Happyladydiver
Contributor
I don’t know if integrated weights are common in training. I just know I had them and liked them as that belt was a PITA. More junk to haul around for what purpose? Ick.
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I don’t know if integrated weights are common in training. I just know I had them and liked them as that belt was a PITA. More junk to haul around for what purpose? Ick.
Beuchat Masterlift X-Air Light Womens BCD
BP&W's main selling point is modularity which means more junk to haul around in separate pieces -- as opposed to having it all sewn together in one complete thing.
@Happyladydiver
If you like BPW you don't have to get a halycon.
A lot of other manufacturers make them at lower cost.
Have you tried a back inflate? They are kinda a hybrid style. I also have one of them that I use when working with students for my DM stuff.
Again try as many as you can so you only buy once. It is cheaper to rent while you try things out then replace something.
Whew! 10 pages of posts. I just skimmed through, but I hope you find my input helpful. I am a female diver with a large chest area and my weight tends to fluctuate depending on how dedicated I am to diet and exercise from year to year. (Not much dedication in 2020) I've been diving for years now and always rented by BCD & reg. Until recent years, there weren't many choices on the market for women's BCDs, and my theory was, Why buy something ill-fitting that is made for men? Another reason for renting for so long was because of the baggage considerations for dive travel, and all my diving involves flying. I just bought the Aqua Lung Lotus BCD with the traditional inflator hose (not the i3, which is now discontinued) in October 2020 and I first used it last month on a live-aboard. I really love it! I researched all the women's BCDs on the market for a few months and came up with a list of must-haves for my purchase, then added to the list the features that would be cool to have but not critical. I went to many dive shops and tried on lots of BCDs. I'm the type of person that likes to touch and feel my personal-fitting dive equipment before I buy it. For me, the Lotus met my must-haves, which was back-wing style (no jacket-style), integrated weight pockets, no cummerbund, tank weight pockets, front shoulder release straps (for an old shoulder injury), and at least 2 steel (not plastic) D-rings and it comes with 4 D-rings. It can allow for a 20-30 pound weight gain or loss with the generous waist belt. The cool extras are, the exterior portion of the weight pockets secured with Velcro flop down to expand to deeper pockets, if needed. There is an integrated knife sheath. The knife is $40-$45 USD. There is an octo hose pocket. If I had to be critical of just one thing it would be that there's no carry strap and if someone else is handling it, they may grab the top tank strap to pick it up. Otherwise, it's the perfect BCD. Here's the link, and this just so happens to show the exact one I got in pink. BCD Diving | Buoyancy Compensator | Lotus - Aqua Lung.
I dive with a few things dangling from my BCD, so the 4 D-rings are nice...dive slate, torch, pointer, SMB, TG6 camera. And then my knife trimmed in pink, of course!
I bought this from my women-owned local dive shop (LDS) for $535 USD. She told me to be careful not to overinflate at the surface, otherwise, your face may tip forward. I did not find this to be a problem, but I think it has to do with proper weight distribution and I think the tank weight pockets help with that.
Good luck in your search for the perfect BCD!
@Happyladydiver
If you like BPW you don't have to get a halycon.
A lot of other manufacturers make them at lower cost.
Have you tried a back inflate? They are kinda a hybrid style. I also have one of them that I use when working with students for my DM stuff.
Again try as many as you can so you only buy once. It is cheaper to rent while you try things out then replace something.
I know you already have a ton of responses but here's my two psi. Why cry more then once? What I mean is do your research and fork out the money the first time rather then buying something you can't see/touch, hoping it'll work to save some cash, then have to fork out more to to fix or replace. My best example is that my wife and I are looking to buy a boat right now. We saw a used one for $10,000(USD) and estimated we would have to fork out another 10k to get it looking great. Then of course the domino effect of something else breaking right after we fix the other stuff coasting us more. We decided to just fork out the dough to buy new and have a warranty so we can spend time in the lake and not in the garage.
@Happyladydiver
If you like BPW you don't have to get a halycon.
A lot of other manufacturers make them at lower cost.
Have you tried a back inflate? They are kinda a hybrid style. I also have one of them that I use when working with students for my DM stuff.
Again try as many as you can so you only buy once. It is cheaper to rent while you try things out then replace something.
Ye
The pearl i3 was a back inflate. I only used it on land but even though it didn’t hold air all night, I liked what I experienced. It was pretty and comfortable. It had pink on it too. Lol I’m such a girl.