BP/W for kids?

[Scout]

I've been browsing the comments here in the "Church of the BP/W" and I was wondering if this would be a good idea to help me avoid having to buy two BCD's for my 13 YO son... one for his current 5', 80lb body and one for the grocery-eating monster he'll become in a couple of years. Is there enough adjustability in the harness to accommodate this kind of size change? Do you think kids can handle a BP okay?

[Judestudio]

Originally Posted by Scout

I've been browsing the comments here in the "Church of the BP/W" and I was wondering if this would be a good idea to help me avoid having to buy two BCD's for my 13 YO son... one for his current 5', 80lb body and one for the grocery-eating monster he'll become in a couple of years. Is there enough adjustability in the harness to accommodate this kind of size change? Do you think kids can handle a BP okay?

Absolutely! I'm 5'1 weigh about 85lbs, and I'm currently using a DSS setup with small backplate and 26# Torus wing. It's the most "personalized" setup I've ever had. I've used rental jackets before and would just never go back to them, horrible things (could be becoz they're rentals).

I'm sure a small size setup will fit your son fine, when he out grows the backplate, you can just sell it off (DSS plates has a very high resell value), and get him the next size up!

I know there are a lot of conventional BC fans out there, for me, I'm completely convinced with BP/W, I don't see why I'd go back the other way.

Good luck.

[caroln]

I recently switched to a BP/W and I would encourage anyone in my family including my 13 y/o brother to skip buying a bcd and go straight to the BP/W. With a BCD, there are maybe 3-4 sizes, so you have to go with what's closest to you and work with it, and deal with it never quite being 100% perfect, but with the BP/W, you have infinite sizing options, so over time you can fit it precisely to you. For a kid that's still growing it's ideal because you don't have to buy a bigger size, and cinch it down til he grows into it, you can get something that will fit him perfectly right this minute, and still will when he's 6 inches taller or 50 pounds heavier.

[ScubaJW]

BP/W is something you will never grew out of! So most definitely yes, that it would be a right move to buy bp/w for the kids.

[RECDiver]

My 14 year old is using a Transpac, a hand-me-down from his older brother when Dive Rite had the smaller versions for kids. When he out grows it, in the next couple of years, I will switch him to a BP/W setup.

[Rick56]

Another option is to look at the Zeagles. I bought Stiletto's for my kids in part because of the adjustability. BTW, they only have four dives on their Stilettos', but they found them comfortable, both underwater and on the surface.
Rick

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by Rick56

Another option is to look at the Zeagles. I bought Stiletto's for my kids in part because of the adjustability. BTW, they only have four dives on their Stilettos', but they found them comfortable, both underwater and on the surface.

Personally, I'm a 250# 5'11" man, and if I wanted to I could adjust my backplate harness to be an exact fit for a skinny 12 year old girl without buying anything.

Will one size Stiletto fit a small kid and a large adult? If it's that adjustable, why do they sell five sizes each for waist and shoulder straps?

From the Zeagle site:
Vest
Measure waist size
XS:custom SM: 28"-35" MD: 33"-41" LG: 37"-45" XL: 42"-50"

Shoulder
Measure shoulder to waist
XS: custom SM: 14"-18" MD: 18"-22" LG: 22"-26" XL: 26"-29"

[cgvmer]

For most people outgrowing a bp/w setup could be fixed by replacing about 12 feet of webbing (at $2 a foot). So my 4'11" ten yr old daughter has a DR bp and a small zeagle wing should be able to use that for many years.

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by cgvmer

So my 4'11" ten yr old daughter has a DR bp and a small zeagle wing should be able to use that for many years.

She should be able to use that for the rest of her life, unless the wing needs replacement.

[Silverlode]

This is interesting. I'd be to our LDS here and there don't seem to be any BP my size - shoulder width seems to be a problem. That is why I am looking at getting a TransPac.
Yet, I am reading that there are BP available for small people. Where do I find these BP and how do I know what sizes they are (ok, it's kind of a stupid question, but if our LDS here don't stock those sizes, it's going to be difficult to estimate)