First, forget about 30 to 50 feet max.  There's no way you'll stay that
shallow if you dive enough to make it worth your while to buy your own BCD.

Second, how old is your son and how fast is he growing.  BCDs are not cheap
and it's a shame to buy one that he'll quickly outgrow.

Many of us here have given up on jacket style BCDs in favor of a metal plate
with a harness and a wing for buoyancy control.  This configuration is more
streamlined, more versatile and holds the tank more securely than any of the
jacket style BCDs I'm aware of.  Depending on whether it's made of stainless
or aluminum, it can also move weight off the belt and to the center of
buoyancy, making good trim and buoyancy control easier to achieve.  Two of
the better known manufacturers of plate and wing systems are Halcyon and
Dive Rite.  You might want to take a look at them before you decide on
something else.

If you must buy a jacket style bcd, look for a name you recognize.  I've
never heard of Atlas.  Zeagle, on the other hand, is a known name in the
industry, as are Scuba Pro, SeaQuest, US Divers and a lot of others.

Lee

"jj" <jj@dd.net> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in:

There's lotsa choices out there.  I am currently a back inflate style.
It's something like the backplate and wings Lee and Charlie mentioned,
but, without the metal.  I like it probably as much as they like
their's.  

Features that I find nice are:
1.  A small zippered pocket in the cumberbund.
2.  Weight pockets, means you might not need a weightbelt.
3.  Quick disconnects for easier doffing and donning.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

I have the Zeagle Escape and now use it instead of my backplate/wing and am quite
pleased with it.  I've used it for travel and for local diving Southern Calif. Once
you know the right size you can buy one discounted at LeisurePro.com.

Adam

I've had really good luck with the Seaquest Pro QD BCDs.  They've very
comfy, allow you to adjust your trim thanks to the weight pockets near
the shoulders and last quite a while.

As a cheaper alternative, the Oceanic OceanPro BCDs and the Aqualung
Wave BCDs are very good and functional BCDs, albeit no-frills.  We use
them in our shop, and everybody loves them.  

Cheers,
Vandit

It really depends on the type of diving your going to be doing. I have 3
BCDs for different occasions. When I travel to warm water destinations I
use the SeaQuest PassPort. It packs down really small and is very light
weight. It has most of the features of the bigger BCDs. I use a Zeagle
Ranger diving in the local, cool Northern California (monterey) waters.
Diving here even when diving pure recreation is a bit more technical
than when I dive in the Florida Keys or Cozumel and so-forth. Plus I use
more wieght in cold water (due to the extra boyancy of my thicker
wetsuit) and I split that wieght between the integrated wieght pockets
and my DUI wieght and trim belt which I don't do when diving warm water.

BCDs can be a very personal thing. However it can be difficult to get
some shops to rent you higher end BCDs so you can get a real good idea
of what is best for you. I, for example, bought one of the SeaQuest
Fusion BCDs when they first came out. Seemed great in the store... I
HATED DIVING IN IT and replaced it with the PassPort which I really like.

Anyway... regardless of what anyone tells you, there's no one way to go.
What works best for one, doesn't always work best for someone else. Keep
an open mind when listening to all the advice. If someone is too
forceful that there's a very narrow "correct" gear selection (like
Backplate and Wings) then they're probably giving a emotional
recommendation.

Dennis

john,
read under "back inflation bcd"- I just posted there.  Your son will not
outgrow the backplate/harness setup- he will simply adjust it.  Quite
possibly, he won't need any weight either- depending on diving conditions.
Safe diving to you!