Suggestions for replace BCD - BP/W

[aprxh]

I currently have a Seaquest Black Diamond BC. I used if for about 16 years and it is leaking from where the power inflator attaches to the bladder and I was told it cannot be repaired.
I would like to replace it with a BP/W.
I dive in warm water only now (South East FL and Vacation). I use a 3MM wetsuit(new wetwear) and I use 17 pounds of lead. AL 80 tank
I might want to get cavern certified but not cave.

My concerns are how comfortable is the 1 piece Basic Harness.
My current BC has weight pockets built in and I have not worn a weight belt in 16 years.

I am looking for recommendations for a BP/W BCD.

I am 5' 10'' and weight 165. I like to lobster and spearfish and take pictures

 

[Shark Bait!]

I use Deep Sea Supply Kydex plate and 20# wing and love it. I dive in SE Florida to. With steel tanks i use no weights at all, and with AL80 i might use 2-4lbs wich can be placed on a weight belt, lower cam strap, or weight pouch on the 1 piece HOG harness itself.

Lots of options and different manufacturers of BP/W
Deep Sea Supply (DSS), oxycheck, Halcyon, dive rite, edge/HOG, hollis, apeks. Search a couple pages on this forum and you will find more then enough info on all of them and the wich should i pick questions.

 

[TSandM]

As long as you wear some kind of exposure protection other than a skin, the one-piece harness is very comfortable. I have been a little uncomfortable when wearing mine with doubles and a T-shirt, but then again, I have a metal plate in one of my collarbones, which makes it stick out and cause some discomfort.

There are options for weight pockets with a backplate setup -- either something like the Halcyon ACB system, which threads onto the waistband, or a DUI Weight & Trim harness.

There are a number of good manufacturers of backplate and wing systems. I'm partial to Deep Sea Supply, because of their good quality, reasonable price point, and superb customer service. You may find Dive Rite or Halcyon easier to find where you are, so you can actually look at the gear. The important things are to buy a plate that fits you, and a wing which isn't too much for the tank and weight you are using. I don't know if Dive Rite makes a simple singles wing, but they make a hybrid wing which is not a good idea.

 

[deepseafalcon]

17 pounds sound quite a bit of weight, expect you can shed some of it with a BP/W
That was at least the case for me when I switched from an Oceanic Shute (weight integrated, lot's of padding hence dead bouyancy) to a DSS setup 4 years ago.

My setup is a medium Kydex plate and a LCD30 wing and hog harness. I am happy. But if I would buy new today, I would take a Torus 26 as it is significantly narrower (12 vs. 15inches) compared to the LCD. I found the hog surprisingly compfy, I am often diving a Henderson Microprene 1mm.

Since I also don't like weight belts, and reject the idea if a complex additional harness for weight integration, I devised a setup I described in this thread:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/deep-sea-supply/292972-weight-kydex-plate-hog-harness-2.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...ght-kydex-plate-hog-harness-bpw-weight-5a.jpg
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...ght-kydex-plate-hog-harness-bpw-weight-3a.jpg

I dive it for 4 years and am very happy, even though it's anything but conventional

I also hear that the Oxycheq Mach V wings are very good and streamlined.
One general advise: make sure you don't buy a wing with too much lift, most backinflated BCD offer much more than needed (40 or even 60 pounds).

 

[Matt S.]

The 1 piece harness is perfectly comfortable as long as you have some kind of wetsuit, like Lynne said. I really like my bp/w for warm water diving.

I will also recommend DSS gear. It's also the only company I have ever dealt with where the owner called me after I placed a web order to talk me out of some purchases that he suspected I didn't really need.

 

[CoJim]

I was in the same situation as you. My Black Diamond was 15 years old and I was getting worried about the integrity of the velcro weight pouches and the bladder. I too lobster hunt, spearfish, and photograph in south Florida. I usually dive with a 3 mil wetsuit but lately with the water being in the mid 80's, I have been using only a skin. I recently bought a Halcyon Eclipse with the SS backplate, 30lb wing, and the 10lb weight pouches. I was able to drop 10lbs of lead from what I was using with the Black Diamond and it is very comfortable with the basic harness while wearing only a skin. It is a very streamlined rig and I am very happy with the change.

 

[scuba_sirhc]

I think an AL plate is sufficient for warm waters.you might want to get the Oxycheq Mach V
30lb wing with it.simple,streamlined and definately rugged!you can check out
Cave Adventurers which is located ib FL and speak to Edd.
Don't worry about the weights.should you need more,you can always include
XS Scuba weight pouches on your cam bands and waist strap of your harness.
You would be able to travel light in this way as well!
You might also want to consider the Oxycheq mini STAs for the ease of changing tanks although its not needed

 

[aprxh]

Thanks for all the information.

What do you look for in the back plate? Is there something that set one brand above the other?

 

[drbill]

Have you considered a harness and wings (such as Dive Rite's Transpac)? I greatly prefer them to BP/Ws although I have both types (for different porpoises).

 

[hg frogman]

Aprxh,

Given the amount of weights you use, a Stainless Steel plate (weighting about 6 pounds) seems more appropriate than an Aluminum one (2 pounds or less). You will need less lead then.

There are many brands of backplates (Dive Rite, OMS, Oxycheq, Halcyon, DSS, ...) but I confirm what TSandM said, some are more comfortable than some others.

I had one plate that was really hurting my back, then I changed for another brand and it's very very comfortable on my back now (BTW more comfortable than my padded BCD, despite I use a single piece of webbing and no padding at all for my BP/Ws).

So I strongly suggest that you try the plate on your own back (with a tank mounted on it if possible) and this may reduce the options you have. As fit depends upon one's frame, no one can tell you about which plate you'll feel most comfortable with.

Of course underwater it feels lighter and more comfortable than at the surface, but why should you suffer at the surface (and still a bit underwater) while you could be absolutely comfortable with a backplate that suits you well ?

Otherwise I found out that "small" waist pockets intended for storing masks etc, and closed by a zipper (like the small model from OMS), are more versatile (more akin BCD pockets) and not much less streamlined (flatter profile) than waist pockets intended for weights only (often closed by a velcro). But with the first ones it takes more time to dump the weights if needed.

Last point : your BCD must float your Scuba unit left alone in the water, and with no weight belt it means it will have to float about 10 pounds of lead (or a bit less), plus 6 pounds of SS BP, plus about 1 or 2 pounds of SS cambands, buckles, D-Rings, plus 3 or 4 pounds from your Al80 tank full of air with a reg on it ... overall the wing you need seems to be more in the 30 to 40 pounds of lift range, than less (40 pounds being more than sufficient to keep your head well out of the water when needed). You'll have plenty of choice in that range, anyway. Stick to a wing intended for single tank diving, hybrids are not optimal.

Good luck.
HG