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The one evidenced by your comment on "BP know-it-alls" and your flawed analogy of unsolicited gear condemnations vs. solicited free discussion.
Other than for some types of photography, I'm unaware of any situation where a jacket-style would be superior to a BP or a good-quality back-inflate. Since he didn't specify any specialized uses, I went with a general recommendation.
Sounds like a good topic for the Site Support forum.
You definitely need to come down for a visit. If nothing else we'll skew those percentages down a bit.
Red herring #1. It's up to each individual diver to decide which one would be best for him/her. I've done nothing more than state my experiences with both jackets and BPs and my reasoning why I prefer one over the other. If you have a problem with me or anyone else providing input or debating points that you raise, then I suggest you take it up with board management.
A valid point. See, you can make one!
False.
This shows that my hope you'd finally mastered the reading comprehension skills mentioned in my last post to you was in vain. Instead of constantly bleating about this, try reading it again one last time. If that doesn't work, ask someone to explain it to you.
Red herring argument #2. You're just making this stuff up as you go along, aren't you?
Agree with both...especially the second. Don't just listen to anyone blindly...think for yourself. Read everything you can, ask questions wherever you can, try as many styles as you can, and make an informed decision.
Hi MikeF: as a warm water, no-wetsuit-needed diver, I rarely need to wear any weights, and rarely do we have to put more than 6-10 pounds even on students. So we rarely need to be creative with where we throw the weight on them. However, I'm very curious, should the need arise, where should we place the weight on them on the jacket BC? Short of getting one of those full-body weight harness things, and using the pockets (which aren't too far from where the weight would be on a weight belt), and using tank trim weights, what do you normally do to trim a student in a jacket BC?
The point is - whatever works best for you.
Many of the newer jackets have trim weight pockets located high on the jacket, and they work well. Or you can drop back to the way we used to do it (and still do when necessary) and put an ankle weight or two around the tank valve under the regulator. Getting those feet up off the bottom is key to making a diver a good one.
divedivedive! once bubbled...
To leadweight, Mouth Breather, et al... I think one problem is that you seem to not be willing to consider the backplate to be a viable alternative within the BC category: "I think we should split this BC thingie into "Backplates" and everything else that can hold a tank on your back.". But as far as I see a buoyancy compensating device is anything that helps you compensate buoyancy. Some will be better than others. b/p users think so and they give their reasons why, as a matter of recommending an option that has worked for many people. I use one and it is fantastic in a non-tech capacity; I'm as un-DIR as you get with my split fins and Cobra, and the closest I'll get to an overhead dive is when I pass underneath the boat on the way to the ladder. So it's totally a recreational rig, and can be compared to any jackets in that capacity.
But I'll agree that diving is fun whether I'm in my b/p or holding an inverted plastic bag over my head to stay neutrally buoyant.
