BCD Recommendations

[Malicious]

Hi all. I'm a pretty new diver and just completed my Advanced Open Water here in Vancouver BC. I've purchased a dry suit and am looking at buying a BCD next. I am hoping to buy something I can use in both cold water and take to the tropics on holidays.

Any suggestions? Or thoughts from you experts on what to look for when buying?

Thanks so much.

M.

[psydiver]

Backplate and wing for sure.

I use mine here and when I go on vacation and it works great.

come on......its only kool-aid

[spatman]

Any suggestions? Or thoughts from you experts on what to look for when buying?

you are going to hear a lot of recommendations for backplate and wing systems on this forum, mostly because our most vocal members use them (myself included). but...

the best way to really choose is not to buy right away. rent or borrow different kinds of BCDs, and decide for yourself what style you prefer and makes you the most comfortable in the water. a bcd with bladders that wrap around you or have the bladders on the back? weight integrated or separate? a backplate and wing system? try them all, then decide.

[Norris]

Any suggestions? Or thoughts from you experts on what to look for when buying?

you are going to hear a lot of recommendations for backplate and wing systems on this forum, mostly because our most vocal members use them (myself included). but...

the best way to really choose is not to buy right away. rent or borrow different kinds of BCDs, and decide for yourself what style you prefer and makes you the most comfortable in the water. a bcd with bladders that wrap around you or have the bladders on the back? weight integrated or separate? a backplate and wing system? try them all, then decide.

+1 I completely agree with the Spat. What may work for one may not work for others. Dont just go off what people say, try out some different systems.

[Dusty2]

Good recommendation Spatz. Are you running a fever or something ????

Actually it seems that everyone around here eventually gravitates to the backplate/ wing setup and it makes good since cost wise also. you can get a really good BP/W setup for about the same or lower than most conventional BCD's and they are very versatile. If your going traveling just switch to the composite or aluminum plate and your in business. Going tech? just buy a doubles wing and your good to go.

[H20doctor]

+1 for a BCD .. I have a Tusa or a sherwood ? Can't remember ... Love it mainly because I'm weight intergrated and I hate wearing a bulky weight belt... Not too sure on the cost factor when considering a back plate and wing if one is more or less? But you should try Both before you buy ...

[Malicious]

Thanks everyone. I know I will need to try out a number of them before deciding and this info helps.

Now I have another question and I'd hate to start another thread for it but it is a different topic.....

Buddy lines.

My husband and I are really new divers. We learned in Costa Rica where the visibility was amazing and recently we started diving here in BC. I've noticed that the reduced visibility has turned me into a hand holder. I hope I'll get over this eventually (I'm sure I will) but for now I'm really comforted by holding my husbands arm. This of course gives us only one hand each to be fiddling with lights and checking gauges. I'm thinking maybe a buddy line will put my mind at ease and still give us free hands.

Any thoughts or suggestions on this? Has anyone used them?

Thanks again for answering all my newbie questions.

M.

[selkie]

Not a thing wrong with physical contact with a buddy in low visibility. Holding hands, rubbing shoulders, and holding the buddies hand in your arm pit so you have your hands free are all acceptable low visibility buddy contact strategies. I have never used a buddy line and I am not sure it is a good idea. If you do use one I would think you will still have to use your hand to hold the line because the last thing you want to do is attach the line to you or your buddy. Maybe some one else here has used a buddy line and can correct my perception.

[airsix]

Hello M! Welcome to NWDC. I hope you and your husband settle in here and enjoy yourselves. This is a great club for making friends and finding people to dive with locally.

I'd like to answer your questions, but probably not with the answers you are expecting. It is very good that you are thinking about ways to solve problems you are observing (such as potential buddy-separation due to low visibility). The good news is we have some very elegant solutions for all the potential problems associated with diving in the cold dark (beautiful, rich) emerald sea.

The very best advice I can give you is to go diving with some local divers who can show you:

• How to use your light as your primary method of communicating with your buddy
  How to use a light and still have use of both hands
  How to not lose your buddy in low visibility
  How to set up your equipment so you are comfortable
  and 100 other things that will make local diving more fun

We can help put you in touch with the best people in your area. What area of BC are you from?

[Grateful Diver]

Thanks everyone. I know I will need to try out a number of them before deciding and this info helps.

Now I have another question and I'd hate to start another thread for it but it is a different topic.....

Buddy lines.

My husband and I are really new divers. We learned in Costa Rica where the visibility was amazing and recently we started diving here in BC. I've noticed that the reduced visibility has turned me into a hand holder. I hope I'll get over this eventually (I'm sure I will) but for now I'm really comforted by holding my husbands arm. This of course gives us only one hand each to be fiddling with lights and checking gauges. I'm thinking maybe a buddy line will put my mind at ease and still give us free hands.

Any thoughts or suggestions on this? Has anyone used them?

Thanks again for answering all my newbie questions.

M.

To the first question ... if you and/or hubby would like to try out a backplate/wing combo let me know ... I can arrange to meet up with you, fit you with one of mine, and take you diving.

To the second question ... nothing wrong with using a buddy line while you overcome your initial adaptation to low-visibility. Just don't get dependent on it. Like anything new, diving in low vis gets easier with practice and the application of good buddy skills ... you just have to know what those are and use them for a while. Back when my ex-wife and I were new divers we used a buddy line for a time. What worked best for us was bungee ... because it's stretchy and pretty much neutral in the water. The stretchy part comes in handy for letting you know when one of you takes a turn the other wasn't anticipating without pulling you around ungracefully. The neutral part is nice because lines that sink tend to snag things and lines that float tend to find ways to wrap themselves around pieces of your gear that then become a distraction. Should you decide to use a buddy rope, put loops in either end that are big enough to slide onto your hand up to your palm. Do not put it all the way onto your wrist, because you always want the option to let go of the line if the need arises.

Again, if you'd like we can hook up for a dive and I'll show you all this stuff ... I think I even still have one kicking around the garage somewhere, although I stopped using it years ago ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Dusty2]

Good info guys, and I would highly recommend hooking up with Bob (grateful diver) and doing some dives with him. He is a great mentor and an endless source of sound information and advice.

One thing I have found that works well for me and my Dad is to attach a strobe to you tanks so if you do lose physical contact the strobe can be seen easier and at a greater distance.

[Malicious]

Thanks so much everyone for the advise. Strobes - check. Holding the buddy line - check. Practice, practice, practice - check.

I realize every day how much I have to learn about diving. My brain is starving for everything diving. I eat and sleep diving right now. It's all I talk about, it's all I think about. I have dreams about it. I have been so totally unproductive at work because I spend my days reading this site and looking up all things diving.

I wish I could be in the water all the time. I'm afraid of my 'newness' to diving, I know there are still 8 million errors I can make but I know that will get better with education, patience and practice.

Thanks again for the info. Please let me know if any of you come to Vancouver. My husband and I are sponges and would love to meet some new dive buddies.

M.

[ArcticDiver]

Any suggestions? Or thoughts from you experts on what to look for when buying?

you are going to hear a lot of recommendations for backplate and wing systems on this forum, mostly because our most vocal members use them (myself included). but...

the best way to really choose is not to buy right away. rent or borrow different kinds of BCDs, and decide for yourself what style you prefer and makes you the most comfortable in the water. a bcd with bladders that wrap around you or have the bladders on the back? weight integrated or separate? a backplate and wing system? try them all, then decide.

I also do the BP/Wing or TransPac (soft BP w/wing). But, that doesn't mean that is best for you. Explore a little and figure out what kind of diving you are going to be doing. THEN decide. Even then you may change as you mature in diving. No Big Deal just give someone a good deal for your used equipment and buy what you need then.

[airsix]

Please let me know if any of you come to Vancouver. My husband and I are sponges and would love to meet some new dive buddies.

M.

Ah ha! Vancouver! (I was waiting for that.) Now off to shoot an email to my primary divers-of-awesomeness contact in Vancouver (there is and I do). I'll be back shortly with the goods (i.e.,contacts).

-Ben (not awesome, but somehow able to maintain links to it)

ps - That's cool that you are sponges. We like sponges. There are quite a few other sponges here too and only a few crabs.

[LCF]

Yes, there are some super resources in Vancouver . . . if Ben can't come up with some for you, I can.

Lynne (who tries not to be a crab)

[Dusty2]

Welcome and just one word Janna will get you tons of info Vancouver wise! Get in touch with Janna at http://www.pnwscuba.com or PM her here nwscubamom. She lives in Vancouver and knows just about every contact you could want down that way. Not to mention she is an instructor not only in scuba but in fish ID too. If you contact her today she might even get you into her Fish ID class this weekend at Redondo. It's a blast and will get you going at knowing what your looking at underwater and give you a whole new thing to dream about!

I'm such a pusher.

[cardiver]

Welcome and just one word Janna will get you tons of info Vancouver wise! Get in touch with Janna at http://www.pnwscuba.com or PM her here nwscubamom. She lives in Vancouver and knows just about every contact you could want down that way. Not to mention she is an instructor not only in scuba but in fish ID too. If you contact her today she might even get you into her Fish ID class this weekend at Redondo. It's a blast and will get you going at knowing what your looking at underwater and give you a whole new thing to dream about!

I'm such a pusher.

I thought that Janna lived in Vancouver, Wa.?

[Tom Nic]

nwscubamom. She lives in Vancouver

I thought that Janna lived in Vancouver, Wa.?

Yup, Janna's in Vancouver WA.

You'd still love her, however!

And I don't care what anyone says, there are certain buddies of mine that I am NOT holding hands with! :luv:

[Joshua Smith]

Thanks so much everyone for the advise. Strobes - check. Holding the buddy line - check. Practice, practice, practice - check.

I realize every day how much I have to learn about diving. My brain is starving for everything diving. I eat and sleep diving right now. It's all I talk about, it's all I think about. I have dreams about it. I have been so totally unproductive at work because I spend my days reading this site and looking up all things diving.

I wish I could be in the water all the time. I'm afraid of my 'newness' to diving, I know there are still 8 million errors I can make but I know that will get better with education, patience and practice.

Thanks again for the info. Please let me know if any of you come to Vancouver. My husband and I are sponges and would love to meet some new dive buddies.

M.

ROFL! OK, Malicious- take some deep breaths. You're among friends, here. You came to the right place. Most of us are completely crazy about diving- and the rest of us are insane. Please continue to ask a lot of questions. There IS a certain bias on this site towards what I call "tech-type" gear- backplates, wings, canister lights, 7' primary hoses,and so forth. Look up "Hogarthian configuration" and you'll pretty much get the idea. And while it IS a very good way to go, it is by no means the ONLY way to go.

I wish that I had taken the advice of my elders when I started diving, and waited to buy gear. I could have saved myself a lot of money. It takes time to figure out what you really need, and/or want, versus buying stuff that looked like a good idea at the time.

Welcome to our site, and our underwater world.

[spatman]

That's cool that you are sponges. We like sponges. There are quite a few other sponges here too and only a few crabs.

i'm usually a sponge, but lately i've been a crab.

[cardiver]

nwscubamom. She lives in Vancouver

I thought that Janna lived in Vancouver, Wa.?

Yup, Janna's in Vancouver WA.

You'd still love her, however!

And I don't care what anyone says, there are certain buddies of mine that I am NOT holding hands with! :luv:

We never even have the chance to hold hands anymore, Tom.......

[airsix]

Yes, there are some super resources in Vancouver . . . if Ben can't come up with some for you, I can.

Lynne (who tries not to be a crab)

I pointed the bat signal toward Vancouver and expect to be hearing back from Todd P. shortly.

[Dusty2]

Sorry for the misdirection. I read Vancouver and jumped to the wrong conclusion.

However there are still openings in the fish ID class if you have the necessary papers and don't mind the drive down. It's free and loads of fun.

You might check with the Vancouver aquarium about local resources. I know there are several shore dive sites in Vancouver and your just a ferry ride from several other awesome sites on the Victoria side and in the Queen Charlotte Islands. My friend Andy Lamb has a great little resort on Thetis island and he is a wealth of info on NW critters.

[60south]

Welcome M.!

I wish that I had taken the advice of my elders when I started diving...

I wish I had had some elders, mentors, or a group of folks like these when I started diving. It would have been a lot more fun and saved me a whole lotta time and money. Ahh, the pre-internet days...

[Penopolypants]

i'm usually a sponge, but lately i've been a crab.

A little Old Bay seasoning and some melted butter will clear that right up. For me, anyway.



I hear a much-needed trip to Hawaii might be more beneficial to you.