BCD gift

[Goddard]

Hi all,

I'm looking for recommendations for a BCD to buy my husband for his birthday. We both have about 30 dives under our belts and so far have split the time between cold water Monterey and warm waters like Australia and Bali.

He's really looking from something without a lot of bulk and doodads. I'd personally like him to have a good quick weight release mechanism. He's about 6'4" and weighs about 200lbs and typically wears 25-30lbs of weight in Monterey. However I expect that most of our future dives will be in warm water and I want to get him something that travels well.

He likes to take underwater photos and has fun flipping around in all different directions. Lastly, I'd like to spend under $500--under $400 if possible.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Especially since his birthday is Friday!!

Thanks!
Rachel

 

[Goddard]

There's about a 90% chance he'll exchange anything I get him (cause he's just that way) but I'd like to make an honest effort!

-Rachel

 

[DivingsInMyBlood]

get him a gift card for the amount you want to spend, i bet that wont fail.

 

[Tigerman]

I second the gift card. Infact it was the first thing I thought seeing the topic..

BCs need to be tried on at the very least.. And I assume "Honey, cant you try this BC on, It would probably make you quite sexy" would be sort of a giveaway?

 

[Goddard]

I was thinking of leaving some catalogs around and watching to see what pages he turns to. But it might have been a giveaway

Any thoughts on BCDs to point him toward? So that I could at least say "Hey, here's a gift certificate. I wanted to get you BCD X but wanted you to try it on first."

-Rachel

 

[RonFrank]

I highly recommend Zeagle BC's. Larry at ScubaToys could set him up nice, and you could do a gift card with them. They match LP prices, and offer 10% off to SB members.

I'm sure someone will step in with the BP/W suggestion. For diving cold water heavy exposure protection I like that option as one can get a heavy SS Plate, and STA, and take 12lbs off of the weight belt. However this would NOT make a good travel kit as it's heavy. So he would need an Alum Plate for travel, and SS for cold water diving, or he'd be back to wearing a lot of weight when diving cold with a Travel plate.

BP/W's also do not come with quick release weight systems. One has to purchase that separately, and that would up the price at least $50 on top of what is normally a $450 bare bones kit.

I have a Zealge Stiletto, and really like it for travel.

 

[almitywife]

hi Goddard... it would be great to be able to actually give him a gift on the day but something like this is so personal thats its hard to guess

personally im a huge fan of zeagle

what i like about zeagle. rear inflation, weight intergrated, a world leader in dive gear with an excellent product and mine has been halfway around the world with me. my old zeagle tec is about 7yrs old but i think most US people dive the ranger or scout or brigade. (hubby and almitychild dive with zeagles also)

if it was me.. i would be getting him a gift voucher from ScubaToys (a SB sponsor btw) as you will find they have are a leader in the dive industry. and when you place an order, mention you are a scubaboarder to get a discount

i really think a voucher is the best advice

cheers and enjoy

edit: opps, and ron got in before me about zeagle and scubatoys heheh

 

[Goddard]

This may be a dumb question but how much lift capacity should he be looking for?

Thanks!
Rachel

 

[almitywife]

what sort of diving does he do?

single tanks or twins?

ali tanks or steel?

the zeagle tech i have has 44lbs of lift (so i can put twins on it if i want) which im very happy with but these days i prefer diving with a 35lbs zeagle bpw as i feel better diving in a smaller wing

 

[Jimmer]

Another vote for Zeagle, especially if u want quick release weights.