View Full Version : New BCD with big pockets
I fancy a new BCD, but it needs to have big pockets.
I was looking at the Scubapro T-black, but it is a bit more than the wife believes she will let me spend.
Any recomendations
Lizardland
22-06-07, 12:09
Get a backplate and wing and you can stick whatever size of pockets you want on it. I'd bet you could get an ally plate (£40), harness (£20) and a small wing (£140) for less than the cost of a decent stab.
Cheers,
Stuart
yes, but, erm I dont want a wing for now.
yes, but, erm I dont want a wing for now.
We have a non believer.....
yes, but, erm I dont want a wing for now.
Gay.
Zeagle make good wing styleeeee bcd's and they have decent sized pockets in. Just so happens i have one in my flat which is kinda redundent as ive also got a single wing for my backplate and harness. you are more than welcome to try it out, thats assuming the cumberband is long enough hahahaha.
You wouldnt happen to be off week starting mon 9th july?????
I use the tiguillo hover its half wing half BC and has great pockets, plenty of rings and is very comfortable in and out of water. Also has weight integrated pouches.
I would recommend this and everyone that I have spoken to that has one would also recommend it. PeterM tried mine on for one dive and almost immediately went out and bought one.
Lizardland
22-06-07, 14:22
yes, but, erm I dont want a wing for now.
I've always used one, even with a single apart from on my OW when I was learning to dive so I don't really know any better. I used a stab on holiday recently, first time in about 12yrs, hated it, nowhere near as comfy as a backplate.
yes, but, erm I dont want a wing for now.
why; whats the matter with you? :rolleyes:
i have bought 2 this year for less than £200 on behalf of other people.
a scoobypro will cost more than that & still crush your ribs.
suggest (for about £140-£180 ish 2nd hand) a custom divers TBK sport wing.
has a soft backplate (no steel one; (which is better)) & you can dive with twins or singles on it.
i use one of these for traveling as its lighter.
from £180-£240 you can get almost any top of the range wing with a steel plate; 2nd hand.
why do you need big pockets, have you got cold hands?
convince me that I need a wing?
In 9 weeks I officially become a wet suit diver, wont that look just stupid, me with a good tan, on Niggaloo reef, 5mm wetsuit and a wing thing???
You really are going to do some serious convincing.
Gareth; I'm off til Thursday 12th July, and it's the wifes birthday on the 10th, so Monday 9th and Wednesday 11th are on. (unless I can get an extra week off work)
convince me that I need a wing?
In 9 weeks I officially become a wet suit diver, wont that look just stupid, me with a good tan, on Niggaloo reef, 5mm wetsuit and a wing thing???
ohh!, sorry, i didnt realise that wings were only to be used with dry suits.
my mistake!
then again, you could think of the freedom you would have with not having a BCD crush you, wearing a harness is probably & i repaet PROBABLY, not that i would know...i said probably, like the difference between wearing a pair of bridget jones knickers verses a thong.
& if that dont convince you, then nothing will!:)
so your saying I should give it a try?
the tdk sport winf thing looks nice, though
have a look at the slates vid i did last week, Gerry is wearing my HOLIDAY C.D. TBK sports wing.
http://www.congeralley.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1196
your welcome to have a shot of it, it can take a single cylinder, twins or a single & pony, as demonstrated by Gerry.
on the TBK, can you ditch the double bands for a single?
what about weight, do I need my weight belt with it?
on the TBK, can you ditch the double bands for a single?
what about weight, do I need my weight belt with it?
the bands are stiched on, but they can take a single no problem, just tuck the excess tails in.
they also have integrated weight pockets which are by far better than wearing a belt, IMHO.
good things about a wing are...
your trim is better aligned, you lie flatter in the water.
plenty of lift for twins & stage/deco bottles.
more lift on the surface keeps you higher out the water.
freedom of movement.
wearing a single & pony centres the cylinders not the main cylinder so you stay better balanced & avoid that sloppy angled cylinder look that every BCD diver has that they wont admit to. (burn in hell for this one:) )
it will give you all your needs as you develop as a diver from air right up to adv. trimix or CCR (where applicable) 100m ??
some are modular or can be added to
most are black in colour:) except OMS who do a nice red one.
bad points...
you may have a little drag in the water if its loaded with air but thats probably more to do with not being weighted right in the first place.
cant think of anymore.
I will bring you back to my thread if you are not prepared to go the full wing approach.
T52 Hover BCD (http://www.tigullio.co.uk/hover/hover.html)
Is there a way to achieve ideal buoyancy both on the surface and underwater? ... There is now!
I will bring you back to my thread if you are not prepared to go the full wing approach.
T52 Hover BCD (http://www.tigullio.co.uk/hover/hover.html)
Is there a way to achieve ideal buoyancy both on the surface and underwater? ... There is now!
the T52 is a good jacket, quite a bit better than a standard BCD but its not quite a wing.
somewhere in the middle perhaps.
where it falls down slightly is the lift capacity.
it has 28Kg of lift where most wings are 45Kg, (60lb v's 100lb or there abouts).
so its good for recreational sport diving but it would be pushing it to the limits to take it in to the technical side of diving.
twin 7's x 300 bar is about the maximum it would lift depending on the size of the user v's the lead weight carried, but there are exceptions to the rule if your a skinny dude :)
but there are exceptions to the rule if your a skinny dude :)
not me then!!:o
My first BC purchase was a wing. I got to try it before I baught it which was nice. I felt the difference immediately.
The additional freedom of movement you get is amazing and as Stewart says you don't get that squeeze around your ribs.
To use a slightly less incriminating analogy, it's like thinking tapes where fine until you heard CDs.
I got the Poseidon Besea wing and advanced harness.
Pic here, it's massive so I'll not stick it in the forum (http://www.poseidon.se/images_prod/000-54_XXL.jpg)
Nice looking wing and plenty of features, but I've recently started thinking that a simple backplate, wing and single looped harness would be better.
More flexible and easier to grow into to. (Although I may have been blinded by too much reading into DIR, Poseidon aim this at techies.)
To use a slightly less incriminating analogy, it's like thinking tapes where fine until you heard CDs.
Never worth trying anything that someone else has, that they say is better, unless you want to spend money!
Rear suspension mountain bike, full suspension mountain bike, full suspension mountain bike with disc brakes, front clip ski boots, carving skis, different fins, integrated weight bcd, digital camera, 3mp digital camera, 5x zoom digital camera, diary, filofax, pocket organiser, iPAQ, ZX Spectrum, Pentium Processor PC, multiple graphics cards - the list just goes on and on. Until I'd tried any of the above I was perfectly happy with whatever it was I had before!
Never worth trying anything that someone else has, that they say is better, unless you want to spend money!
Generally I'd agree. But if someone is looking to buy something new it doens't hurt to get input from as many sources as possible to allow an informed decision.
When your perfectly happy with what you have and are cajoled into "upgrading" then hell slap it into you. And I say that with plenty or personal experiance :o
My first BC purchase was a wing. I got to try it before I baught it which was nice. I felt the difference immediately.
The additional freedom of movement you get is amazing and as Stewart says you don't get that squeeze around your ribs.
To use a slightly less incriminating analogy, it's like thinking tapes where fine until you heard CDs.
I got the Poseidon Besea wing and advanced harness.
Pic here, it's massive so I'll not stick it in the forum (http://www.poseidon.se/images_prod/000-54_XXL.jpg)
Nice looking wing and plenty of features, but I've recently started thinking that a simple backplate, wing and single looped harness would be better.
More flexible and easier to grow into to. (Although I may have been blinded by too much reading into DIR, Poseidon aim this at techies.)
Thats a balloon or a ring you could tow behind a speed boat full of kids (im joking) :D :D
Now this i can fully recommend you dont know its there under the water as the dough nut shape is lovely
http://www.divingniknaks.com/proddetail.php?prod=T.050.001
with one of these on the waist strap if you need pockets
http://www.divingniknaks.com/proddetail.php?prod=T.500.001
then for single tank diving just get one of these
http://www.dirdirect.com/astro/Halcyon_Eclipse_30_Wing4781.htm
or the frog version
'frog' is getting rave reviews lately...
'frog' is getting rave reviews lately...
Yep, I cant remember where i read it, but it was partly set up by an ex Halcyon employee so more or less identical kit for a fraction of the price without compromising quality.
However time will tell, but mines standing up pretty well and im not the most carefull of people when it comes to kit, oh except for Salvo which is treated kinda than a woman :D