I'm really undecided

[Jairo A. Parra]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the market for a new BC and I'm just not sure what to get. I'm currently mostly a recreational diver. I'm planing in continuing my professional education and become a Dive Master. I know this questions has probably been answered 100 million times by experts here, but I want to hear from people before I pull the trigger. I'm considering buying a BC that it's easy to travel with but that offers comfort and some support. I have 4 back disks that are pretty bad as result of of military service and some stability and support helpmeasy the strain on my back. Last weekend I used a Hollis HTS 2 system that had a backplate and was set for a single tank, also I was able to use the Scubapro Hydros, and this week I'm going to try a Zeagle Scout (been looking at the stilleto but haven't found one to try). Another one that I'm considering is the Scubapro Knighthawk. I think I've narrowed down my search to these. Can you all please provide some cons and pros on them and tell me which one you all recommend. Also I'm willing to take advice and consider others.

 

[diver0008]

I can only speak to what I own; Aqua Lung Axiom i3. It has pockets on each side, trim pockets on the band, an integrated inflate/deflate mechanism, integrated weight pouches, and is very durable and comfortable. These are features worth considering in your evaluations.

You can also browse here for lots of information:

Buoyancy Compensators (BC's) and Weight Systems

 

[diversteve]

If you plan to DM - possibly instruct later, you want the most generic setup possible with big pockets. Because many shops want you to be a floating demo for what they sell/teach. Which is almost exclusively not bp/w - I know of one shop in NY that's an exception.

Another consideration is they may want you in gear they sell so customers see you in the same stuff sold in the shop. Stores make the bulk of their revenue off new divers going thru the cert. process. So if you have local shops in mind you'd like to work for, maybe consider brands they sell.

Some shops also require you to teach in gear they sell to generate business and some offer keyman discounts to employees (not sure what the cutoff is for part time) which can be pretty healthy discounts on some brands.

The other thing you want is to use conventionally looking/functioning gear. No offense to MW above but his recommendation is about as far from that as you can get - there is no visible oral/power inflator on an I3 system wheich consists of a lever at your lower left you pull/push to vent air. The backup inflator is a small tube stowed in it's own pocket on the jacket.

It's going to be extremely difficult for you to demo normal inflation/deflation processes when you don't have one....

And it's impossible to demo a weight drop and harder to demo doff/don with the Hollis HTS since it's designed to do neither of those things. I have a friend who teaches, she's full DIR when fun diving, in classes she grabs a rental BC from the shop rack so she can demo what she's telling her students in the pool.

I have not even seen a Hydros in person but it seems flawed. First there's the price. Second - and much more important to you - there are two threads here currently about attachment points ripping out - necessitating a return to the shop/mfr. for repair. Wouldn't be for me as a working professional...

Another point to consider is durability. Some of the "travel" bc's do 3 things to get the weight down. One is some pockets/weight systems are optional - they assume weightbelt use. A few have plastic d-rings which is fine for most people, but not a DM who likely is constantly clipping/unclipping things - like an SMB being depoloyed. Also some travel models use lighter denier fabric to get the weight down - drurability suffers also. I would personally not consider anything less than 1000 denier fabric.

Consider the Scubapro Seahawk also - neither it nor the Knighthawk are going in a carry-on with anything else and it has much bigger DM sized pockets.

My personal bias is towards back-inflate so if the Aqualung line is of interest, look at a Dimension instead.

Also consider that at some point you may have to bring up an unresponsive diver so make sure your BC has enough lift for two. I think a Scout is marginal for this. Also it doesn't have a front weight system standard so you can't demo what you don't have.,

Stiletto is marketed as a heavy dutr travel system. It is single tank only and the wing is sewn to the jacket if that's a consideration for you. Pretty heavy duty and I stuffed one into a carry-on once but nothing much else would fit.

Contact Scubatoys in Dallas, they're a large Zeagle retailer - even have their own custom model - Brigade - which is a Ranger Jacket with a smaller than standard wing for travel purposes. Also I believe you can swap systems/components with them for a perfect fit as long as you don't get them wet/damaged. They're one of my "local" LDS's even though there are over a dozen here.

Also if you are going to be doing a lot of traveling with classes etc. - the 3 brands I see with the most dealers in the US, Caribbean, Latin America are Aqualung, Scubapro or Mares. So you might focus on them if that's important.

 

[Jairo A. Parra]

Thank you very much for the detail advice.

 

[tbone1004]

I'd personally wait on buying any gear until you figure out the requirements for when you divemaster. You don't want to buy gear you think will work for that and then have to buy something else, or buy something you will dive when you dive alone, but can't dive when working. Best to wait in this situation and figure out the requirements of who you will be working for and then make a purchasing decision

 

[scubadada]

I'd personally wait on buying any gear until you figure out the requirements for when you divemaster. You don't want to buy gear you think will work for that and then have to buy something else, or buy something you will dive when you dive alone, but can't dive when working. Best to wait in this situation and figure out the requirements of who you will be working for and then make a purchasing decision

good idea

 

[divad]

I can only speak to what I own; Aqua Lung Axiom i3. It has pockets on each side, trim pockets on the band, an integrated inflate/deflate mechanism, integrated weight pouches, and is very durable and comfortable. These are features worth considering in your evaluations.
/QUOTE]


Is this your Dive Master configuration?

 

[flyboy08]

IST Alpha is a nice recreational BC available on Amazon at a good price.

https://www.amazon.com/IST-Diving-I...-fkmr0&keywords=ist+alpha+Byouncy+compensator

 

[Stoo]

Get what's on sale. Make sure it has some pockets and some D-rings to hang stuff on. And you should like the colour.

There are hundreds to choose from and it's impossible to know how each feels without diving it. Unless you're prepared to spend the next two years testing each one, pick a nice colour, a couple of important features, and adapt to it.

 

[Vuk Milicevic]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the market for a new BC and I'm just not sure what to get. I'm currently mostly a recreational diver. I'm planing in continuing my professional education and become a Dive Master. I know this questions has probably been answered 100 million times by experts here, but I want to hear from people before I pull the trigger. I'm considering buying a BC that it's easy to travel with but that offers comfort and some support. I have 4 back disks that are pretty bad as result of of military service and some stability and support helpmeasy the strain on my back. Last weekend I used a Hollis HTS 2 system that had a backplate and was set for a single tank, also I was able to use the Scubapro Hydros, and this week I'm going to try a Zeagle Scout (been looking at the stilleto but haven't found one to try). Another one that I'm considering is the Scubapro Knighthawk. I think I've narrowed down my search to these. Can you all please provide some cons and pros on them and tell me which one you all recommend. Also I'm willing to take advice and consider others.

Can't comment on gear as I'm new to this industry personally but wanted to reach out and say thank you for your service.