I've just finished a warmwater trip where I got 26 dives in that also was the test for a new ScubaPro Glide Pro. This is a jacket BCD that's similar to the Classic (STAB) and in brief summary, my ~10 year old ScubaPro KnightHawk is going to be put up for sale.
Repeating some of the same observsations as below, plus some new ones:
- at ~10lbs, it is heavy to pack (luggage), but it is also sturdy and "bombproof" in the ScubaPro tradition. Very good (& large) pockets...strongly highlights just how bad the pockets are on my KnightHawk. I found it no problem to hide a large (6ft) SMB with finger spool inside one of them. The other side could easily hold a couple more items, which can reduce clutter dangling from D-rings & maintain streamlining.
- Part of the reason why it is bulky/heavy is because it includes a hard backpack (YMMV, but I prefer that), but it also has a lot of cushy padding built in. Personally, since I'm always wearing some sort of exposure suit, I'd prefer that it were to have had a lot less padding, as this would let it be able to dry more quickly, pack smaller/lighter ... and since it takes some time to waterlog these "comfy" materials, probably let me drop a pound or two of weights.
- I don't care for - and mostly don't use - the weight integration system. In warmwater, I've been typically put ~4lbs in the trim pockets on top/back and then use a weightbelt in lieu of the bottom pockets for my other ~6lbs (AL80/full 3mm wetsuit). I used to use roughly 2lbs less weighting, but both the GP and the Knighthawk have the aformentioned padding.
- any BCD's surface float orientation is a major decision factor for me too...the Jacket performs noticably better than a Wing, particularly with an empty AL80 (+2lbs) and with my UW camera system (-1.5lbs; a Canon 7D in an Ikelite housing). - underwater performance ... no real difference (or problems) when on mundane horizontal swims, but when going into odd (sideways/inverted/etc) positions for UW photography, there's significantly better orientation freedom while also having less "bubble rolling around" caused sudden buoyancy location shifts which are both improvement.
- its front shoulder straps are on swivels ... a trade-off. They probably improve fit/comfort, but by being less stiff, it actually makes it a bit harder to put on, since that loss of stiffness in the shoulders means that it won't naturally hold itself open while you duck a shoulder to sling it on. I prefer the NightHawk's stiffer shoulder strap arrangement here for this reason.
- positions of stuff (vents, D-rings, etc). Versus the KnightHawk, there's understandably been slight changes in location, so I'm having to relearn muscle memory for where everything is. Somewhat surprisingly, it appears that the right chest D-ring position has moved enough that I can't find the damn thing by feel at all. I'll probably need to work on this for another 25-50 dives before it falls into place.
Bottom line ... I'm glad that I tried the Glide Pro. The Classic (STAB) was also on my short list, but the difference in price for what didn't appear to be mostly just material over the shoulders didn't really appear to me to be worth that much of a difference. For someone diving doubles, the Classic is still rated for them, although interestingly, the Glide Pro's online documentation only says singles - - but the tag that's inside the BCD does indicate otherwise: it permits one (small) set of doubles for at least the XL sized Glide Pro; I'll have to go take & post a photo of the tag to document its exact details.
Hope this helps,
-hh