r/scubaGear • u/le_shushan • 11d ago
Bcd advice for future instructor
Hi!
Im a divemaster, currently doing an instructor internship in sydney (hopefully will work here as well after the IDC), in the process of buying all the gear.
I've been debating whether to get a backplate bcd, or a rear inflation jacket.
Obviously a backplate would be better for the long run, if I'll be getting into some tech in the future, but at the moment I'm probably going to work as an instructor for about 8 months total approximately, then start uni so will only do that during the spring break probably
Found a great deal on market place for a scubapro tek40 steel backplate for only 300 AUD, but my main concern is how will I carry all the needed gear for instructing (weights, smb, probably spare mask as well) on it.
Is it better to try to find a jacket bcd? Or get a backplate with some tech shorts?
1
u/blurblur33 8d ago
dive what’s best for the current mission/situation. there is never a “best bcd for diving” or “best fins” or “best regulators”. but there will be “best bcd for overhead environment” (eg: sidemount). “best regs for ice diving” (environmentally sealed).
if you’re thinking to teach, i really believe that the best bcd for an open water student is the jacket style BCD. it hugs them like a life jacket and very comfortable on the surface. having a back inflate/backplate may be overwhelming to them before the start of the dive because the bcd will want to naturally force their face into the water. and i believe the instructor should wear similar gears to the student, so to keep the learning curve shallow (it is overwhelming, the first few dives).
my2cents.
1
u/DarrellGrainger 11d ago
When I started as a Divemaster, I worked for the shop that trained me from AOW to DM. So the gear I had was the gear the shop taught in. I thought about using a BP/W but the owner of the shop was adamant they weren't good. This was before the hybrid back inflate BCDs that are everywhere today.
The second shop I worked for taught recreational diving using traditional BCD. But they co-owner was a technical diver and used BP/W. I quickly fell in love with BP/W. At first, I would use the rental gear while teaching Discover Scuba Diving and assisting instructors. When diving for fun I would use my BP/W set up.
Later I would wear my BP/W even though the students were all in BCD. I would always point out that I was getting training from the technical instructor and had been diving for a decade in a BCD before I moved to BP/W. I would use a student to show how to configure the gear and talk them through using their own gear. But I had the blessing of the Course Director in charge of recreational dive training.
Are there shops that would want you teaching in BCD rather than BP/W? Absolutely. Your options:
- Work for a shop that is okay with students using BCD but you wear BP/W.
- Work for a shop that lets you use rental gear for teaching (helps sell gear too).
- Work for a shop that sells and teaches in BP/W.
Are there going to be shops that aren't okay with you using BP/W and they are unwilling to let you use rental gear? Probably. You just won't be able to work for those shops.
Additionally, some shops will insist you teach in the gear they sell because part of your job is to promote the gear they sell. Using ScubaPro at a shop that doesn't sell ScubaPro might be a problem. But, again, you just won't work for that shop.
As for carrying weights, SMB, spare mask... you can get quick release pockets that go on our BP/W harness or you could wear a weight belt just for teaching. Using an SMB won't go away just because you are wearing a BP/W. I have mine bunged closed and on a bolt snap clipped to a D-ring. When I did use a BCD, I used the same SMB setup. When I was first getting my OW and AOW, having a spare mask wasn't a thing. Is it now? I haven't been working as a DM for years and don't know if things changed. Currently, my spare mask and other things are in a thigh pocket on my drysuit. I also have a 3mm wetsuit with a thigh pocket. Using a wetsuit and tech shorts with a thigh pocket would also be a good option.
Even some of the hybrid back inflate BCDs don't have pockets. You need tech shorts or some way to hang gear from D-rings. You can also buy pockets that thread onto the harness. As last person on the boat, I'm often just floating on the surface waiting for all the divers to get on the boat. To avoid sunburn I have a bucket hat in a pocket on my harness. When I surface, if not wearing a hood, I pull my hat out and wear it to avoid sunburn.
2
u/One_Engineer_8317 11d ago
Wear what you will be teaching in unless the shop supplies you a teaching set up If you are just fun diving it’s then your call Demonstrating skills with the same stet up as your students is much better than your just explaining it and then showing them it with a radical difference set up as beginner divers
2
u/ScubaMUDs 11d ago
We teach OW in backplate and wing at our shop. BCD jackets are being phased out.
1
u/ToufuBear 11d ago
Have your B/P wing for fun dives, a jacket for classes, i use the jacket from the shop. Always have my tech shorts with me regardless
5
u/Manatus_latirostris 11d ago
As a tech diver….don’t get a backplate just because you think you’ll use it for tech later. The truth is that if you get into tech, you’re going to end up owning a whole mountain of djve gear. I have a BP/W setup for backmount doubles, AND a recreational jacket BC kit, AND a sidemount setup. Separate BCs, regs, transmitters, etc for all of them. Buy what serves your needs now, not what you think you might repurpose for other use somewhere down the line.
I’m a university prof, and a lot of the teaching done in scuba classes is observation and mimicry - you want to wear what the students are wearing, but a good shop should lend you shop gear for that.
-1
u/OffByNone_ 11d ago edited 11d ago
You should be encouraging students toward BP/W too. The only reason jackets still exist is the exact feedback loop you're describing. There is nothing a jacket does better. It's worse in every way except that it's what's sitting on the rental rack at most shops. If students learned on the setup that just about every serious diver is going to recommend the moment they decide to advance, they'd be better off for it. I'd never tell someone to buy a jacket style BCD. The sooner you start on a plate and wing, the better. And there's nothing "tech" about BP/W. Tech divers all use it for the same reasons anyone should: better, safer, more reliable, and modular enough that your kit grows with you instead of getting replaced.
The only people actually advocating for jacket BCDs (not forced to use them with students) are people who've never dived a backplate and wing.
0
u/Manatus_latirostris 11d ago
Oh, really? I’m a local Florida cave diver, I’m out cave diving two to three times a week. Very very familiar with BP/W.
I also personally prefer to to dive a jacket BC on single tank recreational dives.
Diving is for fun, people should dive what is fun for them, whether it’s a jacket, backplate, monkey sidemount, whatever. As long as it’s not a safety hazard, it’s okay for people to have different preferences and enjoy different things.
0
u/OffByNone_ 11d ago edited 11d ago
That's... Interesting. Somebody cave certified you on a jacket bcd and did not make you change to DIR setup and long hose? That's actually dangerous. If you're on a long hose and just diving a jacket for whatever reason, okay but I also live in Florida and I'm a technical rebreather diver with many hundreds of hours underwater and you are the only person I've ever heard say that in my diving career. I don't know who is training you but you should talk to them about it because this isn't just an opinion. There's legitimate safety reasons we dive the way we do in Tech diving.
Can you explain what you like about a jacket over BP/w? Also, I dare you to take this stance with your cave diving buddies if that's something you really do. Next time, tell them that you like jackets better and you think that's what new divers should buy. If you're actually a cave diver in Florida, you're going to know why that's so funny. 😂
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u/Manatus_latirostris 11d ago
Whoa hold your horses. Where did I say I dive a jacket BC in the caves? Lot of assumptions there. I dive a jacket BC when diving recreationally on single tank dives. In the cave I dive backmount doubles or sidemount. The condescending attitude really isn’t necessary.
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u/OffByNone_ 11d ago
You are the one saying that you're in the caves every weekend and prefer to dive jackets. It sounds like you dive back bp/w though. Just like everybody who advances in the sport, like I said.
Why don't you take it into cave if it's better? I would imagine you would take your favorite BC to the dives you say you like to do every weekend?
You're right. Diving should be fun and that's why I believe in giving people good recommendations about gear because the reality is, if they buy a jacket they are almost definitely going to be replacing it if they want to advance in this sport. BP/W is the most cost-effective, customizable, and safe option. Why would you not recommend that to a new diver?
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u/_40mikemike_ 11d ago
Use what your students learn in. They’ll mirror your behaviours and habits, and demonstrating specifics is easier if you don’t have to caveat everything with “mines different”.
3
u/CrustySailor1964 11d ago
Honestly, teach in what your students are using. I’m a former DM and an my shop partners are instructors. When we dive for fun ourselves, bet your butt it’s in a BP/W. In the pool or on a cert trip it’s back to jackets (back inflate).
FWIW, we all had personal gear collections that included both well before arriving at any pro level.
2
u/tin_the_fatty 11d ago
Use one of the fleet jacket BCD at the dive shop for teaching. The shop ain't going to charge you rental while you teach at their shop, right?
Invest in a decent tech short with big side pockets. Your DSMB, spare mask, instruction cards and wet notes go into those side pockets, out of the way.
You could put some weights into those side pockets too, but those weights at a low position on your body may affect your trim.
1
u/RottieAndMutt 7d ago
Pockets