BCDs: Back inflate, Jacket style or Wing/Plate

Sergeant Pepper · Post by **Sergeant Pepper** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:53 am

I call on the good people of this dive club to once again give me their highly sought after opinion regarding dive gear. Per the subject line ... let er' rip!

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:42 am

Back plate and wing.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:43 am

Wing and Plate. Nothing else will do, IMO! I know many really good divers who dive with regular vest type bcds, however. I went right to bp/w immediately after my OW class, and never even tried many of the nifty new ones out there, but I love my wing!

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:52 am

Plate and wing. Dea Sea Supply is (one) recommended dealer.

Most modular, most versatile, impossible to really break, SS takes some weight off your belt, AL is durable for travel, good/excellent resale value

And most importantly, very hard to outgrow 6 years from now when you'll be interested in ???

Richard

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:57 am

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:00 am

I second the DSS recommendation! $\:D/$

Sergeant Pepper · Post by **Sergeant Pepper** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:10 am

well, well, well lawgoddess. Long time not scuba thread. Standard wings, torus wings?

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:22 am

Sergeant Pepper wrote:well, well, well lawgoddess. Long time not scuba thread. Standard wings, torus wings?

even longer time no dive.

personally i use a halcyon pioneer, but that's only because i got the setup for $100. if i'd had a blank check back then i probably would have gone with apeks or oxycheq, but none of those choices are based on any personal experience. i'd actually like to upgrade to a heartier wing with a bladder ...

imho, you will learn to use the gear you have - or learn what it is you want or don't want when you can afford to replace it. but you couldn't pay me to use a jacket/vest.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:23 am

The U vs. donut is really trival IMO. I have a donut single wing and a U doubles wing and don't find it makes much difference one way of the other.

Just get the right size and do not try and get a "one size does everything" wing. I had a dive-rite rec-wing for years and never realized what a compromise it was until I went to dedicated single and doubles wings.

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:41 am

Sgt. Pepper - I have 2 of the 35# Torus Wings, SS plate, and 8# plate weights. When I was doing research, I dove Grateful Diver's 35# Torus Wing and fell in love. Everything from the increased lift in the hips to the centalized location of the vent hose is well thought through. Additionally, the material used for the bladder is almost TWICE as thick as what other companies use for their bladders.

DSS has AWESOME customer service and Tobin will actually talk you OUT of a purchase if it's something you don't need! The other day, 5 of us were diving and we all had DSS wings... we took a picture and sent it to Tobin. We got to talking about the gear and everyone raves about it. It's just well thought out, top-shelf quality dive gear created by an avid diver.

You're welcome to dive one of my Torus wing/plates before you buy if you'd like to. Let's go diving! $\:D/$

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:08 am

I recommend a GOLEM Wing. They are absolutely bombproof.

Burntchef · Post by **Burntchef** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:31 am

i will second the golem wing, dam near bomb proof, and mine is hooked up to a dss plate too, the awesome thing with dss is the wieght plates that can be added without undoing the harness, i just ordered mine and cant wait to take another 9 pounds of my belt

Ken G · Post by **Ken G** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:05 pm

I agree with the posts above. I much prefer a BP/W setup. I use an Oxycheq Mach V 40lb with a Hammerhead BP and single tank adapter. I love my rig.

It was a hard choice between DSS and Oxycheq. I think either make great gear and you will not go wrong with either choice. I tried to go back to a jacket and wont do that again any time soon. I recently took mine down to Costa Rica. It was a little heavy to lug a SS plate but the wing rolled up very small and worked out great. I love the simplicity and performance of a Backplate and Wing.

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:37 pm

Please don't throw things at me, but I love my Zeagle Tech! ...although I'd dive the above mentioned backplates and wings in a second... I like the 65lbs lift and it's easy to trim.

Jacket style BC's don't seem to be a good fit for the PNW. They are more popular with warm water divers... not sure why.

BASSMAN · Post by **BASSMAN** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:28 pm

I'm stayin out of this one!

I have a DUI Back Wing Style and it works okay for me.

When I'm ready get a new one I'll talk to you about your final descision and why.

Descisions ,Descisions, Descisions!

(I don't even think I spelled {Descisions} correctly)

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:25 pm

Although I prefer the BP/W, I have to say that the single most important thing about selecting a BCD isn't the style ... it's the fit. If you don't get one that fits properly, you won't like it no matter what style it is.

Perhaps one reason why people rave so much about BP/W's is because it's so easy to adjust them to make them fit you properly.

If going with a traditional BCD, back-inflate styles seem to be the preference for cold-water diving, especially if using large-capacity steel tanks.

Of the BP/W's, the "top-tier" seems to be Halcyon, Oxycheq, DSS, and Dive Rite. Golem wings are awesome, and I believe they are primarily marketed by Oxycheq at this point. Agir-Brokk also makes a high-quality wing.

Of the back-inflate style BCDs, Zeagle, ScubaPro, and SeaQuest seem to be the most popular. Dive Rite also makes the TransPac, which is a nice compromise between the BCD and backplate.

If they fit you properly, I believe any of them will give you a serious grin.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:45 pm

bob could be right. (he usually is.) but i just wanted to add that one of the things i didn't like about the jacket-style was the squeeze - which probably varies by the type of system it is ... *and* how it fits you. ;-)

backwash · Post by **backwash** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:23 pm

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.....breast plate with crispy wing....I have no idea what you guys are talking about but I wanted to play too.

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:56 pm

backwash wrote:blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.....breast plate with crispy wing....I have no idea what you guys are talking about but I wanted to play too.

Nice...

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:11 pm

Plates are so adjustable it wouldn't be too hard to find one to try out. Alot of how it will dive will depend on the wing but still might be worth borrowing one for a dive.

I bet Bob has several he will loan you for a couple months and then you can buy it off him once you're hooked

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:36 pm

CaptnJack wrote:Plates are so adjustable it wouldn't be too hard to find one to try out. Alot of how it will dive will depend on the wing but still might be worth borrowing one for a dive.

I bet Bob has several he will loan you for a couple months and then you can buy it off him once you're hooked

Actually, I'm down to four ... and one's out on loan at the moment ...

.. Bob (Grateful Diver)

... countin' down the hours till Cozumel ...

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:58 pm

I've got a singles rig (Oxycheq plate, DSS wing) that I'll lend to somebody who wants to go out for a dive with me and find out if they like this kind of gear. That's one of the really cool things about the BP/W/Hog harness setup -- You can adjust it for people ranging from my size (small) to Bob's (not quite as small

)

Pinkpadigal · Post by **Pinkpadigal** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:28 pm

Tom Nic wrote: Jacket style BC's don't seem to be a good fit for the PNW. They are more popular with warm water divers... not sure why.

I think that most do not have enough lift for Puget Sound. There are some good ones out there though.

I am alone on this one but I absolutely love my jacket BC in Puget Sound. I have a Seasoft Pro BCD. I used to dive a back inflate, which I still love but let me tell you, I really like my BCD.

The Seasoft Pro is totally adjustable. I can cinch it down to fit perfect in the pool or warm water, or adjust for diving in the sound. I have them in my rentals and I can fit a 100lb woman and 220lb guy in the same BCD. The tank buckles are easy to get a tank in and out quickly and it has a built in back up light and retractor. It can hold 30 in the 2 front pockets and you can add any kind of trim pockets you want to the back. Nice big D rings as well.

My other instructors love Zeagle's and swear by them but I have never been a fan. The couple of times I have dove the Ranger and Tech, they weren't that comfortable. I am impressed with the Diverite BP/W system though.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:11 am

I think I have sat a tank (or several) on just about every part of a plate/wing combo in my tiny inflatable. Not being able to break quick releases, adjustors and such is a big plus for me.

Sergeant Pepper · Post by **Sergeant Pepper** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:06 am

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

Great comments as always.

Northwest Dive Club

BCDs: Back inflate, Jacket style or Wing/Plate

BCDs: Back inflate, Jacket style or Wing/Plate

BP & Wing!

my two cents

Re: my two cents