Here are some general observations (from my point of view) about the Knighthawk BC..
When I was in Class, I used an Large Jacket style Scubapro Classic BC, to get the proper fit from the Knighthawk, I needed an XL.
Here are some General comments about the "Features" of the Knighthawk.
It has an Adjustable Cummerbund, if the straps are too long they can be taken up from the back. After proper adjusting, The BC Feels great in and out of the water, I could Happily hike a Mile with that Camel!
It also velcro's, and they didn't use "a little" velcro either. The strap is pretty wide, and the velcro makes it feel like its one piece, not hanging around to catch things.
The waist strap has a good section of strap elastic to keep the belt tight when things start to compress under water. This is a Nice feature. I use a 7mm wetsuit, It compresses quite a bit, The elastic provides a snug fit as I descend. Although I don't have the best of luck with Elastic, If something is going to wear, I think this is going to be the first thing to go. I guess I will find out.
At the end of every strap is a plastic D-Ring, not really designed to be a tie off, but usefull to grab to make quick adjustments; even with Thick Gloves. Even the Ditch weights had plastic D-rings to hook the thumbs on to assist ditching. In this manner, I don't really mind plastic. If it gets snagged on something I would rather it break then keep me down. I have not had any problems with them yet, One thing I can say, is.. I wish my Hiking Gear had these things.. They make strap adjustment a no brainer with something positive to grab hold of. My guess is the more technical people would not like it because its an unnecessary "Frill."
On to the chest strap.. Oh Boy.. what a piece of work!
One thing that I noticed with the chest strap. The chest strap connects above the shoulder strap disconnects.. what this means is, if you want to quickly ditch the system, undo the chest strap first otherwise when the BC/Tank/etc drops the chest strap is going to attempt to strangle you. Not that I am in the habit of dumping my gear, on land or under water.. Just image this.. You climb aboard the boat, you sit down on a surface to take your gear off.. your lazy so you just unclip your shoulders. (forgetting the chest strap) then you try and stand.. People will be laughing at your expense. not.. that.. this has ever happened to me :wacko:
The BC also has a built in handle in the plastic Back plate, it is not a seperate piece.. essentially the plastic backplate is a one piece chunk of plastic with a hand hole. The hand hole is not accessable while the BC is on, and it can be a pain to grab sometimes, but it works.
Also, As mentioned in the Advertising, it has trim pockets.. they are about the volume of a pack of Cigarettes. there are two, Narrow but tall. I have never used them, to adjust up or down trim, I move my tank up or down. Your mileage may vary.
One cool thing I just noticed is, My BC came with a Whistle, and a Hose manager attached to the AirII hose.. That is pretty nifty.
Also as with all (?) ScubaPro BC's the left shoulder dump (there are 4 on the BC that I can remember off the top of my head) is activated by grabbing the BC inflater hose (down close to the inflater, and gently pulling. I sort have have mixed feelings about this. If in a "Stress" situation, I try to dump air in this matter, I am afraid I might do damage to the setup.. But it could be more hardy then I am giving it credit for, it hasn't pulled off yet (then again, I haven't been stressed yet either).
Disclaimer. These are my observations and opinions. Not the opinions of the owners of this board or the little green men who are coming to get me... :alien: :alien: :box: :alien: