Which BCD should I buy

[DiverLaura]

No wonder they took that obnoxious "Doing it Right" motto off their gear.

hey, better late than never?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

The first one you may not be able to use enought weight and on thieir website it's not clear what the BCD design is. Feature rich and value priced scuba BC - AERIS EX100

@NCadiver: Don't forget that a diver can wear a weightbelt or a weight harness in addition to the weight-integrated BCD. I don't see being able to load 22 lbs. max in weight-integrated pockets as a deal-breaker really.

I agree that it seems kind of silly to be plunking down the cash for a new BCD when the OP probably doesn't have enough experience to know what he wants.

@kingofspades101: Do about 15-20 dives after OW class before purchasing anything (outside of mask, snorkel, fins). Rent different BCDs, regs, etc. Join a dive club. Make friends with other divers. Expand your circle of dive buddies. Ask to borrow gear from your buddies.

If you must buy something right out of OW class, you could do a lot worse than purchasing used rental gear from a local dive shop. At the very least, your shop will be able to service the gear...and rental stuff generally tends to be middle-of-the-line, robust gear. Dive that gear until you figure out exactly what you want. Then purchase your dream gear. You can choose to keep the secondhand gear (as a backup) or sell it to some other new diver. At least that's what I'd do...

 

[NCadiver]

Check the specs on the Aeris - their website shows more weight capacity than you list.

Others have noted that we need to know more about you and your intended diving. Warm tropic diving for a small person has different gear than cold water drysuit diving for a well-insulated marine mammal (like a big heavy guy).

SC_Hoaty if you look at aeris website and look at their overview Feature rich and value priced scuba BC - AERIS EX100 and lift capacity Feature rich and value priced scuba BC - AERIS EX100 specs you will find them diffrent from each other so you don't know what the lift capacity real is and if the go over the picture it show two diffrent BCD's.

@NCadiver: Don't forget that a diver can wear a weightbelt or a weight harness in addition to the weight-integrated BCD. I don't see being able to load 22 lbs. max in weight-integrated pockets as a deal-breaker really.
...

Bubbletrubble I do know that but since kingofspades101 is new I did not want to complicate the matter and his instructor could loan him one as well for the course.

 

[fnfalman]

Wow. A "cinch" system, "delux padding" and quick release "intergrated weight pockets".

No wonder they took that obnoxious "Doing it Right" motto off their gear.

Hataz always gonna hate.

 

[kingofspades101]

Thanks for the info everybody. I really have no clue why I picked those. I guess it was just a start. The BCD's I rent now, I feel like im going on a week journey underwater. It has a lot of bulky pockets and just feels like its to much. The type of diver I am is grab my gear a go. I live in Southern California so I dive all around there. And a few times a year do a Hawaii trip or some other tropical place. The places I rent don't have a variety of BCD's to try. I guess im looking for a lighter BCD that is made well and less bulky. Someone posted the Zeagle Ranger BC. That one looked good and had great reviews. Someone asked my height and weight I am 6'-4" 215 lbs. Thank you guys so much again for the info you shared. Cant wait to read more.

 

[Megalomegalodon]

Is the rental BC a back or jacket inflation? Jacket inflation tends to be bulky around the ribs. I have a Zeagle Concept which is great because it is very modular and adjustable to almost any body type. One drawback is that it does not have a crotch strap attachment for the Zeagle crotch strap. Drop by Liburdi's in Irvine by John Wayne. They are great and stock Zeagle as does Scuba.com, also in Irvine.