BCD recommendations please

[Reidkon]

Merry Xmas and Happy New Years fellow divers!

My wife is looking for a BCD with the following requirements:

• Back inflate
• Integrated weights
• At least two D rings
• At least one decent sized pocket
• Cummerbund
• Under $500

The Cressi Back Jac Elite may meet the requirements but we are wondering what the pockets are like.
The dive shops here in Calgary have a very limited selection so we may end up ordering online but want to be certain of what we are purchasing due to the high shipping costs.

 

[tbone1004]

https://www.divegearexpress.com/bcs/pkg_travel.shtml#4681

$800 but has regulators, BC is made in USA, ships for free to canada

https://www.divegearexpress.com/bcs/pkg_metal.shtml
$350 with weight pockets-no cummerbund, but you don't actually need one....

https://www.divegearexpress.com/bcs/travelpac.shtml

 

[Crush]

What tbone 1004 said - you don't really need a cummerbund. I would recommend a crotch-strap to present the BC from riding up.

Redikon, I am a Canadian diver with about 50 dives in Waterton, Banff, etc. Other dives elsewhere. If you plan to only dive locally then the (bulky) Cressi Back Jac Elite should work fine (see caveats below). The trouble will arise when you try to pack it into an overhead compartment on an Air Canada Jazz regional flight. Those large integrated weight pockets don't "collapse" when empty, they can't be re-located to give you better trim, they are more prone to failure than other systems and finally if you dive locally in a 9mm neoprene suit then, depending upon your build, they might not be able to store enough weight to get you neutral (read: if you are really overweight then they might not be large enough).

Why not go for something more compact?

I agree with back-inflate - good choice.

Depending on the BCD design you can add as many D-rings as you want.

If you want to order lots of gear and can talk a friend or two into it, consider shipping to attheborderstorage.com in Sweetgrass, MO and make a (long) day trip out of it. Factor the cost of gas and your time vs the cost of shipping.

Happy diving!

 

[enduser]

Check out the Zeagle Zena

http://www.zeagle.com/Products-Repository/BCDS/Products/Zena

 

[stuartv]

TUSA Selene Wing - USD$220, new.

Tusa Selene Wing

This is the website for my LDS. My g/f and I have done all are training through them and they provided this same back inflate BC for her to use during said training. She liked it so much I bought her her own for Christmas. Another woman in our OW class also commented to me on how much she liked it and was thinking of buying one for herself as well because of the excellent price. It really is a nice BC and you can't beat the price!

The model is one that (my understanding) went out of production. But, the guys at my local shop thought they were really nice, so they commissioned a run of them from TUSA with the shop's logo on it. You can see it on the cummberbund and on the tank strap.

 

[Crush]

Charlene at Aquasport Scuba Centre in Calgary is a great asset. She is very knowledgeable.

 

[Reidkon]

I guess the cumberbund is something she is used to and not an absolute must have.
We are not cold water divers. And when we travel we always check two bags containing dive gear and a few clothing items.
We are not really concerned with bulkiness, but it needs to be no larger than the BC she is replacing. She has packing for dive vacations down to a science. I just have to show up.
I have heard about the place in Sweetgrass. That is definitely an option.

Thanks for the advice!

What tbone 1004 said - you don't really need a cummerbund. I would recommend a crotch-strap to present the BC from riding up.

Redikon, I am a Canadian diver with about 50 dives in Waterton, Banff, etc. Other dives elsewhere. If you plan to only dive locally then the (bulky) Cressi Back Jac Elite should work fine (see caveats below). The trouble will arise when you try to pack it into an overhead compartment on an Air Canada Jazz regional flight. Those large integrated weight pockets don't "collapse" when empty, they can't be re-located to give you better trim, they are more prone to failure than other systems and finally if you dive locally in a 9mm neoprene suit then, depending upon your build, they might not be able to store enough weight to get you neutral (read: if you are really overweight then they might not be large enough).

Why not go for something more compact?

I agree with back-inflate - good choice.

Depending on the BCD design you can add as many D-rings as you want.

If you want to order lots of gear and can talk a friend or two into it, consider shipping to attheborderstorage.com in Sweetgrass, MO and make a (long) day trip out of it. Factor the cost of gas and your time vs the cost of shipping.

Happy diving!

---------- Post added December 29th, 2014 at 02:39 PM ----------

Agreed! We make the majority of our scuba related purchased from her. We are planning on dropping in and talking to her again this week when we pick up our regs.

Charlene at Aquasport Scuba Centre in Calgary is a great asset. She is very knowledgeable.

 

[tbone1004]

If you aren't diving locally I'd really consider the Dive Rite Travelpac or Hunterpac or the BP/W setups we linked. They're quite cheap, quite small, and will actually be more comfortable for her than most other rigs due to her natural flotation devices

 

[Reidkon]

We actually looked at the Zena in one of the local dive shops, but she was not crazy about the zipper and the expandable pocket is very long when expanded.

Check out the Zeagle Zena

Zena

 

[Kairoos]

I'm a Zeagle fan, so the Zena as said above is a good suggestion. I dive the Express Tech and you can add a pocket (Zeagle sells a pocket attachment) and a crotch strap. I added a crotch strap to mine and it really completes it for me. I've also added some d-rings to hook my pony onto. The whole thing is webbing so it's very adjustable size wise and you can mount things onto it really easily.

I have the model with the zip touch weights, which are great because you just drop the weights and not a container for the weights. Once I was using a rental and the container (with the weights) slid out of my BC while diving and I didn't notice until I couldn't stay down on my safety stop, luckily the charter didn't charge me for either the weights or the container. Same thing happened to my girlfriend yesterday actually, but she noticed and recovered the weight container.