Light/Travel BCD for DMT

[UFOrb]

Another option is a Zeagle Express Tech, which have a 1000D bladder.

Just wanted to correct myself, as far as I'm aware the ET actually has an 820D bladder, not 1000D.

Also, I forgot you were going for DM. The others have made some good points about pockets you may need to think about. If you do go for the Litehawk I'm sure you could replace the small waist pockets with some 3rd party pockets as there's just webbing around the waist; no cumbersome cumberbund
Maybe something like this: Dive Rite Bellows Horizontal Pocket with Daisy Chain

Best of luck anyway!

 

[mik3ydll]

about the pockets: that was also my main concern with travel bcd's, but the litehawk has a regular "weight-belt strap" as "cummerbund" so I thought about buying an extra pocket or two and just put it on there and regular BCDs also don't have that big pockets (as i had to find out with a mares dragon), so that should be fine.
afaik I'll have to carry around a slate, smb, torch, knife and a "steel pointer" and I think the smb is pretty much the only thing that occupies a pocket all the time, the slate would also be nice to not have it dangling around, but the pocket for that would need to be quite big. The knife is "bolted on" (Aqualung knife) and torch and pointer have to dangle around. So one "big" spare pocket should be ideal

 

[stuartv]

I am doing DM training right now. I'm doing it all in my BP/W. I can carry my wet notes, SMB, light, cutting devices, etc., without any pockets and without anything dangling. If I needed to carry extra weight to be able to give some to someone mid-dive, I would put some trim weight pockets on my weight belt, put the weights in those, and wear that during the dive.

I did my "demonstration quality" skills demonstrations yesterday, to my instructor. For the BCD remove/replace, he asked me about it before we went down. He was willing to give me some kind of out on that. I suppose I could have borrowed a rental BCD to use for that. I told him it was no problem to do it in my rig, and that's just what I did. I think it's easier than an integrated BCD in a lot of ways. There's only 1 buckle to undo to remove the whole thing, and there are no adjustments to slack or re-tighten. No chest strap to fool with. No cummerbund and a buckle on top of that. The only wrinkle is that it has a crotch strap. But, after I got my arms back in the shoulder straps, reaching behind me to grab the crotch strap when it attaches to the plate, then running my hand down it to the end and passing it around one leg from behind to pull it up in front and pass the waist strap through it was no problem at all.

I got similar questioning back when I did the Rescue Diver course and they offered to let me use a rental BCD for the exercise where I had to get a non-responsive diver out of their rig, then doff my own while towing the diver, giving rescue breaths, etc.. I told them I would be fine and I doffed my rig just as easily as anyone else doffed an integrated BCD.

I'm not saying you SHOULD get a BP/W. In fact, for what you (the OP) is planning, you'll probably make your life easier to go with an integrated BCD - but more for "first impression" reasons than anything. I'm just saying, you don't necessarily need all those "features" that you seem to think you'll need.

 

[Charred]

I'm always surprised the Dive Rite Travel Pac does not come up in these discussions. Is it just not widely distributed?

 

[Vicko]

Clip off the smb outside the pocket, thats also a good way for people to identiy you in a crowd.
You need something that you can put on and off as fast as possible, I use a mares rover and it fits my needs perfectly when I added 2 D-rings on the straps. It's not a grreat BCD, but it's what I need, and I can get them dirt cheep so I don't mind geting a new one when (if) perforate the integrated bladder.

 

[mik3ydll]

I am doing DM training right now. I'm doing it all in my BP/W. I can carry my wet notes, SMB, light, cutting devices, etc., without any pockets and without anything dangling. If I needed to carry extra weight to be able to give some to someone mid-dive, I would put some trim weight pockets on my weight belt, put the weights in those, and wear that during the dive.

how exactly do you mount all that stuff?

I'm always surprised the Dive Rite TravelPac does not come up in these discussions. Is it just not widely distributed?

That was actually the first one I looked into, but haven't found any distributors around my area and it probably isn't the best idea to get into BP/W while starting the dm course, as I won't do more than 1-2 dives mainly for equipment checking before the course

 

[topher]

Leisure Pro has the litehawk 2013 model for 250 - may be even cheaper if you call them Scubapro Litehawk BC, Black
Would prob need an extra pocket, however. I too have been looking for a travel BCD. I am going to buy the cressi ultralight- partially because it has a pocket- and also bc I tried it on once and fit me perfectly.

 

[stuartv]

how exactly do you mount all that stuff?

I have 4 D-rings. One on each side of the waist and one on each shoulder strap.

6' SMB, pre-rigged to a small reel is clipped to my right waist D-ring. If I am carrying a reel for exploration, it is also clipped to the same D-ring. When I'm in horizontal trim, they don't hang down as far as my belly does, so I don't really consider them to be "danglies".

Torch is clipped to my right chest D-ring. I used to have a rubber band (cut from bicycle inner tube) lower on the shoulder strap, to hold the light head. At the moment, I have a tri-slide lower on the shoulder strap with a loop of bungee tied through it and I tuck the head of the torch into that to secure it. I have a matching setup on the left shoulder strap for carrying a backup light.

Wet notes has a bolt snap attached and is clipped to my left waist D-ring and then tucked in behind my waist belt.

EMT shears are in a pouch on my left waist strap, between the D-ring and the buckle. I can position it to be able to reach it with either hand.

DGX Sharp Cut (like an Eezycut Trilobyte) is on my right waist strap between the D-ring and my back plate.

If I carry them, I also have a thin Ti knife and a Ti line cutter hook that go on my right calf and a forearm, held on with bungee loops.

If I'm carrying my GoPro or real camera rig, I have it on a coiled cord lanyard, which I also clip to (usually) my left waist D-ring. It does dangle a bit if it's just clipped off and not in use. But the lanyard has a clip to hold it short when it's not in use, so nothing dangles very far. And it would generally only be dangling like that during my ascent, when I'm no longer worried about danglies hitting or catching on anything.

When I do tech dives, I wear a drysuit with thigh pockets or pocket shorts. I use the pockets to hold a spare mask, a lift bag, and I'll go ahead and stow my wet notes in a pocket, since I only refer to them in an emergency.

 

[mik3ydll]

thanks for the info,
so basically everything is clipped on a d-ring and if necessary tucked in somewhere, or in a pouch
... so i guess i won't have to worry too much about pocket space

 

[stuartv]

thanks for the info,
so basically everything is clipped on a d-ring and if necessary tucked in somewhere, or in a pouch
... so i guess i won't have to worry too much about pocket space

Well, I don't have any pockets (except on tech dives), so I definitely don't worry about pocket space.

For what you're doing, you might be better off, for your DM training, having something with pockets and a ditchable weight system, just to avoid the possibility that whoever you train with tells you you need a BCD with ditchable weight pockets and regular pockets.

My shop that I'm training with first told me that I would have to have a "regular" BCD for doing DM stuff. Later they told me I can do my training in a BP/W. I think what they really intend is that I would have to use a regular BCD if I ever actually work as a DM for them, helping teach classes.

So, really, the only point is, you could probably do just fine with a minimalist BCD (like the AL Outlaw, for example), as long as you can add ditchable weight pockets and normal pockets to it, if you have to. You might not have any use for ditchable weights yourself, but as long as the OW course includes remove/replace of ditchable weight, DMs will need to have something to use to demonstrate the skill.