BC for petite woman

[00wabbit]

My wife was recently certified. I want to watch for some used deals to pop up to get her a BC. She has regs and fins etc.

She isn't sure how into this she will get but we plan a good bit of shore diving so not having to rent gear will help keep costs down.

I'm a big fan of bp/w but I think she wold prefer integrated weight pockets so that she doesn't have to have a separate weight system. We will both be working on trim etc so I think back inflate is important.

She has absolutely zero interest in cold water diving so this BC just needs to be good for diving like Blue Heron Bridge. She will still have a 3-5mm wetsuit though because she gets cold easily.

What are some to watch for?

 

[Jxh2297]

BP+w and just add weight pouches

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[violamama]

I'm 5'1". I haven't bought one, but I have tried 3 or 4 "women's" bcds. Can she go try some on? They really are all so different. The mens bcds are completely awful for a short woman, as she may already have discovered.

My favorite fit so far was the Lotus, but I think someday I'll end up with a bp/w. The lotus is a back-inflate type of thing, but is still a harness bcd.

There are some good threads here about what other people have liked. It seems quite individual, which means she really needs to try one on before looking for deals. The sizing (like everything in diving) varies a lot by company, too.

 

[abnfrog]

go with a zeagle thats what we use for all our female students they work and fit the best .....

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

More stability, trim, better controls BP & W just add pockets. Some systems actually come with them and can also offer a smaller plate. I put my 10 yrs old daughter in a Halcyon Eclipse System w/Small Plate & she loves it!

 

[00wabbit]

Maybe we will just do Bp/we for her. I have most of the hardware and webbing already. Just need a smaller plate, maybe aluminum for her and a smaller wing.
We'll see after we get to florida next month and see how much lead she needs.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Zeagle Zena? My wife loves hers, as they are of modular design so that you can mix and match components to fit any body size/shape.

 

[TSandM]

How small is she? I'm 5'2" and use a standard plate. The small, if placed with the top at T2, will pull the waist strap up over the bottom of my ribcage.

If she's narrow across the shoulders, cross the shoulder straps behind her neck. It ensures that they won't tend to fall off her shoulders.

 

[00wabbit]

She is 5'2" maybe a little narrow on the shoulders. The plate I have now is a steel DSS large so it's a little wider than normal. It looks big on her and my wing is 35lb which looks massive on her.

 

[TSandM]

I would expect a large plate to be HUGE on her! I think Tobin only recommends them for people over about 6'2" or something like that. I think she'd be fine in a standard plate. I use the 35 pound wing, too -- wing size isn't related to diver size, but rather to lift requirements.