Recommendation of BCD for young teen just starting

She is about 5 feet tall and 95 lbs. Shore dives out of Monterey, CA for the next few years.
Recieved the suggestion of Scuba Pro Lady Hawk.

One of my buddies has been diving Monterey for 10 years. She uses a Sea Quest Pearl with the i3 system and loves it. You can get it without the i3 system if you like.

It's a jacket style so she should have no problems at the surface being face planted.

Look into a Zeagle Express Tech

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...h-first-last-bc-most-will-ever-need-want.html

On another note, a back inflate BC does not "face plant" you in the water. Diving is always enjoyed underwater in a horizontal position, not on the surface in a vertical position......

Dive Dive Dive, have fun, be safe, and let every dive be a learning experience.

or the zeagle ranger ltd jr.

And, then there's the Zeagle Zena... The women I know that have it, love it...

Zena - Recreational BCs - BCs - Zeagle Dive Systems

I put my kid brother in a oxycheq travel plate (soft) and an old travel wing we had, with a hog harness it works perfectly and he is same size. He uses his in Monterey and on vacation and loves it. Plus he's never going to outgrow it.

As a kid, he's going to do what kids do: GROW. There's only one BCD I know of that will grow with them and be just as suitable at any stage of that growth. "She'll grow into it" doesn't work well for scuba gear and during the initial training phase for diving, fit is absolutely critical. Bad fit can manifest as an entire slew of symptoms and hamper a student's ability to progress, as well as hinder an instructor's ability to accurately assess an issue. I see kids get into this as Jr. Open Water Divers and typically watch the parents bleed money as the kid grows out of each BC. While all styles will have a range of adjustment in the straps, the material in the unit is fixed and only optimal for those who fit in a very narrow range of adjustment.

A Backplate and Wing BCD is modular, so you could upsize the plate when she eventually grows enough to need a larger plate. As she grows, the harness is adjusted to provide a perfect fit and there is no compromise in performance. The system can be had for less than the Lady Hawk, is more durable and has many other advantages I won't go into here.

The downside of the system has to be the number of uninformed opinions casting it as a technical rig. You have lots of options in the Bay Area, I'd put some feelers out by posting in the regional forums : (LINK) for a good local dive shop that knows and has instructors who dive the system.

If I were putting my crumb grabber into this, I would fit them with a Backplate/Wing system.

While I can't say exactly for Monterey, based on other answers above I will say...

I know plenty of 95 lb teenagers who grew in to 3-4 inch taller 115 lb women, and the same BC worked both as teenager and as woman.

Did she like the BC she trained in? Has she used other BC's than the one she trained in? How proficient a diver is she in the BC's she has used?

I agree with Dave about the growing part. And The BPW is a good choice as it will alllow her to get some weight off the weightbelt that will be good for Bay Area diving in cold water that will require a heavy suit.

Someone also recommended the Zeagle Express Tech. This is also an excellent suggestion as it is modular as well but without the hard steel plate. Retails for around 250 for the basic one and if you add 3 or 4 d rings, a crotch strap, and a weight pocket to each cam band you can configure it to be the same as a BPW weighting wise. I've done this with mine and with the ones several of my students own.

I'd never recommend a BC like the ladyhawk,or any jacket bc unless you get one used for 50-75 bucks for any younger person. She may grow out of it in two years or perhaps less and you've just spent a great deal of money. The BPW or Express tech will be cheaper at the outset and in the long run for you and her as both should last a lifetime with reasonable care.

And as others have said back inflates do not face plant a diver, improper weighting and over inflating the BC does that.

My son is 4' 10" 100lbs and uses an express tech. It is ok. It is a bit big for him. I added weight pockets for him a well. Most of our diving is in cold water where he is wearing a full 7mm and I think in the end a small DSS plate and torus wing would have been better. He uses 8lbs but with the less material of a DSS rig, and 6lbs steel plate I think he could get away with no weight and have plenty of lift with a small wing. His express tech has the 35lbs lift bladder which he really doesn't need, and the deluxe harness which also added more then he needed. If I was going to do it again I would have gone the DSS route.