Someone school me on BP/W, specifically for kids.

[tbone1004]

I dunno, I would have some doubts about starting out a kid with a back wing as they have a tendency to hold you face-down in the water when inflated at the surface.

please stop repeating that nonsense. They do not do that when you have them fit properly

 

[JamesBon92007]

please stop repeating that nonsense. They do not do that when you have them fit properly

I was speaking from personal experience.

 

[Tecomah]

My backplate and wing holds me out of the water in a better position than either of my rangers

 

[tbone1004]

I was speaking from personal experience.

are you sure it was set up properly? I have been diving bp/w's almost exclusively for 10 years and I have yet to find a wing that throws me face down.... I've dove at least a dozen. Sidemount will pull you face down, but I usually fall on my back in a bp/w and have to pay attention to stay vertical

 

[JamesBon92007]

are you sure it was set up properly? I have been diving bp/w's almost exclusively for 10 years and I have yet to find a wing that throws me face down.... I've dove at least a dozen. Sidemount will pull you face down, but I usually fall on my back in a bp/w and have to pay attention to stay vertical

As much as I would like it to not tend to move me face-down at the surface, that has been my conclusion so far. I have tried various weight distributions and degrees of inflation at the surface but have to think about it to keep my face out of the water. Not really a problem for me because I always carry a snorkel. I expected to get a reaction from my statement but with all of my experience, if I find it to be even a slight issue, my feeling is that it might be a more difficult to manage for a child who has little or no experience. I'll admit that I have only used two back wings so far but then I've only been using a BC of any kind for about seven years out of 49. I have read many statements here on SB about the face-down orientation of a BP/W to be a myth however that has not been my experience so I'm just throwing it out there as a precaution. If it was my kid or grandkid I would try them out with a BP/W first because I think it is the most versatile type of BC and much prefer it myself over the jacket-style but I would make sure they are able to easily keep their face out of the water on the surface. If not, I'd try them in a jacket.

Any suggestions will be appreciated (well, almost any )

 

[jrltenn]

The only time I have seen a bp setup tip a diver forward is when said diver uses ridiculous amounts of weight with an integrated bc tries to put the same stupid amount of weight in the same position (forward)on a harness. Even then not real difficult to compensate for. Like bone said you had it setup wrong.

 

[Lobzilla]

@JamesBon92007

It was my 12 year old nephew who got me into diving and we started in jackets BCs. Shortly after we were cut loose as AOW dives, I switched to doubles to have more gas for both of us since we were both serious hoovers back then.

Of course, my nephew wanted to have a similar look and got a regular BP with an Oxycheck wing and single tank adapter. It took him less than 15 minutes to get used to the hip dump on the wing and to realize how much nicer that is. He never looked back and wondered why we even messed with the jacket BCs.

My guess is that it is easier to take a jacket BC off the rack and throw it on a student's shoulders rather than adjusting the BP webbing correctly (once). Plus they can sell you two pieces of gear that way.

Functionally, the BP/wing is superior in every aspect and if you follow the Hogarthian/DIR approach it gets really beautifully simple and functional. When I got instabuddied with someone who had never seen this setup before and briefed them on how they get gas and where all other items can be found the comments were always along the lines of "Wow, that's slick. Why doesn't everyone dive that way?" Excellent question.

As mentioned above, weight needs to go close to the tank or on the sides of the hip belt as far back as it will go. Then, you can take a nap on your back at the surface.

Another thing that could tip you forward is pulling your feet up behind your butt if they are really floaty. Try next time to let the legs hang straight down when at the surface. I have strapped literally anything from a small medical cylinder to "water heaters" holding 300 cuft on a backplate and never felt at risk of ending up face down.

That's the other beauty of the BP/wing: any environment, any gas quantity and always the same user interface. Just change the tanks and the wing or dive wingless with an appropriate tank.

 

[Magnus Lundstedt]

I dunno, I would have some doubts about starting out a kid with a back wing as they have a tendency to hold you face-down in the water when inflated at the surface.

Nio in my experience, i feel that the "hold your face down" is a teorretical problem people that have never tried one seems to tell..

 

[2airishuman]

With an empty Al80 in salt water there is, I find, a definite face forward tendency that can be partially overcome with proper fitting, weighing, and technique. In freshwater, with steels, I don't notice it.

Jacket bcs do not have the same problem.

One of my kids has a bp/w and likes it. The other has a jacket bc and likes it.

 

[divad]

I was speaking from personal experience.

Nothing is fool proof..............