The great back inflate vs. jacket BC debate

[jamespitt]

hey ssidiver02,
how the hell do you go from novice diver of 25 dives 8 days ago;
novice diver:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16690

now suddenly u started diving 2 years ago:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16570

and now yure all this as indicated by your sig: TDI ERD, Advanced Deep Wreck, Advanced Cave Diver, Advanced TriMix diver
PADI Instructor, SSI Master Diver

christ and yure organising an expedition to the doria or u-who and yure personal friends with the late Rouses!!!

get a life mate and stop bigging yourself up...

 

[Big-t-2538]

I just got back from darts...so this might not make a whole lot of sense....

Jacket style BC's are designed more to elevate the mid-section of your body (i.e the hips) They also "wrap-around" to give you a more secure feel in the water. BP or back inflated BCs are designed to "hover" you more in the water by picking up your whole torso, and leaving your legs to fend for themselves. Also, most BP style BCs are more open in the front and do not have the wrap-around Secure fit that Jacket BCs have.

-TT

 

[ZoCrowes255]

A. J. Shark once bubbled...
thank you all for the helpfull post, I am going to ask my LDS if I can try out a back inflated ( I have a jacket) and use it and see if I like it better
thanks again
- A J

I see you are from Lexington. I am just down the road from you in Louisville. What shop do you use in Lexington?

 

[SeaJay]

I went pretty heavy into this topic not too long ago. See my post at http://www.scubaboard.com/t16609/s95f3916e5b610ed3bd863f0a823d40c6.html

There's a lot of information there. I've got something like 117 dives in all different sorts of BC's.

By the way... Weight integration is available in all sorts of setups, and hard "backplates" are available in most setups as well. The Scubapro Classic, for example, has a hard plate in the back of it which provides a nice mount for your tank... And the design of that particular jacket-style BC allows it to expand outward, preventing it from ever squeezing the diver. My point is that just because it's a jacket does not mean that it squeezes or that the tank flops around.

My personal favorites have been:

Backplate and Wings:
FredT or Halcyon Design, with Halcyon Pioneer Wings. I prefer a 1" crotch strap.

Jacket Style BC's:
SeaQuest Pro QD
Scubapro Classic (an all-time favorite because of it's flow-through cell)

Back Inflate BC's:
SeaQuest Black Diamond
Dive Rite Transpack II
ScubaPro Knighthawk

I want to do some more testing in the Knighthawk, and I want to test a SeaQuest Balance. I am a particular hater of Zeagles and any other BC with "thread through" weight integration. In general, though, I'm not a fan of back inflates unless you're talking about a bp/wing.

Also, note that every BC I mentioned above has some sort of hard plate in it, with the exception of the Transpac, which is a complaint of mine even though it's overall still a favorite. I believe that a lot of problems would be solved with scuba if every manufacturer made all of their BC's with hard plates in them.

Anyway, check the link I gave you. Hope it helps.

 

[A. J. Shark]

Hey ZoCrowes255 - I go to ISA (interspace scuba adventures) the guys in there are realy nice and very patent with my blonde moments
- A J

 

[MikeS]

jamespitt once bubbled...
hey ssidiver02,
how the hell do you go from novice diver of 25 dives 8 days ago ...
now suddenly u started diving 2 years ago ...
now yure TDI ERD, Advanced Deep Wreck, Advanced Cave Diver, Advanced TriMix diver PADI Instructor, SSI Master Diver

That's too funny, I also noticed that all his post were before his 9PM bedtime.

But this is a good example of why you need to think for yourself!

Mike

 

[O-ring]

A.J.,
These guys (well, most of them) are right on. I had been diving a bp/wing for a while when my ex-girlfriend wanted to get her AOW. We went to a shop to rent her some gear and the owner asked her if she wanted jacket style or back inflate. I made my usual eye-rolling sigh and told him we wanted back inflate for sure. My ex hadn't dove one before, but I was gushing with advice and "expert" opinion about how much better back inflate was than a regular jacket style bc.
Well, after coming up from the first dive I thought she was going to kill me. She HATED it. Everything about it, she hated. She hated the integrated weights, she hated how it felt on the surface, she felt her buoyancy was all messed up with it (she is a pretty good diver...lived in coz for a year and a half). Anyway, the moral of the story is some people just don't like back inflate...for that matter some people don't like bp/wings either. I would try all the bcs you can before you lay down hard earned cash...

 

[Cherry]

Oring Ya didnt need to remove the link I got a kick outta it but regarding the try before you buy its probably good advice. I will spend some time this winter trying BP wings and Back inflaters I am sure I want to move away form the"squeeze of a jacket tho. Based on a course of heavy reading the Halcyon and Sequest raider seem to be the leading contenders in the two catagories. any comments on BP vs Backinflated?

 

[PnL]

One of the misconceptions I found regarding these two is when they are tried on in a store (or at home). The BP/wings is going to be less comfortable than a back-inflate BC with padded shoulder straps - no question. But get these in the water and its a different story.

I tried on a Traspac II at my LDS after trying a BP harness - the Transpac II was super comfortable because of all the padding. I never did take it in the water, but after trying my BP/wings on a dive I was convinced that BP/wings was best suited for my needs - it was very comfortable and extremely stable.

HTH
Paul

 

[bigal1956]

I'm using a SeaQuest Balance back-inflate type BC but don't like the way it floats me in the water, as it tends to make me lean forward, pushing my face in the water. I'm considering going to a traditional, jacket-style BC like the SeaQuest Pro QD or Pro Unlimited.

Anyone have any experience with these BC's?

Mike