What about all of the attachments and how/where they are attached and what they do and how they support the "stuff" attached to the diver? What about holding weights and taking over the function of the weight belt? F.Y.I. I am not talking about the bag that holds the air only, I am talking about the whole system.
In fact, it would be very difficult for techies, and any other "special interest" divers, to do the things they do today if they had to use the same BC I used in 1984.
A slide stop is less than one inch wide. Lets call it half an inch. You can put one D ring per slide stop. The typical BP/W uses what...10 feet of webbing? Lets say half a foot is taken up behind the backplage. That leaves 9.5 feet for attaching D rings. At 24 D rings per foot, that is over 200 D rings. If you can't attach all you need with 200 D rings, then you have problems
You can put weight integration on a BP/W if you desire, or if you like to keep things simple, you can use a weight belt. Not all BC's are weight integrated, so I'm not sure this should be brought into the debate.
You do realize that some of the most advanced dives in the world were done in your 1984 equipment? Quite a bit of caves in Florida were explored using Clorox jugs as a wing.
I agree that most students will rise to the standard set by their instruction but I don't agree that to achieve a high standard of diving a BP/W is required nor does it make it any harder or easier. It's just different.
I too like a BP/W (for me) but I'm perfectly capable of diving with a jacket BC. I just don't see it as easier or harder, just different.
The reality is that to become a technical diver, BP/W are the standard fare. The fact that they also function quite well in open, non technical diving is a big plus. But for someone who never plans to become a technical diver it just becomes a gear configuration choice. Not better or worse.
Once again, I did not mean to say that you have to have a backplate and wing to attain a high standard of diving. I could have written my original sentence better, but you know what I meant, and I've already clarified once. I don't want you, or anyone else, to come away with the idea that I think you have to dive in a backplate and wing to be a good diver, but merely that I feel the "diving in XXX configuration is too hard for students to learn now" is silly. All that says is the quality of scuba education has dropped dramatically from the days when students dove with no wing and had to learn to properly weight themselves.
On the issue of harder or easier, that is always an opinion. It is my opinion that a BP/W is easier, your opinion that it is not easier. Simple enough, I think we each agree on this. I think any rational person would agree with us on this. Even though I love backplate and wings, and feel they make diving easier, I know many people disagree and that's fine with me. I don't care how they dive, unless they want to go on a technical dive with me. Then, I'll insist on a few basics, such as no yokes in soft or hard overhead
Otherwise, if someone can explain to me why they dive liike they do then, that's great, I'm glad to dive with them.*
*disclaimer: there are some people who can give great explanations for their gear but are unsafe divers, and I will not dive with them.
