Is my BCD a good one?

[Diehl]

I bought a Aqualung Malibu RDS BC and was wondering how everyone that owns one likes it? I'm getting certified soon and liked this one the best when trying them on compared to Seaquest which I also tryed. It was very comfortable. I have not bought my weights for it yet and not sure how much to buy? Does it go by my weight? I weigh 185lbs. Also is there any bad things to know about this BC? Its back inflated. I'm going to use it mostly for Lobstering and some local wrecks in Florida.

 

[ShakaZulu]

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=68340 think we covered that here????

 

[crpntr133]

Never dove the Malibu but a DB of mine has one, decent BC.

As for the weight issue. Your weight isn't going to factor in much at all. Most of what you are going to be compensating for is your wet suit and the bouyancy of the tank. Also once you go for your open water dives if you are in salt it will increase from the pool. I would say to talk with your instructor and do some pool time, then buy your weights. Most instructors won't let you use the weight integrated feature of a BC during your training anyway.

 

[Sam308]

Hey, that is the BC I bought also. I so far had six dives in the Caribbean with it and I think it's great. The back inflation is different than the jacket style BC's but works fine.

I'm happy with mine.

Joe

 

[gfisher4792]

Not a bad BC, I certified in one, and did an addition dozen or so dives (decided to go to BP/W). If it's comfortable, go ahead and use it. The only real complaint I had with it was the almost non existant pocket space. That little pocket in the cummerbund could only hold a safety whistle, and that was pretty tight by itself.

Back inflate is good, as it keeps the bulk of the BC off your front. and helps in streamlining. The only difficulty you may encounter is floating on the surface, where you may feel the BC "pushing" you forward. Easy to remedy; just don't inflate the BC too much,and you should be fine. Keeping a couple of pounds in the rear nonditchable weight pockets can help too.