What is BP/W?

[BDSC]

What is a BP/W?

Hell....that's easy!

It's the answer to all of life's problems!

 

[Joe21]

The absolute only option for BCs. Clearly all other styles incunig jacket BCs are inferior and clearly not acceptable. HAHAHA just kidding.

 

[Mike Boswell]

The search hwere doesn't recognise a three letter word so it found nothing.

If i need it, I'll get it. I did a Google search and it mentioned BCD with Plate and wings. That means little, next to nothing to me.

If I read it right, it also means using a weight belt as opposed to integrated weights. IN my pool dives, I found the belt to be a pain in the ass...sliding down to an uncomfortable position, constantly undoing the damn thing to put more weight on and trying to put it back on in the water. When, weight bags integrated to my BCD would first keep the BCD from floating upward while the weight belt pulls my ass down.

With the BCD and non-integrated weight belt, I feel, when vertical, like I am on a torture rack pulling at my hips and armpits to stretch out my torso.

Once I get my own gear, my BCD will have integrated weights, unless someone convinces me otherwise.

I also hate weight belts, and I liked my Seaquest Balance back-inflate BCD with releasable weight pockets. But I dieted myself out of about 50 lbs and needed a smaller BCD. A new Seaquest Balance was going to cost a lot, and have a lot of cheap plastic parts. That is when I discovered the BP/W.

My BP/W will adjust to my ups and downs easily, there is no extraneous marketing fluffery, and it can be configured with whatever D-rings and pockets and other stuff I want. I put weight pockets on the waist belt of my BP/W harness. These weight pockets hold 4 lbs each, and have velcro flaps. If I need to drop some weight I simply open the flaps and drop the weights. The whole system can be ordered online for under $500. I like Oxycheq, myself.

Best of all, a good BP/W system is robust. For example, mine has a stainless steel waist band buckle and two cam bands with stainless steel buckles, not a bunch of cheap plastic snaps.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

For those who hate weight belts, another option is an adjustable weight harness like the DUI weight-n-trim system.

Integrated BCDs are one solution, but not always an optimal one ... remember, if you ever need to doff your rig underwater (e.g. to free an entanglement) ... you definitely don't want all your weights in your rig ... especially in cold water where you're wearing about 20-25 lbs of lift in your exposure suit.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[vladimir]

The rest of the world mainly dives with jacket and back inflate BCDs as that is what most stores sell instead of BP/Ws. BP/Ws are cheaper usually.

Yes, the traditional scuba manufacturers don't like to sell them because they can't add a stupid gimmick to the product and then charge the consumer $100 more for a $1.00 part.

I just put a steel backplate with hogarthian harness, crotch strap, and two cambands in a shopping cart at divegearexpress.com: $427. I did the same thing at deepseasupply.com: $460. Then I put a Scupapro Classic Sport in my cart at Leisurepro: $325. Okay, that's been discontinued and is a great deal, how about the ScubaPro Knighthawk?: $450. These are quality BCs, in my opinion; roughly equivalent in quality to that DSS backplate and wing. So while I am sure there are cheaper plates, there are also cheaper BCs. Deciding whether the products are equivalent is subjective. I think you are on shaky ground when you assert that backplates are "usually" cheaper.

 

[Sas]

You can get a good BP/W for $270 where I live and that is in AUD! Never seen a decent jacket BC for that price...

 

[USCScubaboy]

The search hwere doesn't recognise a three letter word so it found nothing.

You can use google to search through scubaboard threads for 3 letter words. when you're on the google page, add "site:scubaboard.com" to the end of your search.

 

[vladimir]

You can get a good BP/W for $270 where I live and that is in AUD! Never seen a decent jacket BC for that price...

Here you go: Zeagle Scout BC, $215 The AUD is worth $.93, so your plate costs US$36 more.

 

[Sas]

Here you go: Zeagle Scout BC, $215

Convert to USD+shipping+difficulty if I need a warrenty claim > $270

 

[vladimir]

Convert to USD+shipping+difficulty if I need a warrenty claim > $270

You made a general assertion: backplates are usually cheaper. They are not demonstrably cheaper, as far as I can see. They might be, in your particular corner of the world, though, in which case there's still time to edit your original assertion to: in East Bumstead, Victoria, Australia, backplates are cheaper.