Any comments or opinions on the Oceanic Hera 2? There are a couple around here for sale and they look like they would fit/adjust well. I am torn between getting my GF a front/jacket style inflate or rear inflate. Right now it's between the scuba pro Lady hawk, bella, or oceanic hera 2.
which one does she like?
---------- Post added November 21st, 2012 at 12:29 AM ----------
I recently certified and have the basics of my equipment fins, mask, wetsuit. I will inherit a nice regulator from my partner who is getting a new one since his is two years old and he likes new toys. So the next thing is a BCD. I have talked to several female divers on our last trip to ask their opinions and most preferred SCUBA PRO for the fit and number of pockets. I thought i would ask a broader audience their thoughts BCD's.
I am not a tall women and I am very narrow in the shoulders and ribcage. I wear a small CRESSI rental. I am looking for a BCD that will travel well all my dives will be dives in warm waters. I am looking for a BCD with integrated weights and lots of pockets including shoulder pockets.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a BCD that works well for them and why?
Fit and number of pockets is not really specific to a brand. So a group of divers all saying they prefer one brand for "for the fit and number of pockets" actually seems a little odd, unless perhaps they were all on a dive trip from the same shop that pushed ScubaPro or something. Different models of BC from the same manufacturer will vary a lot, and most have a variety of very different designs. Is there a specific ScubaPro BC they liked and were talking about?
When you talk about shoulder pockets, are you are talking about rear trim pockets? They are handy for some people and configurations. Someone diving a back inflate in warm water using AL tanks (like me) will probably think they're very useful. Someone diving with a steel backplate and steel tanks may not see the point.
As far as other pockets, I do actually think a couple pockets can be nice to have if they are useful. (I prefer putting some kinds of things in pockets rather than trying to clip stuff all over the place, especially things I want to have with me but don't use much - like a roll up snorkel, strobe and other safety items. And I want the pockets somehow on my BC, I'm simply not going to attach pockets to my suit - my suits are very thin, I usually travel with more than one or may decide sometimes not to wear one at all. And I have zero desire to wear shorts for pockets, let alone have another separate item to keep track of.) But it's true the pockets on many BCs can be hard to access while diving, so this is something to watch out for if it's important to you. It's also the case that the pocket situation is often worse on WI BCs, since gear pockets tend to want to occupy the same real estate as weight pockets. The whole "where to put stuff" problem is something you just have to get ideas and figure out what works for you.
I have a ScubaPro Ladyhawk. It fits me, it has rear trim pockets which I need. (Yes, there are other ways to solve this but having something built in is simple and best for me.) It has integrated weight pockets which work very well. It has no useful gear storage pockets whatsoever, only a roll down thing which I consider mostly useless and I usually forget it's there. I added storage pockets to the waist strap. 2 in the rear, which aren't the easiest to get to but I rarely use what I keep in them. And one in front right in the middle, which I can access easily, and holds a small slate and light.
