SCUBAPRO Falcon BCD

[Graham Leach]

I have been diving a ScubaPro Falcon BCD for a long, long time.

Here's a picture of it from when I bought it (2006-02-27):

I just did 12 dives in the Philippines with it, and it worked great, though it's now getting a bit snug for me (I have gained 10kg since I bought it). It is a Medium, manufactured in the USA. While I am trying (now) to lose some weight, that's a tough battle that may take a year or more to get back down to the same size I was almost 20 years ago.

I bought it on eBay shortly after certifying. I have never used anything other than it, aside from the SeaQuest Dive School (jacket style) BCDs offered by the resort(s) we went to.

I cannot find anything out about this BCD online (except for one for sale - sold a long, long time ago).

I like this BCD just fine - aside from its tendency to flip me on my face when at surface, which I really don't like.

I am just wondering if anyone else has/had this BCD and what they liked or didn't like about it?

Also, a small question. There's a female Fastex clip on the left side that is now empty.

Does anyone know what originally went there?

Thanks

 

[BoltSnap]

aside from its tendency to flip me on my face when at surface

You are putting too much air in it, try less.

Also, a small question. There's a female Fastex clip on the left side that is now empty.

Does anyone know what originally went there?

Anything you want to attach with a male clip on it?

 

[lssebek1]

I have been diving a ScubaPro Falcon BCD for a long, long time.

Here's a picture of it from when I bought it (2006-02-27):

View attachment 814965

I just did 12 dives in the Philippines with it, and it worked great, though it's now getting a bit snug for me (I have gained 10kg since I bought it). It is a Medium, manufactured in the USA. While I am trying (now) to lose some weight, that's a tough battle that may take a year or more to get back down to the same size I was almost 20 years ago.

I bought it on eBay shortly after certifying. I have never used anything other than it, aside from the SeaQuest Dive School (jacket style) BCDs offered by the resort(s) we went to.

I cannot find anything out about this BCD online (except for one for sale - sold a long, long time ago).

I like this BCD just fine - aside from its tendency to flip me on my face when at surface, which I really don't like.

I am just wondering if anyone else has/had this BCD and what they liked or didn't like about it?

Also, a small question. There's a female Fastex clip on the left side that is now empty.

Does anyone know what originally went there?

Thanks

I am in much the same boat, in that I have gained 30 lbs (~14kg) since I last used my BC. It is also a Medium, but royal blue in colour. I bought it new from a scuba shop near me many years ago and put nearly 175 dives on it before taking a break from diving, some 20 years ago.

When I went to put it on before my my refresher course, I discovered that it no longer fit.

I LOVED this BC and wish I had bought in a larger size, so I could continue to use a back-inflation BC instead of the jacket style you have to rent when you travel. I particularly loved the way it keeps you horizontally trimmed while in the water,. I know that one of the main complaints about back-inflation and backplate-style BCDs is that they tip you face-forward on the surface, but I never had this problem unless I put too much air in it. The only thing I didn't care for was the weight dump system, which is not as slick as the current pocket-styles.

I hav been trying to sell mine for several months, but can't seen to generate any interest. I guess everyone only knows the jacket-style they learned with, until they begin technical diving, and then go straight to a backplate.

By the way, I checked and mine also has a female Fastex clip on the left side, and since I bought it brand new, I know that there was never anything attached there. However, when I was taking my Divemaster course, I kept my set of plasticized cards clipped there, which worked really well.

I don't suppose anyone knows what the lift capacity of this BC is, do they?
I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

 

[Graham Leach]

I am in much the same boat, in that I have gained 30 lbs (~14kg) since I last used my BC. It is also a Medium, but royal blue in colour. I bought it new from a scuba shop near me many years ago and put nearly 175 dives on it before taking a break from diving, some 20 years ago.

When I went to put it on before my my refresher course, I discovered that it no longer fit.

I LOVED this BC and wish I had bought in a larger size, so I could continue to use a back-inflation BC instead of the jacket style you have to rent when you travel. I particularly loved the way it keeps you horizontally trimmed while in the water,. I know that one of the main complaints about back-inflation and backplate-style BCDs is that they tip you face-forward on the surface, but I never had this problem unless I put too much air in it. The only thing I didn't care for was the weight dump system, which is not as slick as the current pocket-styles.

I hav been trying to sell mine for several months, but can't seen to generate any interest. I guess everyone only knows the jacket-style they learned with, until they begin technical diving, and then go straight to a backplate.

By the way, I checked and mine also has a female Fastex clip on the left side, and since I bought it brand new, I know that there was never anything attached there. However, when I was taking my Divemaster course, I kept my set of plasticized cards clipped there, which worked really well.

I don't suppose anyone knows what the lift capacity of this BC is, do they?
I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

There may yet be hope.

As you mentioned, the ScubaPro Falcon BCD works great. Its transitional combo wing/jacket design is interesting and useful.
The only problem I'm having is somehow extending the belly band as I have ballooned from 190lbs to 220lbs in the past 25 years.

Currently I am at 100kg. The cummerbund still fits (barely) but the fixed length belly strap doesn't, even at max extension.

So what I did was purchase an adjustable 1" strap (like one for a bag, for example) for about USD4.00 and thread that through the same places that the original strap went and used that instead.

As for the original strap, I tucked it back into the BCD, or just left them hanging. I also used a weight belt, not the pockets.

It worked like a charm. Yes, it was a quick fix, but it got me through 9 dives in Donsol / Manta Bowl and Ticao Island just last month.

My plan is to make an "extender" for the Falcon waistband some day. If I do, I'll send you a pic of my results and maybe even send you one. The issue will be finding compatible FasTek clips and webbing.

 

[lssebek1]

Pedfectt, I would love to see your solution to the too small waistband problem...

 

[Graham Leach]

Essentially, this, but with FasTek and webbing...

https://rb.gy/3oo99r

 

[lssebek1]

Essentially, this, but with FasTek and webbing...

https://rb.gy/3oo99r

Thanks, I could probably create something similar that would work.
Unfortunately, there is also the problem of the now-too-small front buckle as well.
I guess if I can create a waistband extender out of fastex buckles and nylon webbing, I could probably have the buckles removed from the waist trap and chest strap and have those bits of webbing lengthened as well. Thanks for the ideas. I no longer need to sell my wonderful BC; I can just have it modified