Question Best back-inflate BCD for small woman

[NW Dive Dawg]

My wife is about the same height and weight and loves her Zeagle Stiletto. Lots of adjustments. All the features you are looking for including real nice pockets..... cumberbund and belly buckle......dual tank straps. Comes in XS......My wife dives a Small.

I also dive a XXL Stiletto as my warm water travel BC... so I'm biased...

 

[Jersey]

Another vote for the DiveRite Hydrolite. Love it.

 

[lachica]

I'll throw my vote in for the Zena. I absolutely love it for travel and warm water.

But... I will most likely switch to bpw when I buy my drysuit. The Zena zipper front gets in the way of most drysuit inflate valve.

My Zena will most likely go to my daughter, with an XS front. That's the beauty of it that you can custom every piece.

 

[mcohen1021]

My wife (5'5", 125#) currently dives an Oceanic Hera (Size S). On a shakedown trip to the Keys in preparation for a bucket list trip, she was dialing in trim and weight requirement. It became obvious that the small was too big. Tank and bcd slipping to one side from time to time. Maxing out the cummerbund cinch to try to make it better.

She's committed to back-inflate, but doesn't want to go BP/W yet. She loves the comfort/padding of the Hera, but it's a little heavy for a travel bcd. None of the local shops have the bcd's discussed below in sizes XS or S for trial. Hoping y'all can help. She doesn't even lurk on SB, so here I am asking for her...

Requirements: comfort; back inflate or hybrid; low weight for travel; at least small droppable or accessible weight pockets in addition to trim weight pockets on back next to tank; some form of accessible pocket for a DSMB (haven't talked her into pocket shorts - I'm told they're ugly).
Desires: a small to medium wing size (20-25lb) (warm water diving).

I know what you said about back inflate, but I got my wife (4'11" 115#) into an XS Cressi Travelite (jacket style) and she loves it.

 

[Kimela]

+1 for the Zena (though I'm very late to the party). I've said this elsewhere (probably a couple of times) - I had a crotch-strap added to mine because I go upside down a lot and I like my BC to stay in place at all times. I love the Zena for a more curvy fit, adjustable at so many points for the wide variety of women's shapes.

 

[ValkyrieDesigns]

I highly recommend the hydros pro. I've been diving in almost every popular women's BCD and this one is the winner. I have a really short torso, so struggle with a lot of the brands that make the "size" smaller, but don't account as well for height/torso length. They have a lot of swappable parts so you can really get the size how you need it.

The zeagle is a great option as well, I used this for a number of years. I just got frustrated with the lack of pockets/d rings/ability to store things. If that doesn't bother her, this could be a great option at a lower price point.

 

[boogs34]

My partner (5-1; 120 lbs) has the Aqualung Lotus and LOVES IT. She did not want a backplate & wing...

 

[Umpman]

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My wife is 5’7 and weight 130 pounds, is a size small pants and XS shirt. She uses the Dive Right Hydro LIte https://amzn.to/41gmiki and loves it. It is light weight, rolls up for travel, has a decent amount of lift, integrated weight pockets and nice big D Rings, plus its very adjustable. Because of the Stainless Steel D Rings, it doesn’t require a lot of weight to be added. My wife dives with a Waterproof 3.5mil wetsuit and only needs 2 pounds of lead when using a steel 80 cylinder

Another good one is the Aqua Lung Pro HD compact https://amzn.to/3GsR5SE . She started on that one and then returned for the Dive Right after trying a backplate and wing. The Aqua Lung Pro HD compact (also known as Zuma) is a back inflate but wraps around your waist and has slide out weight pockets and one pocket on the left side. It has smaller, plastic D rings. Both are good but if you dont need the pocket, I highly recommend the Dive rite. You can even add a pocket to it if you want.

I dive with a Dive Rite Wing and back plate and after seeing the Hydro Lite, I purchased one for myself for when I go on trips. At 6’ weighing 200 pounds, when I use the Hydro Lite, I only need to carry about 6 pounds of weight when using a steel tank in salt water.

The key to back inflate is to not inflate all the way on the surface since it tends to lean you forward. With that said, once you dive a back inflate, you will never want to use anything else. It makes staying in trim very easy

 

[crofrog]

Halcyon small back plate

 

[Salacia2023]

Another vote for the Hydros Pro. Although, I feel like a BCD is a really personal choice. I tried on many great BCDs, many that are listed here, and I liked the Hydros Pro the most. It's ultimately what works best for her in the water and if she has the option to try a bunch on in a pool, she absolutely should.