Diva LX v. Ladyhawk

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Mermaid T

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Northern California
I was certified a month ago and have been on 4 dives since then. I am hooked and have found "My Thing" for life. That being said, I now need my own equipment. I have been researching it ALL and have narrowed the BC's down to (although I'm sure that could change at any time)egs down to the Diva LX and the Ladyhawk. I I know that these are both great. I dove with both in my pool and liked the SP slightly better. My question is...

Which one will perform better at with a full 7+ mm wetsuit? I only had on my .5mm suit because I don't have my own wet or dry suit yet. I liked both but felt that the Ladyhawk was less noticible (understandable). I wasn't bothered by it pushing me forward, but then again I didn't have to inflate it much due to not much need for weights. I do both cold water, primarily because of where I live and vaction in warm water so I need it to cover both bases. Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated.
 
Mermaid T, I do not know anything about how well the Diva LX will do; However, I bought the NightHawk in March. From my understaning the NightHawk and the LadyHawk have the exact same features. The only real difference being the way the straps are cut in front to make it a little more comfortable the woman folk.

With that said, I took it to Cozumel and fell in love with it. I wore a 3 mil shorty while I was there, and had absolutely no complaints at all with it. Back here in NC, I have done some diving in the quarries, and off the cost wearing a 7 mil suit with hood, gloves and booties. Ok so I am a wimp and get cold easily but I like my 7 mil suit :). I am still just as pleased as I can be with it. I would highly reccomend this BC.

HTH
Mike
 
Mermaid T, I too have recently been contemplating getting a new one.
The first thing, you should not only look at "women's" BCDs. Disregard the lable and do what works for you.
It is great that you got to try your prospecitve choises in water before buying. Though you also should have tried what they feel like fully inflated.
It is very important that they fits properly. a good fit makes a world of difference. you are less tired, use less air, easier to walk on the surface, etc...

From the three BCDs I used, I liked Zeagle Ranger best, but right now I am seriously considering backplate and wings.
So many people swear by it! I'm looking into the Halcyon dir. Since it is a major purchase, I'll rent one this month to try it out for myself. Besides, you can judge much better if you do a few actual dives with it than if you just sumberge in a pool.
 
Mermaid T,

I own the Diva LX and dive in not only a 7mm full suit but wear a 7mm shorty over it at times. Even with 14mm of neoprene and 22 lbs of lead, the Diva LX has always performed well.

I too have checked out the Ladyhawk and would consider purchasing it if I needed a new BCD. I think the advantage of the Ladyhawk over the Diva LX is that the weight pouches look easier to remove and replace. If you get 10 lbs of soft weight in each of the Diva front weight pouches, it gets a little tight getting them in and out.

If you need more than 24 lbs of lead in the Diva, you will have to wear a weight belt. It holds a max of 10 in each front pouch and 2 in each rear pouch. A consideration for divers who dive routinely in thick neoprene.

Hope this helps!

:bunny: KC_Scubabunny :bunny:
 
Thanks for the information on weights Scubabunny! Question: On the SQ website they "claim" that you can up 10 pounds in each front pouch and 5 in each rear. We all know that what they say is not always what it is! So, have you found that only two pounds will fit in the rear trim pockets?

I am 5'4" and weigh 115 pounds. Very small boned and have so far been diving in the same setup as you with the 6.5mm farmer john and 6.5mm long sleeve shortie. I also wear a .5mm SP suit underneath for ease of donning the mass amount of neoprene, so needless to say I am quite buoyant. I have been using 24 pounds of lead with a steel 80 tank. I feel good but could I be overweighted?

Seems like you know your stuff so whatdaya think?
 
My Diva LX is two years old so they may have added additional space to the trim pockets since I bought mine. I am certain that mine only advised putting 2 lbs in each trip pouch and I think anything more than that would be tight. I would check on a demo model in your local store with a 5 lb sack of soft weight since you are close on having enough room at 24 lbs.

Many things could account for the weight difference we are experiencing. If 24 lbs works well for you then you might not be overweighted. One trick that I like use in wearing my 7mm is to don it in the water. Even if it is cold, this is a good way to ensure that your suit is truly flooded before you attempt to desend. Also it cuts down on the chance of being overweighted.

My 7mm suit is also a custom suit so the fact that it fits, like a glove, might account for my needing less weight. I actually did not go with the farmer john/long sleeved shortie configuration though. Mine is actually a 7mm full suit and then a short sleeved shortie in 7mm that goes over it. If you are interested, I can explain why I think this is better.

:bunny: KC_Scubabunny :bunny:
 
I just got a Diva LX 2 weeks ago and I wear a 7mm jacket/john wetsuit.. I use more than 24lbs but less than 30 lbs (havent gotten my exact weight requirements down exactly yet) And this is what I found.. First of all, I used a steel tank 4 dives in a row and found myself on my back most of the time on the surface.. dont know if its the BC or the steel tank cuz i used aluminum before.. and thats w/o putting weights in the 2 small back pockets. I put 10lbs each in the front weight pockets and found myself with the biggest back ache you could ever imagine after that weekend... I had 10lbs on my weightbelt (i know..i was kinda overweighted at 30lbs). Anyway, the instructor said to carry weights to shore instead of putting it in the pockets then walking to shore.. I tried this but i was using soft weights in the pockets and it was a b*tch to stuff into the sides while wearing the BC already. The zippered pockets are nice and big but not really easy to open.. I had trouble finding my weight belt buckle for release (i was doing my OW checkout dives) This could be either due to the BC being too bulky out front or my hood wasnt flexible enough in the neck area for me to look down properly.
My last comment is about the built in sports-bra-like thing.. its useless with my 7mm 2 pc wetsuit cuz my boobs dont even need supporting anymore after 14mm of neoprene squashing it in place, and I wish it had a clip to close the top part of the BC like the PRO QD does..
ANyway, other than that, the BC is cool.. it has an additional tank strap and has a nice soft feeling to the inside of it (not that i care though, when wearing a wet suit)

My final comment is.. I spent 430 on this BC and I wish I bought something a bit cheaper cuz I bet i'd get the same functionality.. it looks awesome, though :D
 
MerMaid T, ...
i DID manage to stuff 5 lbs of softweights (seabags) each into the 2 back pockets just to test.. so what seaquest writes in its catalog is correct..(i just bought my BC so its probably the new version)... also, hmmm.. I am 5'9" and 158-163lbs and I wear a 7mm jacket and john and 26-28lbs works well for me with a steel tank... You at 115lbs and 5'4" wearing a similar setup i **THINK** are overweighted with 24lbs
 
I'm 5'8" 160 lns and I use the same amount of wieght as you. My body fat makes me very bouyant.

Do you know how to check your bouyancy in the water? I didn't figure this out until I had been diving for a while. If you are properly weighted you should be able to sink from the surface by letting all of the air out of your BC and emptying your lungs. If you shoot down like a stone when you do this you are probably wearing a little too much lead.

About your BC choice, have you considered what kind of diving you might want to do in the future? Like you, I looked to the ladies only BCs when I made my first purchase. I now regret that decision. Although my Seaquest Libra has served me well, it is a purely recreational BC. Now that I am begining to move into technical diving I have had to buy a more robust BC with more lift and places to attach a sling bottle. I wish I had anticipated this when I first started diving.

Originally posted by Mermaid T

I am 5'4" and weigh 115 pounds. Very small boned and have so far been diving in the same setup as you with the 6.5mm farmer john and 6.5mm long sleeve shortie. I also wear a .5mm SP suit underneath for ease of donning the mass amount of neoprene, so needless to say I am quite buoyant. I have been using 24 pounds of lead with a steel 80 tank. I feel good but could I be overweighted?

Seems like you know your stuff so whatdaya think?
 
I spent time looking at both the Divas (LX and QD) and the Ladyhawk was more comfortable in the dive shop, but I settled on the Diva QD. If I had it to do over, I would buy the Diva LX. One of the concerns I had about the Ladyhawk, and the reason I decided against it, was that it doesn't have very much pocket space. I have learned the hard way that I need pockets when I'm diving... for backup lights, flares, buddy line, interesting shells I find, not-so-interesting pieces of trash I pick up, you name it...

I dive my Diva QD with a 7mm wetsuit with no problem. One of the dive operators calls me the "neoprene queen" becuase I always wear a heavier wetsuit than anyone else on the boat, but I have never had any problem with room for all that wetsuit.

Let us know what you decide!

Julie
 

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