I am planning on buying my wife a bc and possibly the reg and console for her birthday. I know there are plenty of options and certainly lots of info on SB to read, but I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on brands or setups for women that are better than others. Thanks for the help.
BC for Women
- Thread starter mbwade76
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
laurelgsc
Contributor
Depending on how she is built there are lots of differences. Are you planning on suprising her with this? I would not buy for her without her at least trying on the BCD. I was amazed at how differently they all fit when I went to try them on. I have a short torso so I had to try on lots before I found the one I wanted. I settled on the SeaQuest Libra. It's a nice BCD a back inflate. It fits me really well.
ScubaJackie
Guest
Try the Zeagle Zena. It rocks!!!
It's gotta be fit. Make it a surprise shopping trip or somehow make it happen for her. Don't get a store gift certificate, nothing says a single store will have what is right for her.
She needs to test it in a store pool at the minimum. For dry rough checks have her bring along a sweat shirt to mimic her wetsuit.
Every brand has a ladies version and in some cases the mens items are the best solution.
Pete
She needs to test it in a store pool at the minimum. For dry rough checks have her bring along a sweat shirt to mimic her wetsuit.
Every brand has a ladies version and in some cases the mens items are the best solution.
Pete
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
My wife dives a SeaQuest "Libra" and loves it.
the Kraken
the Kraken
kirikuru
Registered
many of my female diver friends love the Zeagle Zena. check it out.
Bobbin-along
Guest
Every brand has a model or two for women. The biggest thing is that each of them is based on a different model woman that they used to measure and make the BC. Shoulder width, torso length, weight, waist size, bust size etc. All vary from maker to maker. And heaven help you if she isn't "standard" measurements. Too small or too big results in more frustration as she might be in a child's size w/o enough lift in the bladder or struggling to find a men's BC to fit her. That's where Zeagle seems to do best with the varying adjustments and various sized modular panels. People with bp/w setups will inevitably put in their plug for their models as well.
It is an excellent idea to take her shopping (make sure all the local dive shops have the models and expected sizes in stock before heading out to the stores), and a bad idea to buy a gift cert to a specific store as inevitably the one that fits her best is in the store you didn't buy a gift cert from.
Depending on your dive location, a sweatshirt is plenty to simulate a wetsuit. If you are in colder climes with 7mm 2piece wetsuits or dry suits have her bring heavier clothing to simulate the thickness.
It is an excellent idea to take her shopping (make sure all the local dive shops have the models and expected sizes in stock before heading out to the stores), and a bad idea to buy a gift cert to a specific store as inevitably the one that fits her best is in the store you didn't buy a gift cert from.
Depending on your dive location, a sweatshirt is plenty to simulate a wetsuit. If you are in colder climes with 7mm 2piece wetsuits or dry suits have her bring heavier clothing to simulate the thickness.
mbwade76,
I am quoting a review on the new womens "Kaila" BCD from Mares. A few stores have had the opportunity to "preview" the product since Nov. As far as I can tell, these BCD's have been very popular with the ladies. It fits so well! Plenty of lift (which is commonly sacrificed) in a womens specific bc, 41lbs in L. The jacket is combo jacket style, and also back inflate. Easy positioning for comfort and security in the water. Anyhow it is definitely worth taking a look at. below is testimony from a satisfied OR diver.
Good luck
I am quoting a review on the new womens "Kaila" BCD from Mares. A few stores have had the opportunity to "preview" the product since Nov. As far as I can tell, these BCD's have been very popular with the ladies. It fits so well! Plenty of lift (which is commonly sacrificed) in a womens specific bc, 41lbs in L. The jacket is combo jacket style, and also back inflate. Easy positioning for comfort and security in the water. Anyhow it is definitely worth taking a look at. below is testimony from a satisfied OR diver.
Good luck
Similar threads
