lots of information that is helpful but would be 1000% better with actual gear in front of you showing us. I am a new diver and seeing what your talking about would be very helpful. Thanks for sharing the content
I bought the Mares dragon sls BCD last season, I really like it because it's a combination of a wing and a jacket. The thing I can really recommend with any BCD is going to your local dive shop and fitting the BCD, so you can get a better feel for how it's fits, and how it suits you and you're diving style.
As always, awesome video! I’m in the market for my first BCD so this video was very helpful!! I’d love to see you make that video on backplate and wings, as that’s more what I’m leaning towards
When I started diving in the late 60s there were no "BCDs", and coming up a line from a shipwreck in the Great Lakes was mandatory. Sometime in the early to mid 70s the first "BCs" hit the market, and my choice was a yoke style called a "Fenzy". Coming up a line was still mandatory, but nuetrual bouyancy made sleeping on the decom line much easier. Then came the Posiden Unisuit, which to us, meant staying warm in 40 degree water on a wreck, and no more BC to deal with...we figured that's what the suit was for, besides being able sleep better on the decom line in the spring in 50 degree water. So, now being 70, my diving is in warm water with the pretty fish, usually with a swimsuit or a "shortie", and a rented "BCD", which I have to admit, makes taking the tank off in water much easier than climbing on the boat with a set of doubles with a 33 cf pony bottle in the middle in 3-4 waves. Nowadays, with "safety stops" I do miss not being on a decom line long enough for a decent nap.🙂 Anyway, my way of thinking is that, while nuetrual bouyancy is wonderful for naps after a deep dive, and blowing air rings during safety stops, how you achieve it can be done a number of ways. Great video.
I ended up choosing my personal BCD (Zeagle Zena) mostly because of the customizability of it. I have a very short torso with next to no waist length and then long legs. The six adjustment points allows me to fit it perfectly to my body! My hubby went with the ScubaPro Hydros Pro!
Brand new to SCUBA and I bought a wing style right off (Knighthawk). The guys at the shop told me I would get there eventually, so I skipped the jacket and went straight to that. It was also on clearance for $250 USD off and had the Air2 inflator/spare. I took it out for it's first dive, and my first dives after getting the basic open water certs, last weekend, It was great. I didn't feel like I was pushed forward at the surface at all; really kind of comfortable hanging out before and after the dive.
Get a wing with backplate straight up. (Even more as you advertise that in previous videos too). Also when you eventually want to dive a double set you don't need to buy a whole new bcd. I have ordered a Tecline Peanut Artic at my LDS.
Very informative video. I just wish you would have some visuals to go along with the various gear and setups you're talking about. As a new diver I'm really interested in the various options, but if I was to walk into a dive shop right now I wouldn't have a clue what I'm looking at.
I got a wing/travel style Sherwood Ventura because we do travel. Never had an issue with being pushed forward into the water....you really do just need to lean back a little. I did have trouble getting down on my second dive earlier this week, it took rolling completely onto my back to force the little bit of air that remained out of the BCD. But, at least I’ve finally figured out the exact weight I need to dive
Great video for someone like me who just got hooked on diving a year ago and is now looking at getting his first BCD (all that renting adds up...). Currently looking at travel wings, so a video on upcoming and current recommendations as well as things to look out for or „easy mistakes“ would be much appreciated ;)
Hey Mark! Im digging the trimmed beard! Lookin mich better! I already have a cressi bcd, and a Mares bp/w. Just tested my DIR rig in Key Largo, Where i found myself in the same boat as James from Divers Ready!!! Thats was really fun!
love your videos ...please add more B-roll and pictures to illustrate what your talking about...I be waiting to see a picture and you simply talk about item without illustration
I have been diving a Scubapro Nighthawk for the past 16 years and have thought about going to a back plate but no one in my area offers them, and finding information on them is just as hard. So I look forward to any information you can share on them. I would be using it for travel as well as using doubles locally. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
love diving on twins, never had a problem with unintentional release, you missed 1 the water wings Shaun has, on the serious side DIVE RITE has a bcd that does single thins and side mount = nomad xt
b st john There are some hybrid BCDs that do sidemount and backmount but in sidemount circles they're looked down upon since, like Mark said in this video, they don't do anything really well. They're more bulky than need be, less flexible (some have backplates) and are often less adjustable (and sidemount is all about making your gear work for YOU). An XDeep Stealth or a Razor will give you a better sidemount experience.
love your videos! keep it coming. I would really appreciate if there was some more visual representation in your videos.. get some of each kind of whatever gear you're talking about and show us the differences.
And... I just keep thinking.... Do I want to change styles from the style I've used for 20 or so years? It really sounds like you need to play around with the different styles in a rather deep pool before trying something new open water.
im a big guy and a back plate works great for me. but if you find a mfg you like go to their web sight and look they have specs for all their gear. when i got my first bcd he made me put on the wetsuit i had and then fitted me with the bcd. that was 20+ years ago and i always take my thinnest & thickest stuff i will be wearing to try on a bcd.
But what would you recommend, if I would ask for a single one but maybe from time to time a twin one, I just think to start to learn diving so I don't want spend too much.
How i chosen my bcd: I got the first mares bcd that i found, with the screw attach system on pocket to attach the knife i bougth on my first buy trip 😂 btw, not disppointed at all 😆
Since this video is largely aimed at new to newish divers, then I would suggest not going out and buying what your dive instructor is wearing, but rather ask what he or she wears outside of the classroom. Most (not all) dive instructors are employed by a dive shop and are instructed to promote the brands that their dive shop sells, but that may not be the best for you. Or perhaps there is a BCD that they carry that is right for you, but it’s not the promotion of the month and the dive shop may have a better commission structure if they sell the other brand. I’m not meaning to implying that dive shops are thieving buggers only out to get as much cash out of you as they possibly can whilst providing you with an inferior product, just merely suggesting that you don’t put blind faith in one person. Join a scuba related board and see what others are wearing, and ask questions about what works for them and why. Mark has banged out a good simplistic explanation of what the various BCDs’ are, but you do need to do some of the homework yourself. Spend within your means and your diving expectations, buy a name brand BCD and have it fitted properly and all will be fine.
I think you have to do your homework before going to a LDS, I tend to think they will try to sell you in some scenarios a more expensive piece of equipment then you really need. On the other hand thanks to Simply Scuba and other reviewers I wanted to go a bit better than the average equipment pure out of comfort issues.
Paul White Instructors will often wear student gear, because so the students can mirror their movements. Privately many instructors would prefer something else, but they often only have their teaching gear since instructing is not a high paying job.
*Deco Stop Podcast*
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iTunes - apple.co/35OD5ha
Google Podcast - bit.ly/2Tp8fZV
Would be helpful to have pictures for examples of wing vs backplate and so on
Great video but some visual representation or demonstration would have elevated the production value :)
lots of information that is helpful but would be 1000% better with actual gear in front of you showing us. I am a new diver and seeing what your talking about would be very helpful. Thanks for sharing the content
I bought the Mares dragon sls BCD last season, I really like it because it's a combination of a wing and a jacket. The thing I can really recommend with any BCD is going to your local dive shop and fitting the BCD, so you can get a better feel for how it's fits, and how it suits you and you're diving style.
I got a similar bcd with a wing that takes the air when im in trim and fills the jacket on the surface it worked so well i still use it to this day
As always, awesome video! I’m in the market for my first BCD so this video was very helpful!! I’d love to see you make that video on backplate and wings, as that’s more what I’m leaning towards
When I started diving in the late 60s there were no "BCDs", and coming up a line from a shipwreck in the Great Lakes was mandatory. Sometime in the early to mid 70s the first "BCs" hit the market, and my choice was a yoke style called a "Fenzy". Coming up a line was still mandatory, but nuetrual bouyancy made sleeping on the decom line much easier. Then came the Posiden Unisuit, which to us, meant staying warm in 40 degree water on a wreck, and no more BC to deal with...we figured that's what the suit was for, besides being able sleep better on the decom line in the spring in 50 degree water.
So, now being 70, my diving is in warm water with the pretty fish, usually with a swimsuit or a "shortie", and a rented "BCD", which I have to admit, makes taking the tank off in water much easier than climbing on the boat with a set of doubles with a 33 cf pony bottle in the middle in 3-4 waves.
Nowadays, with "safety stops" I do miss not being on a decom line long enough for a decent nap.🙂
Anyway, my way of thinking is that, while nuetrual bouyancy is wonderful for naps after a deep dive, and blowing air rings during safety stops, how you achieve it can be done a number of ways. Great video.
I ended up choosing my personal BCD (Zeagle Zena) mostly because of the customizability of it. I have a very short torso with next to no waist length and then long legs. The six adjustment points allows me to fit it perfectly to my body! My hubby went with the ScubaPro Hydros Pro!
Brand new to SCUBA and I bought a wing style right off (Knighthawk). The guys at the shop told me I would get there eventually, so I skipped the jacket and went straight to that. It was also on clearance for $250 USD off and had the Air2 inflator/spare. I took it out for it's first dive, and my first dives after getting the basic open water certs, last weekend, It was great. I didn't feel like I was pushed forward at the surface at all; really kind of comfortable hanging out before and after the dive.
Get a wing with backplate straight up. (Even more as you advertise that in previous videos too). Also when you eventually want to dive a double set you don't need to buy a whole new bcd. I have ordered a Tecline Peanut Artic at my LDS.
Very informative video. I just wish you would have some visuals to go along with the various gear and setups you're talking about. As a new diver I'm really interested in the various options, but if I was to walk into a dive shop right now I wouldn't have a clue what I'm looking at.
I got a wing/travel style Sherwood Ventura because we do travel.
Never had an issue with being pushed forward into the water....you really do just need to lean back a little.
I did have trouble getting down on my second dive earlier this week, it took rolling completely onto my back to force the little bit of air that remained out of the BCD. But, at least I’ve finally figured out the exact weight I need to dive
Great video for someone like me who just got hooked on diving a year ago and is now looking at getting his first BCD (all that renting adds up...). Currently looking at travel wings, so a video on upcoming and current recommendations as well as things to look out for or „easy mistakes“ would be much appreciated ;)
Hey Mark! Im digging the trimmed beard! Lookin mich better!
I already have a cressi bcd, and a Mares bp/w. Just tested my DIR rig in Key Largo, Where i found myself in the same boat as James from Divers Ready!!! Thats was really fun!
That must have been cool to meet james. Diving with him and going to the UK and diving with mark are on my bucket list.
Yours videos great, i like them and watch everyone. Very informative and also professional. Voice, light, style all perfect, just a pleasure to watch.
Your TH-cam channel is cool and awesome keep up the good work and done
What the differences between wing bcd and backplate bcd ?
love your videos ...please add more B-roll and pictures to illustrate what your talking about...I be waiting to see a picture and you simply talk about item without illustration
Since so many folks recommend wing style BCD’s, do you think new students should be learning on wing style BCD’s?
I have been diving a Scubapro Nighthawk for the past 16 years and have thought about going to a back plate but no one in my area offers them, and finding information on them is just as hard. So I look forward to any information you can share on them. I would be using it for travel as well as using doubles locally. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
love diving on twins, never had a problem with unintentional release, you missed 1 the water wings Shaun has, on the serious side DIVE RITE has a bcd that does single thins and side mount = nomad xt
b st john There are some hybrid BCDs that do sidemount and backmount but in sidemount circles they're looked down upon since, like Mark said in this video, they don't do anything really well. They're more bulky than need be, less flexible (some have backplates) and are often less adjustable (and sidemount is all about making your gear work for YOU). An XDeep Stealth or a Razor will give you a better sidemount experience.
love your videos! keep it coming. I would really appreciate if there was some more visual representation in your videos.. get some of each kind of whatever gear you're talking about and show us the differences.
And... I just keep thinking.... Do I want to change styles from the style I've used for 20 or so years? It really sounds like you need to play around with the different styles in a rather deep pool before trying something new open water.
What is your best advice for BCDs for bigger divers? I've been looking online, and I don't seem to be able to find one who's size chart fits me.
im a big guy and a back plate works great for me. but if you find a mfg you like go to their web sight and look they have specs for all their gear. when i got my first bcd he made me put on the wetsuit i had and then fitted me with the bcd. that was 20+ years ago and i always take my thinnest & thickest stuff i will be wearing to try on a bcd.
Can anyone please let me know, how's the SUBEA BCD from decathlon?
But what would you recommend, if I would ask for a single one but maybe from time to time a twin one, I just think to start to learn diving so I don't want spend too much.
How i chosen my bcd:
I got the first mares bcd that i found, with the screw attach system on pocket to attach the knife i bougth on my first buy trip 😂
btw, not disppointed at all 😆
Since this video is largely aimed at new to newish divers, then I would suggest not going out and buying what your dive instructor is wearing, but rather ask what he or she wears outside of the classroom.
Most (not all) dive instructors are employed by a dive shop and are instructed to promote the brands that their dive shop sells, but that may not be the best for you.
Or perhaps there is a BCD that they carry that is right for you, but it’s not the promotion of the month and the dive shop may have a better commission structure if they sell the other brand.
I’m not meaning to implying that dive shops are thieving buggers only out to get as much cash out of you as they possibly can whilst providing you with an inferior product, just merely suggesting that you don’t put blind faith in one person.
Join a scuba related board and see what others are wearing, and ask questions about what works for them and why.
Mark has banged out a good simplistic explanation of what the various BCDs’ are, but you do need to do some of the homework yourself.
Spend within your means and your diving expectations, buy a name brand BCD and have it fitted properly and all will be fine.
I think you have to do your homework before going to a LDS, I tend to think they will try to sell you in some scenarios a more expensive piece of equipment then you really need. On the other hand thanks to Simply Scuba and other reviewers I wanted to go a bit better than the average equipment pure out of comfort issues.
Paul White Instructors will often wear student gear, because so the students can mirror their movements. Privately many instructors would prefer something else, but they often only have their teaching gear since instructing is not a high paying job.
Buy a back plate and wing or nothing 😉😉😉but seriously they are the best can go wrong with a piece of metal
i love the Intro
Hi
I didn't plan to, but have often had dreams about it. I would love to dive on some twins if the opportunity ever arises =]
Hmmmmm I don't know about different camera angles
A Wing!
6 ads in 12 minutes. Impressed
Dude, you can't be standing with all that equipment behind you and not show every type of BCD you are talking about... 😢