Hydros Pro

[Para Goon]

Why? What changed after you added the crotch strap?

My thought was at the surface it would provide better support where the BC wouldn't ride up on me.
Which I prefer when waiting for the dive boat while the seas are getting angry. So, it's just a personal preference.

 

[Pressurehead]

I put my single tank BP/W away, no advantage of the BP/W over the Hydros Pro at all. I love the weight pockets.

I took the weight pockets off after a couple of dives and dive with the simple harness only.
My B/Ws [2 of them] have been dry for a year, tried the crotch strap but found it was not needed on the Hydros pro with the 'grippy' back plate.
So easy on/off and easy to pass up diving from a RIB, and it has a handle to make it simple and a right shoulder dump which my B/Ws do not have.
Also the trim pocket are very good and placed well.

 

[Wants2divemore]

The weight is either in your backplate or in the trim pockets of the BC, I don't see the advantage of the BP/W at all.

For me personally, my trim seemed to be better and easier to maintain with the SS backplate compared with an additional 6lbs in the weight pockets at my waist on the Hydros Pro. This was even after adjusting my tank position up and down.

 

[Pressurehead]

For me personally, my trim seemed to be better and easier to maintain with the SS backplate compared with an additional 6lbs in the weight pockets at my waist on the Hydros Pro. This was even after adjusting my tank position up and down.

I have 6llb [3lb in each] in the trim pockets, same weight as the SS plates, and only need a few blocks on a weight belt, also easy to pass up if I have to climb a ladder or into a RIB for this old dude.
I am over doing it the hard way.

 

[hedonist222]

It shouldn't be lifted from the shoulder straps, especially when attached to a cylinder.

Use the built-in handle.

The joints and trim pocket buckle are the hydros pro's Achilles heal and why I begrudgingly sold mine after 2 years and approximately 150 dives.

The fabric around the buckle began to tear and the rubber part in the the shoulder strap joint began to get chewed away slightly.

This is with a lot of care from my end.

Otherwise it's a very good psuedo bp/w.

 

[FezUSA]

Got one for myself and one for my wife back in 2019. We are both very happy with them, easy to travel with, easy to dive with, easy to clean. I'm sure I would have been just as happy with a Freedom plate and appropriate wing, maybe even a little happier, but take nothing away from the Hydros Pro for our use case.

 

[drrich2]

It shouldn't be lifted from the shoulder straps, especially when attached to a cylinder.

Use the built-in handle.

The joints and trim pocket buckle are the hydros pro's Achilles heal and why I begrudgingly sold mine after 2 years and approximately 150 dives.

Some years back, I needed a new BC and opted for a BP/W setup. I started a thread on ScubaBoard asking about a range of things, had to read up to learn about options (e.g.: What kind of back plate? Deluxe harness or single piece webbing? Crotch strap? Horse shoe or donut wing? What lift on that wing? STA (single tank adapter) or not? What about a 'soft' approach with a raised row pair on the wing to serve the STA function? How to add a pocket on?), and had a dive shop employee thread the harness for me.

I like the finished product, frankly that was a lot of convoluted hassle. I considered the Hydros Pro back then, as it appeared to offer similar benefits for the single tank, strictly recreational diver with an 'off the rack, put it on and go' simplicity. The benefits without the pain.

But I saw a number of critical posts focused on those shoulder strap attachments wearing out way to early. And I never worry about picking my BP/W setup up by a shoulder strap.

Which brings me to my question; is there a reason the ScubaPro Hydros Pro needs to have that type of shoulder attachment point? Could they not have used harness webbing straps as are common with BP/W setups?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I love my hydros and use the travel harness in lieu of the weight pockets. lead goes on a weight belt. you lose the grippy rubber on the belly side of the pockets but using a crotch strap keeps it nice and secure. I've been alternating diving with my bp/w and the hydros and I'm starting to lean toward just diving the hydros. So easy to travel with it just makes sense.

 

[Landau]

a SS backplate means I have to carry 6lb less weight.

Since Stainless Steel is less dense than lead, changing from lead weights to a SS backplate means you need more total weight for the same buoyancy - everything else being equal...

 

[inquis]

I love my hydros and use the travel harness in lieu of the weight pockets. lead goes on a weight belt. you lose the grippy rubber on the belly side of the pockets but using a crotch strap keeps it nice and secure.

It sounds like you moved closer and closer to a BP/W with those choices. Outside of the grippy surface, what else do you like about the Hydros that your BP/W doesn't have?

So easy to travel with it just makes sense.

What do you find difficult about traveling with your BP/W that would cause you to take the heavier Hydros?