Any Reasons To Upgrade From Scubapro Superhawk NT?

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cleung

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Collingwood, Ontario
# of dives
200 - 499
I've been diving with my Scubapro Superhawk NT bc since I bought it about 20 years ago. It is still in perfect condition and works great. This was a back inflated, jacket style bc before the wing era. So since it is back inflated, I still get the same diving position advantages of current wing style bcs but since it is also a jacket style, I get pockets which come in handy which is a feature that many wing style bcs don't have.

So my question is after 20 years of diving with my back inflated bc, are there are reasons to upgrade to the newer wing style with back plate bcs? I have never tried any of the new bcs yet.
 
If it still works and does the job for you, there is no need to spend money on a new BC. I have a Mares Dragonfly Air Trim that is over 20 years old and still works like it's new. I use it for diving down south while on vacation.
 
I've been diving a Knighthawk since 2005, I guess the Superhawk NT predates me by a few years. Sounds like it may be a bit more like the Seahawk, but I see it has a crotch strap. In their wisdom, Scubapro has discontinued the Knighthawk and Ladyhawk and now place their bets on the Hydros Pro. As long as your BC is good, I would use it
 
I could elect to sell it off to a new diver who is on budget for gear since my Scubapro Superhawk is still working great. But only if I see a definitely advantage in upgrading to one of the newer wing/backplate models -- so are there any definitely improvements I could get with newer bcs that I don't currently have with my Superhawk?
 
If my old back inflate BC was still working, I would still be diving it. Why change.

But it died after 15 years - the plastic backplate broke. It was a cheap BC. I imagine the Scubapro may be more hardy. If your BC shows no signs of wear, you can keep it.

I miss the pockets from the old BC, and I miss the adjustable harness. I am now in a BP/W, which advantage is being able to drop about 3 lbs total weight.
 
If my old back inflate BC was still working, I would still be diving it. Why change.

But it died after 15 years - the plastic backplate broke. It was a cheap BC. I imagine the Scubapro may be more hardy. If your BC shows no signs of wear, you can keep it.

I miss the pockets from the old BC, and I miss the adjustable harness. I am now in a BP/W, which advantage is being able to drop about 3 lbs total weight.

Ah okay. So since I imagine my older back inflated BC is similar to the new wing models in terms of overall dive trim position, it's the backplate that gives the weight advantage. Still doesn't sound like worth buying into a new one if that's the only main advantage but thanks for the info.
 
Only advantage I could think of is that you could use a few less lbs in lead by using a steel plate. Perhaps no lead at all depending on your needs. On the other hand, the steel plate is more weight to travel with (if you travel to dive).

I dive a bp/w but I don't think I'd bother replacing a functional back inflate BCD with a BP/W. Any advantages are pretty minor such as that weight one.

When you wear out that back inflate, then reconsider.
 
Only advantage I could think of is that you could use a few less lbs in lead by using a steel plate. Perhaps no lead at all depending on your needs. On the other hand, the steel plate is more weight to travel with (if you travel to dive).

I dive a bp/w but I don't think I'd bother replacing a functional back inflate BCD with a BP/W. Any advantages are pretty minor such as that weight one.

When you wear out that back inflate, then reconsider.
Oh really good point because yes I do travel with my bc and all the gear I carry on planes is already heavy enough. Thanks for pointing that out.
 
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