First BC for a female diver

[Nausica]

Thanks for all your help! I finished buying Scubapro Hydros X Lady, I'd let you know how it is once I receive It.

 

[tursiops]

Thanks for all your help! I finished buying Scubapro Hydros X Lady, I'd let you know how it is once I receive It.

I hope you like it and it fits. it is terribly overpriced in the US.

 

[Imla]

If you are curvy, get a backplate/wing solution. TecLine has good options in EU.
A BPW with an aluminium plate is light, easy to fly with, sturdy, easy to pack and most of all, it is extremely well suited to give room to "the girls" without restricting. The crotchstrap keeps it from riding from curvy hips to narrower waist and up under the arms. It will accommodate weightfluctuations without needing to buy a new bcd.
I am a curvy girl. I swear by my BPW.

 

[Nausica]

Do you have any sugestions in TecLine? There are so many options, It is a bit overwhelming.

I could still cancel the order of the hydros pros, still not send.

 

[dmaziuk]

Do you have any sugestions in TecLine? There are so many options, It is a bit overwhelming.

No suggestions, I've seen them on European divers and they looked OK. General points:
- you will not have size problems unless you're too tall (>= 190 cm) or too short (not sure how short) for the "standard" plate.
- You need to add up all your weight to figure out wing buoyancy you need. If you only dive warm water, 13kg is probably fine. 10 may or may not be too small, 15 is likely a bit of an overkill.
- Aluminium plate will save you some luggage weight but will require more lead. A steel plate will give you much better weight distribution and require less extra ballast, at the cost of heavier luggage.
- Shoulder pads, back pads, "comfort harnesses", etc., are only useful if you have a long hike to water in gear. Once in the water, they make no difference.

I.e. their "ultralight donut 13" set looks fine to me, but you need to figure out your buoyancy requirements for yourself.

 

[larrywfowler]

Another option that I have found is Aqualung Rogue for 350 euros.

The low price in the Hydros is because they have a 10% sale across the shop, so they have all sizes, but I do not know if I would be an M for height, or L for weight...

I have an Aqualung Rogue as I've had back inflate BCDs for years. I started with a Scubapro S Tek years ago but the bladder failed after about 7 years and Scubapro and the dealer refused to do anything other than say buy a new BCD even though they sold it as having a 10 year warranty. Then I moved to Oceanic Biolite. I liked the Biolite but after 10 years, got the itch to go to a modular type BCD. I thought I would love the Rogue but was actually disappointed. My main issue was the weight pockets. They are very difficult to get to snap into place with even a small amount of weight in them.

My solution was to go to backplate and wing. As others on this board have said, it is very easy to set up a basic BPW. The main advantage I have found is that they are very comfortable and you can easily size them to fit you exactly. Another advantage is that they are much lighter and less bulky than traditional BCDs. I hate my wife's Oceanic Hera that takes up half a suitcase but she loves it and will not try anything else. One of the other huge advantages is the reduction in lead needed around your waist.

I went on Ebay and bought an older OMS aluminum backplate for $50 USD. Then I found Helium webbing for $20 USD. I added about $50 for triglides, D rings, and waist buckle. I went to Diverightin.com and bought 2 trim weight pockets and asked them to put a grommet in them to attach directly to the backplate so another $35. Then I got a Dive Rite Travel wing for ~ $250. Added 2 Griplock tank bands for another $100. I watched several Youtube videos to see how to thread the webbing on the backplate. Not a problem at all. So now I have a lightweight (less than 9 lbs), easy to pack and extremely comfortable setup for ~ $500.

If you are set on a jacket style, then look at the Oceanic Hera. My wife likes it because it keeps her upright on the surface and she likes the wrap around feel of it.