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Go to your local dive shop and try some different BCDs. I like back inflate ones vs. vest because I feel I can get a better trim. I plan on traveling with my gear and did not select lightweight "travel" gear. I have the aqualung balance BCD which I believe has been discontinued. I love it. Carry on your regulator and computer and your gear weight should be ok for the checked stuff. Just my 2 cents. Also don’t rush into anything.
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Go to SEVERAL shops and try gear. Rent gear and dive it before ya buy it or try it in their pool. Try steel tanks and alum and see which ones trim out best for you. Ive owned 5 dive knives over 15 years and the best one is a 5$ ss bait knife with a line cutter,serations,and a razor sharp edge. Locking sheath included. Does everything my 100 knife did just alot cheaper and when i lose it i dont care. Point is look at LOTS of different gear and see what works best t for you. Theres alot of pricey JUNK out there. Dive shops only carry certain brands and will try to sell you that theirs is the best and the rest is crap. Ive got 5 complete rigs. I am a gear whore and i have a problem but i dont drink or smoke so better scuba gear then crack. Have spent piles of cash on gear and have learned that what works best for you is what worth payin for. Dont base your decision on what others recommend unless you can try it first and it works for you. Make a list of what you need. What you want. Then work from there.
Dive safe
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For travel I use a Deep Sea Supply plastic back plate and 22 pound lift wing but your comment that
"all seem to be missing at least one item I want and picking individual items is confusing and tricky." tells me you wouldn’t be comfortable configuring a BP&W where you need to add your own harness, D-rings and pockets.
Advice posted on another forum was; So go out and buy the best gear your money will buy, use it for a few years, see other divers using BP&W’s and then sell your gear on here half off to some new diver and buy a BP&W
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"So go out and buy the best gear your money will buy, use it for a few years, see other divers using BP&W’s and then sell your gear on here half off to some new diver and buy a BP&W"
So true. All my rigs are BP&W. Really think they should teach this at ow level. Alot more adjustable and custom configuration to what each diver needs. Wife had nothing but issues with a vest. Went to a bpw and 100% improvment the first dive.
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Just got back from Hawaii. Took one carry on. took a dive rite stainless back plate. A Rec wing,Holis F2 fins regs 3/2 wet suit. Comp 2 masks and snorkling gear for my wife. Her carry on was all clothes and camers. Everything went as carry on.
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Also took dive light and back up. Im a newly certified instructor and the reason so many instructors recomend vest style bcds. Is how they position new divers at the surface. At the instructor exam we are to be motionless at the surface. So vest style works great. But in use a back plate and wing is the most versatile. However at the surface they tend to try and possition you facedown in the water do to the fact they are back inflate.
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Ive got mine trimmed out and can stay vert at the surface. Granted im in caves and not waves so that may have some bearing. Have u tried the DR ss skeletonized bp? Same weight as an alum but that happy SS feeling.
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Not the skeletonized one. I dive the solid... wouldnt trade it for the world.. I dive 3 sets of gear pending enviro. Trans pac, trans plate, and jacket style for the pool and OW training.
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Used to have the solid but needed to drop wt in bm rig. Divin wet so didnt really need the xtra wt anyway. Still juz as stiff as solid but only 2lb. Have 2 bm dbl. 2 sm.1 bm sing. All identical other then tank mounting. Just have to swap my leg pouches and good to go. Muscle mem same nomatter what i dive.
As an instructor tho do you feel it would be better to learn bp w upfront? My experience is that most divers that stick with it end up going bm or bp w eventually.
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Bp/w is a bit tougher for a new diver due to task loading and trim management. But I dont recomend top shelf gear to a new diver.. Im very upfront with equipment as im independant. I have also been the first to let someone try my plate and wing to see the diffrence.
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I don’t know if you made a decision on a travel combo but I use thew Oxyecheq travel BP, webbing and the 35 lbs donut wing. It is so perfect for anywhere in the world for moderate to warm diving. No weight other than the air you consume. It’s perfect for surface time. btw, after being an instructor, DM, CCR, technical / deco diving, blackwater, cold water, low-visibility, side-mount, back-mount, years it’s about the right tool for the right job.
After so many dives i gave up counting my total surface times time. total surface was less than 1 percent of my total dive time. Buy for actual diving not for staying at the surface. I pack this combo in normal luggage and the dry weight is 3-4 pounds and durable to beyond any vest. Task loading is not really an issue. Sort of like driving—you can drive a 50K car or 5K car. it’s all the same—just enjoy the ride.
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