since I own a BP/Harness, I have the luxury of choosing the best rig for the dive. It isn't always a BP/Wing.
But the Dacor "Rig Pro" screams "wannabe."
Rick

 

[wch]

RickM,
I have read your posts on BC's and you have one of the most balanced opinions on the subject that I have read.
I just thought that Mike asked a legit question and a few posts just made fun of the BC he was looking at. You have to admit there is vocal group on the board that one gets the opinion from that it is BP/Wings or you are a foolish/unsafe diver.
Too many people, both professional and rec, use other types of rigs in a safe and productive way.
Bill

 

[Rick Murchison]

wch once bubbled...
You have to admit there is vocal group on the board that one gets the opinion from that it is BP/Wings or you are a foolish/unsafe diver.

Admit it? Indeed... even casual observation makes it crystal clear. In my "regular buddy" bunch we average over 25 years diving experience. None of us needs to show off or prove anything to any other divers. We have all sorts of stuff we've accumulated over the years - much of it is out of style now, but still good stuff. Most of us have BP/wings; all of us have one or more jackets. This weekend, for example, six of us will be diving in the Gulf for pure fun, watching "the show" and taking pictures. I haven't asked any of my buddies which BC they'll be wearing, but I'm pretty sure none of us will be using our BP/wings for those dives, and all the 7' hoses will stay home.
Rick