Travel BCD Recommendation for a Petit Woman

[DanBMW]

"Can I suggest a soft backplate and a small 30lb wing. That would be perfect for your travel needs."

A 30# wing will be way too big.... Definitely get one that is smaller..

 

[Shabaday]

DGX 30# wing is very small and compact. We also have a HOG 23# wing and they are not any different in size...XDeep Ghost is an excellent choice

 

[cythack]

I'm 5'6.5" 130lbs. As a fairly new diver, I went the aluminum bp/w route from DGX. Way less bulky, dropped like 8 lbs of lead (at least) as a pretty inexperienced diver, and way easier to care for and pack.

 

[ScubaJCBS]

My daughters went with the Scuba Hydros Pro they all love them.

 

[pelan-pelan]

I rented gear at first. The old Sherwoods fitted OK. Then there seemed to be a new generation and style. Nothing fitted. Right size, wrong shape. Most delightful experience was being garotted by the chest strap on a giant stride entry. I borrowed and tried everyone's and can only say one BCD does not fit all. I dived on some hire gear and to my amazement it fitted perfectly. One of the cheapest on the market. No special ladies fit or anything.

So don't buy until you try. And just because someone looks like the same size and shape as you, don't believe that their BC will fit. My old Aqualung Waves (pre weight pockets) is perfect and is surprisingly light, but perhaps that is because it has minimal clips and rings and no bulky weight pockets. It is lighter than my husband's travel BC. Go for fit - that's what makes for good diving.

 

[Kimela]

I am looking for a travel BCD. This will be my first BCD purchase. I have been renting BCDs and hope to find something that fits me well and is easy to travel with. I am 5'4, 105 lb, wear XXS BARE wetsuit.

From my online research, the following models received good review as women's travel BCD and are my top choices so far:
(1) Cressi Lady's Travel Light (its xs size seems too big though, waist 30-35 in ?? )
(2) Aqua Lung Zuma
(3) Zeagle Zena

If you own any of the above models, I would love to hear about your experience. If there's another model that I should consider as a good travel BCD for women, please also let me know.

Another question: I have only used jacket style rental BCD. Is it easy to switch to back inflating style? I noticed that quite some travel BCDs are back inflate style.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Sorry I'm so late to this party! I have the Zena and love it. I discovered that once you unclip the shoulders and side buckles you can completely remove the front of the BC from the back. This is great because I then put the BC into my suitcase with the cam bands facing UP and then store things in the middle of those big loops. Before I discovered this trick I was putting the whole BC in, cam bands down, and created a lot of wasted space. The Zena is pretty light, easily packed, and with all the ways to adjust it you can make it fit any body. It does not come with a pre-installed tri-glide on the vest for a crotch strap, but you can ask your dive shop to order it with one attached (don't know what the upcharge is).

Btw, somehow, something poked a hole in the bladder of my Zena during this last trip. I have to replace the bladder. It's expensive at $345 just for the bladder. But that's how much I love my Zena. Rather than opt for a different BC I'm going to fix this one (and get it retrofitted with the tri-glide for the crotch strap rather than continue Frankensteining one!).

 

[Rickk]

My last girlfriend was 5'2" maybe 100lbs soaking wet after a thanksgiving dinner. She found that backplate and wing fit her the best due to her small size.....

I bought some used equipment form a woman about that size, her travel setup was a soft backplate with a small wing. She said it worked well for her, I will adjust the harness on that to fit me for a light weight travel setup.

BPW is the way to go for everyone, you have infinite adjustment to suit any body shape or size as well as dive equipment and conditions.

 

[ZzzKing]

My wife (4-11 and some change) and I both have Oxycheq fabric travel plates with 18# wings. They weight about 5 1/2 pounds fully assembled and pack small. I am 5-8, 180 and it adjusts easily to fit us both.

The kids both have Aqualung Outlaws. They are compact and light as well. Not as widely adjustable but you can pretty much get a custom fit by changing out the waist straps, shoulder straps and back. They don’t have a crotch strap but I was able to fit one of my own design. They started out with a tiny 12# wing which works well with little / no exposure protection. As they grew, I replaced those with the larger wing. I like the modularity of the system but prefe the almost infinite flexibility of the plate and wing setup.

 

[Skulmoski]

My daughter started using a DiveRite Traveller BP/W when she was a slight 12 year old. It has some expansion capabilities if you grow. LOL. I was impressed by its performance, that I got one for myself.

GJS

 

[mdwalter]

My wife (4-11 and some change) and I both have Oxycheq fabric travel plates with 18# wings. They weight about 5 1/2 pounds fully assembled and pack small. I am 5-8, 180 and it adjusts easily to fit us both.

The kids both have Aqualung Outlaws. They are compact and light as well. Not as widely adjustable but you can pretty much get a custom fit by changing out the waist straps, shoulder straps and back. They don’t have a crotch strap but I was able to fit one of my own design. They started out with a tiny 12# wing which works well with little / no exposure protection. As they grew, I replaced those with the larger wing. I like the modularity of the system but prefe the almost infinite flexibility of the plate and wing setup.

OK, I have to ask... If you (medium sized) and your wife (small) have already discovered and love the infinitely adjustable lightweight soft BP and travel wing solution that also fits me well (at 5'11" and 215lb), why did you not also buy this solution for your kids (who presumably are a new size every month or two - or at least annually). I would think this would have been a no-brainer vs. putting a growing kid into some jacket BC that makes you buy new components periodically to keep up with their changing sizes?
And since I'm already on a roll, let me give some anecdotal evidence that a BP/W setup is perfect for a growing kid. One of my buddies, an instructor, taught his daughter to dive at age 6 when she was (as you might expect) kid sized, using a small BP/W and a AL19 as a main tank. The next year she was in the same BP/W with double AL19s in bands he custom fabricated, then later in the same BP but with a wide wing with double AL30s. She's only 10 now, but pretty much adult sized (about 5'3" I think - almost as tall as Mom) and still in the same BP/W (I think he did have to add some longer webbing for the harness) and has claimed my friend's double LP45s as "hers" now. The bottom line is in these 4 years she has changed significantly in size and her tanks have changed 4 times (also increasing in size and volume), but the same BP/W setup is still a perfect fit and will be for the foreseeable future.