The original post seems to have something to prove (vs. simply an open mind looking for information), but I'm answering because I would not have known about the bp/w option were it not for ScubaBoard, and for me it made a big difference.
Background: All my life I've loved anything in or around the water. Sailing, kayaking, rowing, swimming, snorkeling, etc. After doing quite a bit of snorkeling over a three year period, my thoughts naturally turned to diving. How neat would it be to be able to go deeper and stay down there longer? So in June 2005 I got certified, up north in a freezing cold lake. In July 2005 I traveled to the Florida Keys with a friend who was an experienced diver, and also very patient, encouraging, etc. The water was warm, the weather was great, and the stage was set for some fantastic first dives!
I dove one morning (two dives) and didn't really feel like diving any more that trip. We did other things.
In January 2008, some (other) friends planned a trip to the Keys and invited me along. Two of them were divers, and I decided to give it another try. It was better, but I just couldn't get "comfortable." I no longer felt the fun of snorkeling and swimming, but instead felt like the Michelin Tire Woman, with this bulky jacket on, completely filling up the area under my arms, and with the shoulders up around my ears. I'm short-waisted, so once the cummerbund was fastened the shoulders had nowhere to go but up. The tank was flopping around and the valve/reg banging into the back of my head. It was beautiful to be down there, but I just could not stop feeling stuffed with gear. Ugh!
On the way home from that trip I stopped at dive shops and tried on six or eight female-specific BCs, to see if I could find something that fit. After all, I had been using rentals. I'm not tiny by any means, but even the extra smalls, once I had the cummerbund fastened, were up around my ears, my arms couldn't sit down at my sides, etc. Even my friend (who was encouraging me to try them) was like "um, no, I see what you mean." No thank you! I'll go back to snorkeling...
But still... I
wanted to like it, darnit. I
knew I should like diving.
In late 2009, a friend wanted to do a holiday trip and for me to plan it. I still could not get the potential of diving out of my mind. I came here and poked around a bit, and noticed people talking about the bp/w. Hmmm. I started a thread asking if perhaps a bp/w might help me to get my "fish" back. It sounded like maybe they could. There were even a few other short-waisted women who specifically said they found good fitment with a bp/w. This sounded promising. I still wasn't sure though, but I found out I could rent a bp/w in the Keys. Nothing to lose with that option
So, I talked the friend into getting certified in the Keys, and then we would do some diving together (actually, having been certified in 2005 and only having done four barely-dives, I took the class again along with my friend as a refresher).
Well, the rental backplate and wing felt MUCH better on than the bulky, shifty (on me) vest BCs. I loved the feeling of having "nothing" in front, and how relatively stable the tank felt. Wow! (I say relatively, because the "regular" sized backplate was still a bit tall on me, so it was like a 65% improvement but not totally right).
Still though, I like check out all options. Back we went to the dive shops for me to try on female-specific BCs of various brands and styles. They clearly didn't fit me. Back to my rental bp/w for the duration of the trip (on which, btw, I fell [back?] in love with diving
)
By June 2010 we had another trip planned and I had ordered my own bp/w (size small so it would really fit). Wow, now this was fantastic! Not only did it fit pretty well to begin with (yay small backplate), but I was able to make a few little mods and adjustments to make it even better. I loved having basically nothing in front of me, and also that "flat" feeling where I could swim right along the bottom without dragging or touching anything (now maybe that could be done in a vest BC too, if one owned it and could make all the little adjustments to tuck everything in just so). I loved the tank being stable on my back. I loved the reg not coming up and hitting me on the back of the head (once I had things tweaked). I felt more like a swimmer than a blundering equipment truck, finally. All I could think about was MORE diving
Luckily November 2010 came along and the friends from 2008 had planned another Keys trip. I was on it. More diving! Still really liking everything about the bp/w, with a few little adjustments and tweaks (love being able to do that). December 2010.... the newly certified friend wanted to go diving over the holidays.... yes please! Back to the Keys, plus a couple of dives in Springs country (ooh, nice).
Now, all that said -- and as much as I love my bp/w -- I'm not one to tell other people what to do, nor what to like or not like. The friend whom I got certified with in December of 2009 wears a Zeagle Stilleto. Works for him. I like my bp/w because it FITS, it's clean in front, and it just feels "efficient" to me. If someone asks about the bp/w, I will tell them what I like about it, and the pros and cons as I see them, and then they can make their own decision, as I did mine.
Blue Sparkle
