Has anyone seen or used the new Scubapro Hydros Pro BCD

[jd950]

I have been putting more dives on the Hydros. It has a bunch of dives on it now and has gone a lot of miles in luggage with no failures. I like how light it is and have benefited from it having little or no inherent buoyancy and drying so quickly. I agree the original bungee design was not well thought out, but in truth, I have never had the shifting wing actually be a problem. I dive with little to no air in the wing except at the surface. I think maybe the problem has been overstated. I now dive exclusively with the "tek" harness or whatever it is called, with a couple small weight pouches. Much lighter and more streamlined and the way I have it set up, . Unless I needed more weight due to different exposure protection, I don't see using the big weight pockets again. I think SP should get some credit for making the upgrades they did fairly quickly when issues were discovered, and not waiting to do them in some new model.

I don't find the SP branding more offensive than most other manufacturers do on their wetsuits, BCs, fins, etc. I suppose if it really bothered me I could color the white letters with a sharpie. It is almost certainly overpriced but I am lucky enough to be able to afford it and am not a "kit" or "DIY" guy so I would not want to buy webbing and D rings and buckles, and other bits and pieces to cobble something together to do basically the same thing. I don't do doubles, so this suits me well. Other people who like to build stuff, don't like the factory configuration options or can't afford a factory BC will be happier making their own from bits and pieces.

Like with many things in life, what is good for one person isn't so good for another but I think it is a good product. I am unaware of anything I would rather have for how I dive.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I have been putting more dives on the Hydros. It has a bunch of dives on it now and has gone a lot of miles in luggage with no failures. I like how light it is and have benefited from it having little or no inherent buoyancy and drying so quickly. I agree the original bungee design was not well thought out, but in truth, I have never had the shifting wing actually be a problem. I dive with little to no air in the wing except at the surface. I think maybe the problem has been overstated. I now dive exclusively with the "tek" harness or whatever it is called, with a couple small weight pouches. Much lighter and more streamlined and the way I have it set up, . Unless I needed more weight due to different exposure protection, I don't see using the big weight pockets again. I think SP should get some credit for making the upgrades they did fairly quickly when issues were discovered, and not waiting to do them in some new model.

I don't find the SP branding more offensive than most other manufacturers do on their wetsuits, BCs, fins, etc. I suppose if it really bothered me I could color the white letters with a sharpie. It is almost certainly overpriced but I am lucky enough to be able to afford it and am not a "kit" or "DIY" guy so I would not want to buy webbing and D rings and buckles, and other bits and pieces to cobble something together to do basically the same thing. I don't do doubles, so this suits me well. Other people who like to build stuff, don't like the factory configuration options or can't afford a factory BC will be happier making their own from bits and pieces.

Like with many things in life, what is good for one person isn't so good for another but I think it is a good product. I am unaware of anything I would rather have for how I dive.

This is a bit confusing to me. I really like the concept of the Hydros and have been diving the Ladyhawk for many years. But why would I upgrade to the Hydros and then set aside the special weight pockets? Aren't the weight pockets one of the reasons for the greater expense of the Hydros?

Why not just get an ordinary bp/w for a 1/3 of the price?

 

[stuartv]

This is a bit confusing to me. I really like the concept of the Hydros and have been diving the Ladyhawk for many years. But why would I upgrade to the Hydros and then set aside the special weight pockets? Aren't the weight pockets one of the reasons for the greater expense of the Hydros?

Why not just get an ordinary bp/w for a 1/3 of the price?

IMO, those weight pockets are not at all the reason to buy the Hydros. Like @jd950, I do not normally use them. I also prefer the Hydros with the “travel waist belt” that comes with it.

Jd950 already explained why he preferred to spend the money versus buying a BPW.

 

[chillyinCanada]

IMO, those weight pockets are not at all the reason to buy the Hydros. Like @jd950, I do not normally use them. I also prefer the Hydros with the “travel waist belt” that comes with it.

Jd950 already explained why he preferred to spend the money versus buying a BPW.

OK, I'll read back and see if I can find where he explained that specifically.

@stuartv are you saying that you also have a Hydros and rig it similarly?

 

[ChuckP]

If all I ever dove was steel tanks for fun, the weight pouches would have been long since removed.

The ability to remove the weight pockets is a really neat idea, it just needs to fit within your diving setup - I don't want the work of switching back and forth so the pockets stay.

 

[stuartv]

@chillyinCanada Yes, I have had a Hydros Pro for over a year. To ME, it is the best/nicest integrated BCD on the market. Prior to the Hydros, I only ever owned back plate and wing setups and always thought they were superior to any integrated BCD.

But, I had to buy an integrated BCD to use when I am teaching OW students, so that I can demonstrate certain required skills. After looking at all the options on the market, I bought the Hydros (at shop employee price, which was a large discount). After I started diving it, I realized that I like it better than any of my conventional BP/W setups. I think it is more stable, more comfortable, and more convenient. The differences are small, though. And, for ME, I would not even consider paying full price for a Hydros over a BP/W. It's nicer in most respects, but not enough nicer for ME to spend that much extra money.

Plus, I also have a Freedom Contour back plate with Vintage Double Hose wings (in 2 sizes, for warm and cold water). As nice as the Hydros is, the FC BP setup is even nicer.

So, if I were taking my Hydros to do fun diving, I would take the big, bulky weight pockets off and just use some small trim weight pockets if I actually needed weight. For teaching, I have the normal weight pockets on because they are needed for demoing certain skills to OW students.

@ChuckP It only takes about 1 minute to switch between the 2 different Hydros waist belts, with no tools required. To each his own, but if I didn't need those big weight pockets, I would swap them off every time.

 

[T Mogle]

@ChuckP It only takes about 1 minute to switch between the 2 different Hydros waist belts, with no tools required. To each his own, but if I didn't need those big weight pockets, I would swap them off every time.

If Scubapro started selling a light version of the Hydro, I could be interested. No weight pockets, no bag. Just the jacket with the waist belt. From a marketing point of view, they might do that at best within 3-5 years time.

As a new beginner, I like the idea of something I can grow into. Of that reason, I think a BP/W is a better option. Other than that the Hydro fits well, sticks well to my wetsuit, dries quickly and look cool if that count.

I just start to be sceptical to products or add-ons that I must purchase and never use to get access to the main product. It just fills up my garage.

 

[jd950]

This is a bit confusing to me. I really like the concept of the Hydros and have been diving the Ladyhawk for many years. But why would I upgrade to the Hydros and then set aside the special weight pockets? Aren't the weight pockets one of the reasons for the greater expense of the Hydros?

Why not just get an ordinary bp/w for a 1/3 of the price?

No, the weight pockets were not an incentive to me at all. They are nice enough and if I needed the weight capacity or perhaps if I dived locally, I would use them, but the hydros comes with both the standard weight pockets and the additional tek belt. I took a trip with the pockets and they significantly increased the size of the BC when packed and added a fair bit of weight. I put the tek belt on and two 5lb pockets on that belt and it suits me fine. My incentive was the ability of the BC to pack up small, the light weight, the quick dry of the monoprene (so I don't have to lug around or pack a wet BC), the fact that the thing has no buoyant padding on it so i don't have to wear extra lead for the sake of the BC, but still has comfortable shoulder straps that are easy to get into and out of, and I have found that whether due to the monoprene or something else, it does a good job of not moving around once positioned on the body with no need for a crotch strap. I don't really like crotch straps. The Hydros with the tek belt folds up to just a bit bigger than a rolled-up 3mm wetsuit. It is nice that you have the choice to use the fancy pockets or not, as you prefer. That is not a common with other BCs or a BPW.

For me, and the way I dive, I have no use for a steel backplate and don't want to use a weightbelt, so an aluminum or kydex backplate would do me no good. I only dive warm water and single tanks and between dive gear and dive camera gear I am always struggling with airline weight limits and rely on using a dive op's lead weights when I get where I am going. I don't think a A BPW would fit well into my diving or at least would not give me any benefit over what I am already using. I also need/want a pocket or two for my specific purposes. By the time I try to add pockets and integrated weight ability to a BPW, I just see no benefit of a BPW. If I did, I would get one. Frankly, for single tank diving, the differences between a Hydros and a BPW are small and I find the Hydros works fine for me. Okay, maybe being able to place a D ring where I want it would be nice, but that is minor and does not impede my enjoyment in the water.

There is really nothing significant that I would change if I could. A similar BPW might be 1/3 the price, or might not be, when set up the way I would want it, with integrated weight and a pocket or two, but I really have no desire to spend the time building it. I spend enough "hobby time" messing around with dive photo gear and prefer an out of the box solution to to a BC. In the context of the cost of dive trips, camera, camera housing, ports, strobes, etc., the cost is of the Hydros is not much of an issue to me. That's me...others have different priorities and it is all good. Each of us has different diving styles and priorities and there is no single best solution for everyone.

If my stuff was stolen tomorrow I would buy another Hydros. Is it "better" than other choices? For some people yes, for some no...there is no right or wrong answer. It doesn't hurt my feelings if someone hates it.... I didn't design it and don't make them or sell them. And, next year or the year after there will probably be something that looks even better to me and then, who knows?

 

[chillyinCanada]

No, the weight pockets were not an incentive to me at all. They are nice enough and if I needed the weight capacity or perhaps if I dived locally, I would use them, but the hydros comes with both the standard weight pockets and the additional tek belt. I took a trip with the pockets and they significantly increased the size of the BC when packed and added a fair bit of weight. I put the tek belt on and two 5lb pockets on that belt and it suits me fine. My incentive was the ability of the BC to pack up small, the light weight, the quick dry of the monoprene (so I don't have to lug around or pack a wet BC), the fact that the thing has no buoyant padding on it so i don't have to wear extra lead for the sake of the BC, but still has comfortable shoulder straps that are easy to get into and out of, and I have found that whether due to the monoprene or something else, it does a good job of not moving around once positioned on the body with no need for a crotch strap. I don't really like crotch straps. The Hydros with the tek belt folds up to just a bit bigger than a rolled-up 3mm wetsuit. It is nice that you have the choice to use the fancy pockets or not, as you prefer. That is not a common with other BCs or a BPW.

For me, and the way I dive, I have no use for a steel backplate and don't want to use a weightbelt, so an aluminum or kydex backplate would do me no good. I only dive warm water and single tanks and between dive gear and dive camera gear I am always struggling with airline weight limits and rely on using a dive op's lead weights when I get where I am going. I don't think a A BPW would fit well into my diving or at least would not give me any benefit over what I am already using. I also need/want a pocket or two for my specific purposes. By the time I try to add pockets and integrated weight ability to a BPW, I just see no benefit of a BPW. If I did, I would get one. Frankly, for single tank diving, the differences between a Hydros and a BPW are small and I find the Hydros works fine for me. Okay, maybe being able to place a D ring where I want it would be nice, but that is minor and does not impede my enjoyment in the water.

There is really nothing significant that I would change if I could. A similar BPW might be 1/3 the price, or might not be, when set up the way I would want it, with integrated weight and a pocket or two, but I really have no desire to spend the time building it. I spend enough "hobby time" messing around with dive photo gear and prefer an out of the box solution to to a BC. In the context of the cost of dive trips, camera, camera housing, ports, strobes, etc., the cost is of the Hydros is not much of an issue to me. That's me...others have different priorities and it is all good. Each of us has different diving styles and priorities and there is no single best solution for everyone.

If my stuff was stolen tomorrow I would buy another Hydros. Is it "better" than other choices? For some people yes, for some no...there is no right or wrong answer. It doesn't hurt my feelings if someone hates it.... I didn't design it and don't make them or sell them. And, next year or the year after there will probably be something that looks even better to me and then, who knows?

Thanks everyone. For those that don't already know, I only travel to dive. The Htdros is still looking good to me though it shall have to remain on my wish list for a bit longer.

 

[stuartv]

Just to throw some mud in the water... Atomic has announced their BC2 - a back-inflate BCD. Details are still very scarce. But, that COULD be as nice or nicer than a Hydros. However, based on the price of their BC1, I expect it will probably be way more expensive than the Hydros - which means REDONKULOUS. But, for a money-is-no-object shopper looking for a new BCD, I'd say to wait a week or two, as I think that's when Atomic is supposed to reveal full details on the BC2.