Scuba Diver Editorial Director Mark Evans looks at the pros and cons of backplate-and-wing vs jacket BCDs, and also a third variant that combines the two Photographs by Mark Evans
A
buoyancy compensating device, or BCD, is a core essential of your dive kit – without one, you’d have nothing to mount your cylinders on! However, when it comes to choosing a BCD, there are a whole host of options available out there – let me tell you, things have changed a lot from when I first started diving in a Fenzy ABLJ horse-collar with oral inflator. I remember nearly getting excommunicated from our local dive club when my uncle and I turned up with ABLJs with power inflators. And you’d have thought we had committed some sort of cardinal sin when we progressed on to a stab jacket, or stabiliser jacket, which was the name given to what are now referred to as jacket-style BCDs. Jacket-style BCDs are still immensely popular, but backplate-and-wing set-ups, as favored by technical divers, are definitely en vogue at the moment for recreational divers, so join me as we look at the pros and cons of both systems. I’ll also be telling you about a third option which could tick all of the boxes of what you want in
54
a recreational BCD. A BCD is the chassis on which your diving system is mounted. Not only does it hold your cylinder, or cylinders, but it also provides you with a means of controlling your buoyancy via its power inflator and bladder. It needs to be able to support you on the surface both before and after your dives, and underwater, it has to enable you to achieve neutral buoyancy throughout your dive. Stripped bare, those are the core functions of a BCD – things like integrated weight pockets, trim weight pockets, pull dumps, storage pockets, D-rings, etc, are all just add-ons which are nice to have, but are not essential. Let’s talk bladder shape and location first, as this is one of the main differences between jacket-style BCDs and backplate-and-wings. With a jacket-style BCD, the bladder sits here at the back but extends around the sides, so it effectively gives you a comforting hug as you inflate it. A major benefit of this is that at the surface when it is inflated, it holds
ABOVE Backplate-andwing set-ups are streamlined and more minimalistic RIGHT Jacket-style BCDs have more features, such as dump valves and pockets
WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
