Looking for a bcd without high side''chaps''?
- Thread starter Joris Vd
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A few things to check with the Lighthawk since you mentioned 7mm + undersuit diving.
Do the weight pockets have the capacity you'll need, being a travel model, they may be smaller.
Does the wing in your size have the lift needed?
Not as big an issue with the WTX since the plate is often most of your weight and there's less need for buoyancy compensation for the actual BC - on some model,s the pads/harness can add more buoyancy.
It's made of 420 denier fabric to keep the weight down so durability might be a factor later. If you damage the WTX wing., you can replace it easier. Or should you go to doubles in the future also.
I'm not a bp/w fan but if you might be, buy it now since anything else will have little/no value later if you decide to change to one.
Do the weight pockets have the capacity you'll need, being a travel model, they may be smaller.
Does the wing in your size have the lift needed?
Not as big an issue with the WTX since the plate is often most of your weight and there's less need for buoyancy compensation for the actual BC - on some model,s the pads/harness can add more buoyancy.
It's made of 420 denier fabric to keep the weight down so durability might be a factor later. If you damage the WTX wing., you can replace it easier. Or should you go to doubles in the future also.
I'm not a bp/w fan but if you might be, buy it now since anything else will have little/no value later if you decide to change to one.
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If you are near a DIR ZONE store, you might want to go and at least TRY ON a BP/W with a simple one piece harness to make sure that you prefer the noodley, convoluted, straps on some of the "hybrid" BCDs...... while Its still free to go look and try things out. At least you won't have any regrets whichever way you decide to go.
I'll probably rent a wing/backplate for a week at a divestore near me to see if I can get used to it. It ticks off most of the boxes of fixing the problems I'm having with the high flapped vests.(being easily removable etc), although I'm not sure how much more difficult controlling boyuancy with a back inflation system is.
Good! One thing to keep in mind is it takes a bit of initial fiddling with the harness to be "right for you". Renting will lead to adjusting from someone else's needs to yours, and frequently folks express disdain as there wasn't time or experience to "get it right". Make sure to understand how a single piece harness is to fit. There are plenty if fitment videos to look at. You don't crank it tight to you like a jacket BC.
Another thing to keep in mind is "otter". Ever ses how they float most of the time on their backs? As I mentioned above, it is not a May-West Vest, and will not do a very good job of floating you upright on the surface. It is intended to optimize horizontal position buoyancy control. This is where most first time converts experience dislike. That try to just jack it full of air and float perpendicular to the surface. Lean back and relax.....
Rred
Contributor
The sole logic behind having a wide belt (i.e. high sides) other than having convenient pockets, is that IF you need the BC as a PFD to keep you afloat on the surface, the more air it keeps *below* the surface, the higher above the surface it can keep you. So "high sides" might keep you head 6" higher above the surface, compared to having the same rated buoyancy just behind you. This may or may not matter to you.
Having once used my own BC to take both myself and a buddy in distress to the surface, I can say we were quite happy to have our faces further up above the surface of the water.
Having once used my own BC to take both myself and a buddy in distress to the surface, I can say we were quite happy to have our faces further up above the surface of the water.
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It's actually much easier when you're actually diving since most of that is done horizontally, Back inflate systems have the weight below the wing to help maintain trim by having the air higher in the water column than the waight. That and convenience are why conventional BCD;s often have the weight pockets low and in front.
Neither system will float you as high vertically at the surface as a jacket model but movement back/forth of the air bubble in a jacket while transitioning horizontal to vertical makes control a little harder - it's why some jacket models mention "channeling" the air via passive means.
I dive back inflate with rear trim pockets. Splitting my weight around 70/30 f/r keeps me horizontal while diving and almost vertical at the surface. I can also easily tip backward to lay on my wing while resting at the surface or even occasionally swimming in/out from shore.
The idea behind a bp/w is to get the weight as close to your center of gravity as possible for diving in technical environments - it's why you see a lot of them in caves and wrecks where pinpoint buoyancy is desired to minimize up/down movement as the bottom is often silty and you don't want to stir that up if possible.
ummm...not really. Unless you buy a quick release harness. A bp/w functions to control the tank movement by bolting the tank clamps to the plate and having a tight harness so you have better control of the whole rig.
It's personal opinion but my 2 friends who dive bp/w struggle more to get theirs on than I do with my 2 clip/straps and Velcro front fasteners.
Since a concern of yours is getting out of the system, understand that often there's no droppable weight - esp. with a metal plate in warm water. So in an emergency you swim the whole thing up to keep your regulator. There are modifications to this to add weight pockets or even in the case of DSS - bolt-on weight plates if you need more weight but they don't come off.
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Roger Hobden
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BDSC
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I bought a SP Litehawk at the beginning of the year and have been on four dive trips with it. Loved it so much after the first trip I sold my other BC. Very high quality and very light weight for travel. While I don't need 20lbs of weight, I could easily get a 5lb weight in each of the four available pockets.
If you get a chance, you should try one out.
If you get a chance, you should try one out.
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