Scubapro Hydros Pro BCD - Monoprene attachment hole ripped

[Eric Sedletzky]

Why wasn’t any of this stuff tested first?

 

[Bubbles McGee]

Mines been hanging on a BC hanger since I got it a couple of months ago. I have yet to dive with it but a sincerely hope that doesn't happen. I'm booking a refresher before my Grenada trip in May so I can test it in the pool. I'll be as cautious as possible.

 

[ladra]

My HP shows date of 19/12/16.

I have about 60+ dives with it and the shoulder strap does not show any sign of crack.

I carry it, hold it, put it on with one strap all the time. Once with 20LB of weight... Now, I am a bit concerned but my strap looks fine. I'll be keeping an eye on it from now on just in case.

I believe it may be due to how tight or loose your "inner" nylon webbing strap is. Mine looks like the nylon strap is very tight and is actually holding all the weight and not the monoprene strap. Just a thought.

 

[J_Rod]

Same thing with a friend of mine. We all got our Hydroses(?) within weeks of one another, and his tore while on a dive boat before he had 5 dives on it. Been watching all the rest of ours and no one else has had a problem, yet. I have about 30 dives on mine. I ALWAYS use the handle, though, and try to put it on while sitting on a table, bench, or tailgate, so I don't stress a single shoulder. It will be interesting to see how SP handles this going forward.

 

[jd950]

For whatever it may be worth, I have now had my Hydros Pro on two dive trips, with one a liveaboard. I have had no problems with any ripping or tearing in about 40 dives or so. The liveaboard was not a big test because of the manner of entry and exit from the water, but on the other trip, the BC was handed up to dive crew constantly and inevitably, there were times when it was lifted or grabbed by a shoulder strap by boat crew.

 

[Carlos Danger]

I remember when this product first came out I was worried about the long term durability of the materials and construction. Always thought it was an innovative design, so definitely a bummer to hear of these problems becoming a reality; but can't say I am all that surprised though.

 

[Bubbles McGee]

A quick update. I just came back from Grenada where I had 11 dives with my Hydros Pro. I was really happy with how it performed. I did use the built-in handle wherever possible, however I found it to be pretty resilient. I had 5 pounds in each waist pocket although they can handle much more. I'll continue to keep a close eye on things but I don't feel the need to treat it like a newborn baby.

 

[charlier]

Anecdotal information. Instructor friends have used the Hydro pro while teaching. After about six months or less, the BCD has not held up. Even with replacement parts, my friends gave up on the product for personal use. FYI, they use ScubaPro for just about all of their rental gear and they take care of their equipment.

 

[softgrapes]

Registered just to share this, I would not have found out about this problem if it wasn't for you guys.

I received the revised straps and swapped them out myself. Here are side by side pictures. They basically added a hard plastic piece to reinforce the area where the pin attaches the monoprene strap to the back plate.

 

[kelemvor]

Scubapro stated that the BCD should never be picked up by the shoulder straps and always use the handle molded into the backplate.

That seems really bizarre. I think that's the normal place to lift a bcd (with attached tank) when donning. If you don't have the luxury of a boat with a nice bench to help, anyway. I've always lifted my bp/w using one strap, and that's with a heavy steel 108 strapped to it.