Female BCD?

[parzdiver]

If you are well endowed, seriously look at a back plate. I have a number of female friends who had various BCs designed for women and all preferred the freedom for the "girls" when they tried the backplates. Forget the fancy padded harnesses, go with the plain old webbing. If you are short, a smaller plate will fit you nicely. If you don't want a hard plate, there are some soft plate options available, but I find the hard plate is a much more stable platform.

 

[djdalite]

any aqua lung distributors here?

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

Around here we have both kinds of music, country and western.

I'm more of a jazz and classic rock kinda guy....except when I'm working out and then it's all Five Finger Death Punch.

---------- Post added October 18th, 2015 at 07:52 PM ----------

any aqua lung distributors here?

We are.

 

[LiveTheDream]

I am in the Zena after trying a couple of others. I can see how it might be uncomfortable for a very large-chested woman. I'm average size & shape, but I have fit problems (with everything) in length (from wetsuits to BCD's) because I'm tall. Because the Zena has so many straps that adjust, it works very well for me. I feel more comfortable without the bulkiness of a traditional BCD.

The Zena works for me.

 

[cashew]

I love my lotus i3. The BCD is incredibly comfortable and well-padded without being bulky. Lots of D-rings for clipping off stuff, the built-in knife pocket is awesome, and I love the octo holder on the right side. But, I would recommend that your wife try renting a BCD with an i3 system to see if your wife likes it before purchasing, because the i3 system is different from the standard inflator/deflator setup and if you dive in drysuits, it might be a little awkward. (I do a chicken wing dance).

I recently had to use rental equipment for a dive and I had a hard time using the standard inflator/deflator hose as I am so used to the i3 system now. Like, I kept grabbing it where the vent would be, effectively blocking off the exhaust, etc.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

A BP/W is certainly an option for pretty much anybody.
Sue is fairly well endowed, and finds her SP LadyHawk quite comfortable.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

A BP/W is certainly an option for pretty much anybody.
Sue is fairly well endowed, and finds her SP LadyHawk quite comfortable.

Agreed, the Ladyhawk seems to be the "go to" for the well endowed ladies(that don't want to go BP/W).

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Agreed, the Ladyhawk seems to be the "go to" for the well endowed ladies(that don't want to go BP/W).

When you get down to it a good back inflate, like the LadyHawk, is an awful lot like one of the "fancy" BP/W setups with the padded harness. The only real difference is that you can't swap the wing to use doubles.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

When you get down to it a good back inflate, like the LadyHawk, is an awful lot like one of the "fancy" BP/W setups with the padded harness. The only real difference is that you can't swap the wing to use doubles.

Agreed!

 

[Lorenzoid]

I am in the Zena after trying a couple of others. I can see how it might be uncomfortable for a very large-chested woman. . . .

Agreed, the Ladyhawk seems to be the "go to" for the well endowed ladies(that don't want to go BP/W).

My wife fits that description and, as I mentioned above, LOVED her Zena. Of course, she was comparing it with a traditional jacket-style (non-back-inflate) BC, which is all she had ever used up to the point I bought her a Zena. She now loves her BP/W even more than she loved the Zena. She may very well have liked the Ladyhawk. The bottom line is that a diver should try out a couple of options and then decide.