When did Scubapro stop making an orange BCD?

[Hostage]

I am looking at a BCD locally that is orange, looks like it has regulator built into the power inflator, has a big pocket on the right side that says scubapro and has a dump valve on the back that can be actuated from pulling a ball string from the front. It looks like this one: ScubaPro Orange Buoyancy Compensator (BC, BCD) size (05/22/2011)...

He is wanting $65, though I am thinking it is worth more like $30. I plan to test it out before I purchase it.

 

[cbrich]

To be honest and this is from my judgement of the picture, that seems like a waste of $30. Put the $30 toward something else.

 

[Damselfish]

I don't know when they stopped making them, but I'd guess you might be looking at something at least 20-25 years old. We started with some similar vintage SP BCs, I sold mine after a couple years, but my husbands wound up sitting around for years when he got a new one. At that point it didn't really hold air overnight anymore.

 

[Hostage]

Apparently he is holding out for $65, I filled it full of air, didn't hear any leaks and the regulator appeared to work as did all the valves. Granted it is a Craigslist, though he said if there is a problem with it, we can return it. Either it is this or renting a BCD. My neighbor does have a swimming pool that I can test it out on. Shops are renting BCDs for $25/day.

 

[tursiops]

The shops are renting BCDs that are quite modern and relatively new. That orange POS is neither.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[Damselfish]

Again, you need to be able to inflate the thing and let it sit overnight. It could still be leaky, maybe not the sort of leak you would hear easily, more like microleaks in seams or through the coated fabric which just might not be really solid anymore.

Lots of people ask too much for old scuba gear because they don't really know anything about it and have inflated ideas of it's value. Or maybe they just figure they'll find a sucker that will give them their price. If I were looking for a cheap used BC that's not one I would buy, in any event I wouldn't pay $65 for it. Maybe if it were free I would mess with it. Plus you'll want to get the Air2 (or whatever model that reg/inflator was) serviced which is more $. Be patient, you can get good deals on used BCs, you will probably pay more then $65 but it will be worth it.

 

[rhwestfall]

there is a "cool" factor here in the "semi-vintage" way, but not enough to liberate $65 from my wallet...

 

[daniel f aleman]

$60 is about right for those vests in working order. Now when I say "working order", I don't mean use one for real diving-- the coating on the inner liner would be about gone and expect air to bleed from it.

 

[Hostage]

Thanks for the feedback, I spoke to some guys in the vintage forum as well as a friend that loves vintage equipment and only dives with double hoses. He advised against it. The Air2 gen 2 that the BCD has was last built over 25 years ago in 1989. While the serviceable parts from the air2 gen2 can get it to work,there are no "hard parts". So I will keep looking.