Beginner - how to buy BCD

[ams511]

@Sbiriguda

The Bag Sports people do sell in the USA on eBay.

How is the price on Mares over there? You can use a soft or aluminum backplate for travel and a steel for local diving.

 

[Sbiriguda]

@ams511
Here below the prices of Mares products in a known online shop (the second website is a price comparator)
I think the prices are similar to the US, perhaps slightly lower. Euro is quite strong right now, there must be also an exchange rate impact

MARES - Jacket Subacquei - Maxi Sport Shop Online
www.trovaprezzi.it

Some examples:

MARES steel backplate xr line 6mm € 209,00
MARES steel backplate xr line 3mm € 170,00
MARES soft backplate xr line € 49,00 (different product though)
ROFOS aluminum backplate + INOX screws € 169,90

 

[Sbiriguda]

I am close to buying a travel BCD
I’d rather buy a BPW later since I never even tried one until now and I prefer to buy one only when I will be more confident. I found 3 good bargains :

Aqualung Zuma never in water
Cressi travel light never in water
Mares Hybrid used like new

Which one would you choose?

 

[Sbiriguda]

TIght and hot. If you're comfortable on land you'll be cold in the water.

Sunday I went to the mall to buy a light 3mm wetsuit for the Philippines and for training in the pool. I checked the size table on the manufacturer's website and my size would be L. Before trying the wetsuit I heard the voice of The Chairman in the head telling me "take the tight one, take the tight one". I tried the wetsuit and it was tight. So I took the XL, because it was easier to put. After I showed up in the pool the others told me: it's too big, it's large on the elbows and on the neck etc. etc.
Now I have to decide if I want to keep the XL because it's more comfortable to put while changing at the pool, or to get the L which is tigher and probably a better size. Anyway a 3mm suit for tropical waters is probably meant more to to protect from the contact with corals than to protect from the cold. I could even make an exception this time

 

[diversteve]

I'd personally buy the Zuma since it's the only back-inflate model of the 3. But I don't like jackets since they squeeze your body when inflated and seem to do a good job of floating you vertical at the surface - I dive horizontally so back-inflate makes more sense to me.

I also personally believe Mares uses too much plastic in their products - there's posts here occasionally from someone who's had the tank suspension system crack prematurely - it's not repairable.

I have read somewhere that the pockets can be hard to reach on the Zuma for some people so hopefully you can try it on first. I've almost bought one a couple of times as a travel bc.

 

[diversteve]

It's hard to comment on the wetsuit w/o seeing it on you but it should be fairly tight as the idea behind a wetsuit is to trap a layer of water against your body so it heats up and keeps you warm. Too loose and that probably won't happen. Even in the tropics you can get chilled on repetitive dives since it gradually lowers your core temperature.

 

[BoltSnap]

The wetsuit should/must be "snug" but never "tight"!!

the idea behind a wetsuit is to trap a layer of water against your body so it heats up and keeps you warm.

But if the water can get in, couldn't get out and new colder water get in and the ugly cycle continues until the diver is exhausted????

The westsuit's job is to "insulate" the diver from the cold water and not by "trapping" water.

 

[The Chairman]

Now I have to decide if I want to keep the XL because it's more comfortable to put while changing at the pool,

Tight and hot. If it's not hard to put on, it simply won't do the job you're wanting it to do: to keep you comfortable in the water. There's a reason we wait until the last minute to put on that wetsuit before we splash.

I don't like jackets since they squeeze your body when inflated

Yeah. Some people like the hug, but not me. I always prefer back inflate.