Looking for BC Advice...

[cadeucsb]

Being that its hard to find non biased marketed reviews... Most of what i believe comes from the users...

I am in the market for a new BCD... I am a fan of oceanic BCs and have been looking into the Oceanic Probe QLR (scubadivig mag tested it pretty highly) After reading, the Oceanic Pro FX looks good too for less $$.... the issue is that I have a ScubaPro reg setup (and BC, meaning i have the ScubaPro AirII setup already)

I havent seen too many reviews on current ScubaPro BCs...

Anyone have any advice?

 

[Kray_Z]

personaly I am not a big fan of octo integrated inflators having used one recently and found it to be more troublesome than helpfull. tru it is more streamline but to me not worth it. besides, mine was leaking, but thats not to say that they all do. if you havn't already, i would check out the mares vector 1000 with air trim, which is kind of streamlining in a way and a little more comfortable looking when using the inflator. another one i heard good reviews about is the zeagle bridade.

gl either way you go.

 

[MSilvia]

What are you looking for in a BC? What factors are important to you? Comfort? Streamlining? Fashion? Durability? Customizability? Do you want pockets? Integrated weights? Do you prefer newest and latest, or old proven standbys? Will you be using it every weekend year round, or for 3 dives a year on holiday? Reef diving in the Caribbean, or ice diving in Canada?

Knowing what you need will help everyone make a better recommendation. Asking if anyone has any advice on BCs is like asking if anyone has any advice on vehicles... I have a pickup, a friend has a vegetable oil burning Mercedes, another has a soccer mom van, and none of us will give you good advice if what you want is a vintage Italian sports car.

Personally, I use a stainless steel backplate with a webbing harness and wing-style BC, but what I like best may not be what you want. Then again, maybe it is. Without knowing anything about your diving, I'd suggest checking out the Cold Water Special at HammerHead Scuba, and using it with an OxyCheq Signature Series Wing for diving with single aluminium tanks.

http://www.hammerheadscuba.com/pricepoint.htm
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=OXYSSWing

 

[archman]

I believe you can mount that AIR II to non-scubapro BCD's, though it may require an adapter. I've got an AIR II on my TransPac. The folks here on SB showed me how to hook it up, so you're in the right place!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I dive a probe and love it. I actually bought it before my first pool session. I knew that this was going to be more than just a hobby and wanted a bc that would do whatever i wanted for a long time. The probe is it.I'm a DM candidate and it's perfect for this. And by adjusting the cummerbund(about 2 minutes) I can use it with just trunks or my drysuit. As for reg I use a delta 3 and am sorry they no longer make it. I've tried the 4 but for some reason I still prefer the 3 with the cdx5 first stage. I'm keeping my eyes open for another. I think it's that good. I'm going to be going tech later this year and that's the only reason I'll go to BPW, for doubles. I'll keep the probe for working with students and the pool as well as ow checkout dives.

 

[spacemanspiff1974]

If you want to stick with scubapro, I have a friend who swears by his Knighthawk. Another great brand is Zeagle, in fact a lot of people on this board really like the Zeagle BCs.

I did check out the oceanic BCs to which you expressed interest. Both are jacket style BCs. However you will probably have more than a few people suggest some sort of bc with back inflation. Underwater performance tends to be a bit more stable.

Good luck.