Question Hydros Pro - Floatation Position on the Surface?

[jellycatsdad]

Dove a Hydros Pro before my BPW. Never had an issue floating on the surface.

But it is expensive. You can have a BPW for 1/2 the cost - however BPWs can be intimidating for some.

 

[Phteven]

I'm still a very new diver (just under 2 dozen dives, about half of which were last week on my new gear) so take this with the appropriate grain of salt:

I took advantage of the weak Australian dollar while on holiday to pick up a hydros pro despite only having dived the aqualung hd pro that you frequently see as a rental jacket, and had minor surface trim issues with *those* so I was a little concerned about the same thing.

What I learned is that I have been hilariously overweighted on past dives and that was destroying my trim, for one, and for two that the back trim pockets on the hydros rule.

My surface stability is way better, laying back on the wing feels very natural, and the swim position is much more comfortable too. It took a few dives to get things just right but I feel like I truly understand what being properly weighted and trimmed is like, and feel comfortable going to any orientation and feeling that I'll stay that way instead of being forced to move by my BC.

A few pics in action. Forgive the weird SPG hanging and placement moving around, trying different things.

Interestingly the first pic is where I was most over-weighted on the first dive with the new gear (and extra weights on a belt, which I later determined were wholly unneeded), kinda wild to see the natural body position change in the other pics where I'm more dialed-in.

 

[Pressurehead]

My Hydros Pro has been getting a good workout in Bali the last 10 days, 5 more days to go and this BC is the best travel BC I have experienced, better than the B/W with the aluminium plate that was used as a travel BC in the past.

 

[BoltSnap]

better than the B/W with the aluminium plate that was used as a travel BC in the past.

This has been my experience too.

 

[KeelsonGraham]

Mighty glad to hear this. I bought one. Can’t wait to try it out!

 

[BoltSnap]

Mighty glad to hear this. I bought one. Can’t wait to try it out!

Congratulations

 

[Still Kicking]

This has been my experience too.

I tested one once. It felt like my backplate, aside from the weight of course.

 

[Pressurehead]

I tested one once. It felt like my backplate, aside from the weight of course

When you put 2x3lb in the trim packets it is about the same weight as SS plate . Diving it feels very much the same.

 

[CaptainChris]

The "back inflates tip you forward at the surface" statements do have some credence to them. They were not just something made up. However, it is from people who did not know what they were doing with them and treated them like a jacket style BCD.

A jacket style BCD can be fully inflated to the point that the OPV lets gas out. As a diver, it does nothing to how you are at the surface other than maybe squeezing the crap out of you. This habit of over-inflating a bcd is common.

When people switch to back inflate, they do what they know and that is to over inflate. At that point, yes it will tip you forward a little. But let some air our, lean back and relax. There really is no need to be fully inflated with a single cylinder.

It is the most comfortable you will ever be on the surface.

I fully agreee with all of the above. I have used the Hydros Pro for 6 years and 1000 dives and its excellent for chilling out on the surface as mentioned above when leaning back into it.

 

[Angelo Farina]

My experience with back inflate and backplate+wing is that they balance really well with a steel 15 liters (my favourite tank) as most of the weight is behind the bladder, on the tank.
The problem of pushing your face forward can happen with light aluminium tanks, which at the end of the dive are very buoyant. The solution, in that case, is to attach some or all of the weights to the tank, instead of keeping them on your belly.
But I hate those AL80 tanks, my suggestion is to always use a proper steel 15 liters, providing more gas and better balancing (and often being equipped with dual valve, allowing to use two complete regulators, which also add weight behind you).