The great travel BC topic

[MechDiver]

usil once bubbled...
Ah yes I have a back plate now but the damn thing is just way to uncomfortable when you are diving without a wet suit or in just a thin microprene.

I would wear a 2 or 3mm shirt so I could keep the bp. Only other option I can think of is one of the softpack "tropic" BC's. I think your size would be a problem there, as well as diving with a softpack sucks, IMO anyway.

I think the 18 lb and alum bp sound pretty optimal, especially at that price!

Phil

 

[herman]

May be close to what you are looking for. It is fairly small, back inflate, well made and has a sort of weight intergration. You can order it with a varity of shoulder strap and waist sizes from xs to xl. It weights 4 lbs and folds up pretty small. It does have a lot more lift than you want, 35 lbs I think, but the Zeagle web site indicates you can special order a 24 lb one. They are relatively inexpensive, about $220 on the web. If you want to mix the shoulder strap size and the waist size or order a small bladder, you may have to go though a dealer which would run the cost up some. I use one for warm water travel and like it a lot.

 

[leadweight]

Look around at some softpacks. I use a Transpac II with the 30# travel wing for warm water travel diving. It packs small and is streamlined. Some divers strip off the back pad and some of the D-rings to make it more compact.

It is kind of hard to go all the way down to 12# as there is not that much available. It is also nice to have bit more lift on the surface.

The Zeagle Escape and Scout with 24# air cell (mentioned above) are good possibilities. . Sea-Quest Balance (a semi hardpack) is nice also.

 

[kitbuga]

besides Al BP or Transpac with travel wing you might want to take a look at the cressi aqualight as reviewed in "diver."

http://www.divernet.com/equipment/0701divertests.htm#aqual

K

 

[nickjb]

How about a Buddy Travel Wing

www.apvalves.com

 

[leadweight]

The Buddy travel wing is definitely cool. Diver magazine loves it. Too bad it is not actively distributed in the US. I have seen some pictures of a DIY rig made up from an old style plastic backpack and a Northern Diver X-Wing, but the X-wing has 44# of lift which tends to defeat the minimalist objective.

Someone could make a few bucks by building a single tank only wing of about 30# lift that is cut to work either on a metal plate thingie or backpack, at a price lower than a Pioneer.

 

[MechDiver]

leadweight once bubbled...
Someone could make a few bucks by building a single tank only wing of about 30# lift that is cut to work either on a metal plate thingie or backpack, at a price lower than a Pioneer.

Already done. Called a USED Pioneer It would be nice to have some of the UK stuff more available here, similiar to Weezle.

Phil

 

[nickjb]

The buddy wing will work with a backplate with a Single Tank Adapter. You just need to add a couple of holes.

Would be nice if it had Cam Band slots to work without the STA.

You can buy the wing on its own over here and it is pretty cheap and very well made

 

[kitbuga]

Buddy Travel Wing! (palm slap to the forehead)

How could I have missed that one! Definitely a must-consider. If I had known of it before encountering SS BPs I would've gotten a Buddy TW without a second thought.

It's intuitively done right. The classic backpack is a lovable, familiar piece of kit from the 60's- light but rigid so therefore stable.

It's unfortunate that the marketing of this product isn't more aggressive-even in the UK. One can conclude that AP valves would rather focus on items like the Commando which occupy higher price points.

3 cheers for the Travel Wing.

BTW the regulator test group for last month's Diver (where they dissed the Xstream) were all wearing TW's provided by AP valves.

K

 

[Dxtreme]

What would be the best , durable, LIGHTWEIGHT back Inflate BCD system on the market now ??

Looking at Zeagle Scout and Zeagle Escape right now.


Also waiting for the blackmarket $375 Brand New Halcyon 27lbs Pioneer system .... hehehe (finger crossing)