Anyone dive a "Travel" BCD all the time?
- Thread starter OKgunguy
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Hoag
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Chavodel8en
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Looks like folks have already mentioned to make sure you have enough lift.
For 15 years (until it died), I used a Genesis "Tropic" as both my local & travel BCD. It had 34 lbs of back-inflate lift, enough for my local No. Califas, 8mm wetsuit diving. Actually, it wasnt really that compact, so the only thing "travel" about it was its misnomer name. I bought it bc it was cheap - $220 on closeout.
You may have noticed the SB bias to BP/W. And you make a true point that many SBers dont recognize - a cheap lightweight BCD is often cheaper than a BP/W (see above).
However, I would suggest the Dive Gear Express BP/W setup at $350. 30 lbs of lift & an aluminum backplate may be fine for your local & travel diving. But if you're only using a 3mm wetsuit locally, you may prefer a soft backplate instead of the aluminum one - it probably depends on your weighting & preferences
Because BP/W has switchable components, you can customize and grow it. For me I now have a BP/W with a steel BP locally, and will switch out to a soft BP when I go to warm water.
For 15 years (until it died), I used a Genesis "Tropic" as both my local & travel BCD. It had 34 lbs of back-inflate lift, enough for my local No. Califas, 8mm wetsuit diving. Actually, it wasnt really that compact, so the only thing "travel" about it was its misnomer name. I bought it bc it was cheap - $220 on closeout.
You may have noticed the SB bias to BP/W. And you make a true point that many SBers dont recognize - a cheap lightweight BCD is often cheaper than a BP/W (see above).
However, I would suggest the Dive Gear Express BP/W setup at $350. 30 lbs of lift & an aluminum backplate may be fine for your local & travel diving. But if you're only using a 3mm wetsuit locally, you may prefer a soft backplate instead of the aluminum one - it probably depends on your weighting & preferences
Because BP/W has switchable components, you can customize and grow it. For me I now have a BP/W with a steel BP locally, and will switch out to a soft BP when I go to warm water.
Thanks everybody for the warm welcome and all the replies. I really appreciate it...I will definitely wait until the class is over with to buy anything major. I've got a class scheduled in June with Scubabros in OKC. Sounds like I will get to try some different gear there, at least different ScubaPro gear. I'll probably pony up the extra 25 for rental gear just to try other fins and masks too. I've done all my E Learning and am ready to try it again in the water.
Jason
Jason
jonhall
Contributor
Meant to reply when I first saw this thread but let it slip. I have exclusively used a travel BC - Aqua Lung Zuma - since 2010. Make a couple of trips each year (except in 2020) averaging about 20 dives mainly in the Caribbean. No problems with it.
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