XS Scuba Buoyancy Compensator - Manual (Page 5)

BC Owner’s Manual 5 .
XS Scuba, Inc
Introduction
Thank you for choosing XS Scuba. Your new BC has been designed, manufactured
and individually tested to ensure that it consistently meets the highest performance
and safety standards possible. This Owner’s Manual describes the unique functions
and features of XS Scuba’s BC equipment and various optional accessories. By
following the instructions in this manual, you will understand how your BC works,
how to make best use of its features, and how to ensure that it lasts a long time. It
is very important to take the time to read the instructions provided in this manual.
If you have any questions, please consult your Authorized XS Scuba Dealer.
Intended Use & Function of Your BC
The main purpose for wearing a Buoyancy Compensator is to achieve and maintain
neutral buoyancy at all times while you are underwater, regardless of changes in
depth or cylinder pressure. This allows you to be much more relaxed while you
dive – and safer – since you won’t need to struggle against the forces of positive
and negative buoyancy. Modern jacket and back inflation style BC’s provide
the most effective and streamlined buoyancy control, since they are specifically
designed to support the diver in a comfortably balanced, face-down position while
swimming underwater. Stress and exertion can now be minimized, if not eliminated
altogether.
Since the introduction of the jacket style and back inflation designs, the modern
BC has evolved into a consolidated harness and pack system that carries the
cylinder and serves as a fixture point for first stage regulators, instrumentation,
and accessories. For even greater convenience and comfort, many models are now
available with integrated weight systems that can supplement or replace the weight
belt.
Your BC can also provide you with non-emergency flotation to help you rest on the
surface, but you should never rely on it to function as a life preserver or personal
flotation device (PFD). In order to meet approval by U.S. Coast Guard regulations,
a PFD must be designed so that it automatically rights you to a face-up position
and supports your head out of the water on the surface to prevent drowning. The
design characteristics and intended function of a PFD are therefore very different
from those of a BC, since a PFD is specifically designed to function on the surface
and a BC is primarily designed to function underwater.
It is important to remember that other equipment you wear in addition to your
BC, including your cylinder, exposure suit, or weight system, will also affect your
position in the water. An empty cylinder, for instance, can create counter-buoyancy
that could roll you into a face down position if you were to lose consciousness.
For this reason, XS Scuba recommends that you always dive with a buddy, and
remain close enough to them to be able to render assistance to each other in the
event of an emergency. Do not depend on your BC, exposure suit, or any other
equipment to hold your face above the surface in the event that you are rendered
unconscious in the water while diving.