Mares Syncro Power Tech

Has anyone bought or used this BC before. It seems like a nice BC and dive inn has it at a price that is much easier to stomach on my limited college student budget.

I dove one for over a year (almost every weekend). For a jacket style back inflate, it was fine. Only thing I didn't like was the weight - it is a heavy BC. I have since switched to a BP/Wing rig.

just a few weeks ago. I have one (because I got it dirt cheap) and it is fine (only because I got it dirt cheap). I personally would not pay the money they are asking for it. Save your money and go for the BP/Wings.
Good luck
If you would like to pm me for more info that is fine

I just purchased one this week. I will let you know how I like if this week after I get it wet. Seems nice, and if its as nice as my old Mares Frontier Expedition - that it will be great.

I went the BP and wings route like many others, but personally didn't care for it myself.

I thought that the $345 price of the BC was reasonable vs. other BC's as well.

I just got one Friday but haven't had a chance to try it out. We have a charter Monday morning so I'll post my thoughts soon. I agree that it is a heavy BC, and rather bulky too.

I had been diving a Mares Vector Origin, but I wanted to move towards a weight integrated model. I was originally going to by the DragonFly Aria, but they apparently don't distribute that model here in Canada.

Steve.

Yes,
It is heavy, but my guess is once I hit the water, it'll weigh virtually nothing.

OK, Just got back from my first two dives with this bc. Over all I'm I'm very happy with the product thus far. As Scuba446 suggested, the weight of the bc is negligable once you hit the water.

My first dive I didn't have much time to evaluate th bc, I lost one of the weight pouches going down the line and didn't notice right away. I was able to continue the dive, but my ascent was somewhat faster than I would have preferred. Fortunately another diver found the pouch and recovered it for me.

Second dive went much better. I didn't have much time at the surface, but I found it great once I figured out all I had to do was lean back and pretend I was in a recliner. At depth I noticed a big difference. Firstly I found this an extreemly comfortable bc, but that may be because it fits me better than my Vector Origin. Secondly, the back inflate provided much better trim allowing me to maintain any position in the water column.

I only have a couple complaints. The weight and size make it difficult to pack in my gear bag, and I found the air dumps kinda slow.

When I bought the bc, weight integration was the thing I was primarily looking for, but the back inflate was also a good investment.

Steve.

Sounds sweet...let you know when I dive mine this weekend!

Mine is showing up on EBAY shortly. Could have got it real cheap. Hope you have a better experience with it than I did. Keep a very close eye on the stitching expecially around the weight pouches and where the shoulder straps meet the cumberbun. I also noticed stiching coming apart in the mess of straps hidden behind the back piece.

Interesting test report from Diver Net on this BC can be found at:

http://www.divernet.com/gear/dtst298.htm#syncro