[quote=ChristianG;861333]If you look carefully at my avatar you'll see no BCD, no weightbelt but an ali '88 and 3 litre pony base poking over my left shoulder. What's more I've just been to 50m with an immediate gradual ascent and I'm doing a 6m (well, thereabouts) stop.QUOTE]
This is my point; I first used scuba gear in 1973, no bcd or ABLJ, then didn't dive again until 2 years ago, when I was told that if your BCD fails at depth you will die as there is no way you will get to the surface!
I wonder if this attitude come about because some dive guides are so worried about inexperienced divers having a runaway assent they insist on too much lead being carried. I saw this for myself in Sharm, when a guide was insistent that my wife (very slim and only 5foot 2) use 10kg of lead when she was neutrally bouyant with 6Kg as "You will sink better with 10Kg"
. Being a rather strong willed lady, she told him in ino uncertain terms "Not a chance I'll use 10Kg". Far too much lead, + BCD failing to hold air = problems at depth.
Peter