Women's BCD's

[scubajeepman]

Hello all,
I have been diving for over 15 yrs, (at one time it was my job) and the time has come that mY wife would like to get open water cert. SOO I took her to the local dive shop and MY head almost popped off,, You see I am sort of (young ) old geezer when it comes to dive gear, a drysui, backplate/webbing and a milk create for a gear bag sort of guy. And much to my surprise , gear for women is a WHOLE animal..... If there any ladies out there any info on what they like ( fit and function) would be great.
thanks
SCJ

 

[diver 85]

My wife likes her Seaquest Libra-----her 1st BI after diving her 'regular' Dacor jacket style for over 20 years...

 

[tbone1004]

My better half has a Transpac and LOVES it. She went to DiveRite after she got it and they helped her fit it properly. There's some great videos on how to fit them for women online as well. Keeps inline with your backplate and wing concept as you may or may not have an extra wing laying around or know someone who's got one

 

[hypertech]

Wife dives an Oceanic Hera and likes it. It's cut more for a feminine shape and isn't just embroidered with fru fru patterns like some other womens marketed gear.

 

[scubajeepman]

funny you say that I have a med. trans pac in the garage...... I will let her try it and see what she thinks.... cheers

 

[ligersandtions]

If you dive a bp/w, why not start her in one? I dived a Ladyhawk for < 15 dives and switched to a bp/w....have been happy for 250+ dives since then

 

[TSandM]

If your wife isn't a standard size, I think a backplate with a harness is the very best way to get a solid fit and a stable tank on her back. Of course, I think in general a backplate and harness is the best way to get a solid fit and stable tank . . . Being 5'4", 120 lbs and small boned, I had a lot of trouble finding something that really fit me well, and the first time I dove a backplate, it was like coming home.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Get her a back plate and wing with a harness color of her choice! You can fem up a bp/w if you want to do so. You can even get a pink wing.

Scuba Toys sells colored webbing as well as a number of other places.

 

[tbone1004]

If you have the Transpac make sure you watch this
YouTube - TransPac: Fitting for Women
It'll help a lot. My better half didn't think it was comfortable until she watched those as well as the rest of the Transpac fitting videos.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I couldn't find a vest-type BC to fit me*. I'm short-waisted and even the Women's smalls would end up with the shoulders around my ears once I had tightened the cummerbund (and I'm not even typically a "small"). I would also end up with a lot of fabric and "stuff" kind of jammed under my arms and across my chest. Rental BC's would have the tank slopping around all over the place. Partially as a result of this, I had only four post-certification dives in as of a year ago, even thought I got certified in June 2005. It just wasn't fun, and much of that feeling was BC/equipment related.

Yet, I love swimming, snorkeling, sailing, kayaking, rowing.... it just seemed like I *should* love diving too. I wanted to give it another try, and about a year ago I came here to SB to read and to ask questions. I ended up renting a backplate/wing last year on a December trip to Florida, and I could immediately tell that this had possibilities! (The rental plate was a bit long but still so much better than the vest-type BCs I had tried.)

After that trip I got my own backplate/wing, and it sure is nice to have something that fits. I also like the uncluttered "honest" feeling of the harness in front. It feels more like swimming and less like wearing a down jacket.

At any rate, this is not to say that she might not prefer something else, but just to give you my experience.

Blue Sparkle

*I did not try on every possible women's vest BC, but I did try on a half dozen or more specific women's models. But I have since seen that there are some Zeagle models I did not have available to try on.