Oceanic Excursion vs. Mares Icon vs. BP/W

[Linder]

Hi! I’ve been following the forums here for some time but this is my first post, so wish me all a warm welcome ;0)

This is a good old abc vs. xyz thread;

I am fairly new to diving and have until now been using an old Mares Syncro Tech, great BC but it’s no longer in my possession. So, I need a new BC and I’ve narrowed it down to the Oceanic Excursion and the Mares Icon. I’ve heard many good things about the Excursion but my only concern is that it seems fairly heavy/bulky compared to a travel oriented BC such as the Mares Icon.

I do most of my diving in Sydney which means rather cold water (especially this time of the year), but I do a fair bit of traveling as well and was hoping to find a BC that can suit both these needs.

Those of you that have the Excursion do you find it suitable at all for traveling? Also, if anyone has tried out the Icon yet please share your opinion on it.

My third consideration was to get a BP/W set-up, but I’m not really sure where to start and I dislike the idea of not having an integrated weight option, but feel free to try to convince that this would be a better set-up!

Any suggestions (or recommendations on other BC’s that you think would be suitable for me) are much appreciated!

Cheers from a lost Swede living in Sydney

 

[RJP]

My third consideration was to get a BP/W set-up, but I’m not really sure where to start and I dislike the idea of not having an integrated weight option, but feel free to try to convince that this would be a better set-up!

Who says you can't have integrated weights in a BP/W?

DiveRite offers them...

Halcyon offers them...

OMS offers them...

Oxycheq offers them...

Lots of people offer them...

And they all pretty much work with any BP/W setup (The diverite only works optimally with the Transpac I think.)

Go BP/W

 

[cool_hardware52]

My third consideration was to get a BP/W set-up, but I’m not really sure where to start and I dislike the idea of not having an integrated weight option, but feel free to try to convince that this would be a better set-up!

Keep in mind that with a Stainless steel Back Plate you have about 6 lbs of "integrated" ballast built in to the rig. Add in the fact that you no longer have the 2-4 lbs of inherently buoyant jacket bc, and many BP&W converts find they need 8-10 lbs less in a weight belt. Depending on the cylinder type used, it's common for BP&W users to use a modest weight belt, maybe 4-6 lbs, even in moderately cold conditions.

A 18-20 lbs weight belt can be a pain, a 4-6 lbs weight belt is not.

When you travel to warm sunny locales, a thin exposure suit and a buoyant tank can make the ~6 lbs of ballast that a SS back contributes all or almost all the ballast you need.

Tobin

 

[Dirkadiver]

As with cool & rjp, I'd steer you toward a bp/w. I am a former jacket style, weight integrated bc diver. A bp/w will give you all the versatility you'll ever need, no matter your style of diving. Do you plan to get into tech diving? You can easily shed weight w/ a stainless steel backplate. When I was diving singles, I dove my stainless steel backplate/wing with a hp 130 & needed no weight even when tank was near empty. This set up will pack nice & flat & acommodate any style of diving you'll ever do.

 

[scuba_moron]

Welcome aboard, Linder!

I'm also new to the sport. My advice is to rent/demo before purchasing your gear. This will give you the opportunity to sample what works for you. See if the shop will let you apply the rental fees towards the purchase. Don't make the mistake I did by rushing in buying without doing your homework.

Good Luck,

 

[dk2943]

When I was just getting started, I ran out and bought fins, mask, bc and reg set with know idea what I was doing. In retrospect, I did ok, but that was just luck. Try stuff out. Find out what you like and what you don't like. Go into your lds and see what the push, then rent it to see if it is right for you. This will save you the step of having to sell all the gear you bought initially to replace it with the gear you should have bought in the first place

 

[Nemrod]

In warm water diving using a light weight aluminum backplate you can still skip the weight belt (on your waist) even with an aluminum 80 by using an old cam band as a tank belt--yep--put a two 2/3/4 lb weights on the tank. Put them just below the lower cam band so if you wanted to you could flip the lever open and dump them. Aluminum 80s are the usual resort rental so this eliminates the bouyant tank. Very little if any weight will be carried on your waist. N

 

[wunat]

Definintely should look into BP/Wing. Would be best if you can get yourself to try it. You will then know if that's what you are looking for or now. There are lots of threads on the board so do some research.

 

[Thalassamania]

BP/W if like it is a great choice, so too are the Oceanic Excursion and the Mares Icon. I have used both those vests and, for me, I prefer the Oceanic, it was more comfortable and seemed better balanced.

 

[Linder]

Who says you can't have integrated weights in a BP/W?

Sorry I didn’t formulate that very well, I meant that I haven’t found a quick-release system for BP/W set-up that I like so far (I know they exist), except maybe for the Zeagle Ripcord. If I am in a situation that requires me to dump my weights I don’t like the idea of having to locate and open 2 – 3 buckles I just want to grab hold of something and pull it. This isn’t a big deal to me though as I can always use a weight belt.

My advice is to rent/demo before purchasing your gear… Don't make the mistake I did by rushing in buying without doing your homework.

Thanks for the tip mate, I have actually tried on the Excursion and I was quite happy with it, however, there are no stores that rent the Mares Icon where I live and the same goes for many of the BP/W set-ups such as the DSS line so that’s why I’m bugging you with questions on the forum =).