Scubapro Litehawk vs Halcyon Traveler
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diverrex
Contributor
I use the Halcyon Traveler for warm water diving and love it. But I use the Halcyon Eclipse for cold water so I'm biased. I just prefer a wing.
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those are two wildly different price points.... I'd actually recommend looking at the Dive Rite Hunterpac if you want something "soft", at just under $400 it is a great deal, and half the price of anything with the blue H on it.
casts_by_fly
Contributor
I have the Litehawk and have dove it for the past couple years. It is my only BCD and I only dive tropical so my requirements are pretty easy. I like it and at $250 or so from LP as it is priced now I think it is a good buy and a good intro to back inflate.
I like the size and weight for traveling. It packs down tiny. The wing goes flat if you get all of the air out and you can wrap it all up on itself and use the cam band (inverted) to strap it together. In the water it is comfortable and minimal. I don't know if it is common to all back inflate (I suspect so) but it is very stable with minimal roll/yaw/tilt when holding horizontal. It is an easy BCD to get on and off with just a waist belt and chest strap. I have mine adjusted about perfectly for me and it fits like a glove (caveat below).
I have 'improved' mine a bit with some added stainless D-rings on the waist and I took off the pockets. I used them at first for weight (1 kg each side) but I don't really need weight with an AL-80 and certainly not with steel. The pockets aren't big enough for much else so I ditched them. I will probably put them on the cam band for trim weigh pockets this trip and see how it goes. If you dive a lot of weight then you'll need a belt. I added the two D rings on each hip. The BCD has two on the chest (plus two on the ends of the shoulder straps which are worthless) but carrying a camera and light means I wanted something that stood away from my straps and was easy to clip to blind. I might add one more for a butt D-ring for a DSMB/spool.
The Litehawk doesn't have a crotch strap. I find it rides up some times and I have to pull it down if have the shoulder straps too tight and the waist too loose. It takes a couple of dives before you get the innate feel of how tight it needs to be and the first dive of the day always requires adjustment as the straps get wet.
Would I get it again? It was a birthday gift and not the BCD I asked for initially. The one I wanted was out of stock suddenly and my wife needed something quick (she left it late) so she paid nearly full price for it. I wouldn't have paid full price for it ($449 I think) but at $250 at LP that's a pretty decent deal and would recommend it as a back inflate travel BC. When mine wears out I will move to a BPW to eliminate any need for lead in tropical waters (a 6 lb plate would suit me with an AL80 and 3mm suit) but that is a different story. Before I spent $600 on the traveler I would look hard at some of the BPW systems available as I think you get a lot for your money.
thanks,
rick
I like the size and weight for traveling. It packs down tiny. The wing goes flat if you get all of the air out and you can wrap it all up on itself and use the cam band (inverted) to strap it together. In the water it is comfortable and minimal. I don't know if it is common to all back inflate (I suspect so) but it is very stable with minimal roll/yaw/tilt when holding horizontal. It is an easy BCD to get on and off with just a waist belt and chest strap. I have mine adjusted about perfectly for me and it fits like a glove (caveat below).
I have 'improved' mine a bit with some added stainless D-rings on the waist and I took off the pockets. I used them at first for weight (1 kg each side) but I don't really need weight with an AL-80 and certainly not with steel. The pockets aren't big enough for much else so I ditched them. I will probably put them on the cam band for trim weigh pockets this trip and see how it goes. If you dive a lot of weight then you'll need a belt. I added the two D rings on each hip. The BCD has two on the chest (plus two on the ends of the shoulder straps which are worthless) but carrying a camera and light means I wanted something that stood away from my straps and was easy to clip to blind. I might add one more for a butt D-ring for a DSMB/spool.
The Litehawk doesn't have a crotch strap. I find it rides up some times and I have to pull it down if have the shoulder straps too tight and the waist too loose. It takes a couple of dives before you get the innate feel of how tight it needs to be and the first dive of the day always requires adjustment as the straps get wet.
Would I get it again? It was a birthday gift and not the BCD I asked for initially. The one I wanted was out of stock suddenly and my wife needed something quick (she left it late) so she paid nearly full price for it. I wouldn't have paid full price for it ($449 I think) but at $250 at LP that's a pretty decent deal and would recommend it as a back inflate travel BC. When mine wears out I will move to a BPW to eliminate any need for lead in tropical waters (a 6 lb plate would suit me with an AL80 and 3mm suit) but that is a different story. Before I spent $600 on the traveler I would look hard at some of the BPW systems available as I think you get a lot for your money.
thanks,
rick
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