Mares , ScubaPro , Aqualung or Cressi BC's

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I heard that Mares manufactures the best BC's.

Heard that from a Mares dealer by any chance?
rofl3.gif


I'm looking for a simple BCD and I'm not sure which manufacturer/model best suits me.

what I need is a BCD that is :

Is this what you mean?.....

- Simple (easy to use) Something minimalist and uncluttered?
- Not expensive Without unnecessary gadgets that raises the price?
- Extremely durable Metal rather than plastic? Less joints and seams to fail?
- Don't care about integrated weights. You prefer to reduce clutter?
- with D rings (metal preferred) Adjustable D-Rings, so you can put them where you need them?
- Easy and cheap to maintain. Modular design? So you can adjust or replace individual components easily?
- Average weight lifting 30-40lb buoyancy? Suitable for single tank diving? Streamlined? Less water resistance? Holds you horizontal and comfortable in the water?

Am I right about your specifications? :D
 
the Wave you've been renting would actually seem to match your requirements. My husband has had one for years and it's fine.
 
the Wave you've been renting would actually seem to match your requirements. My husband has had one for years and it's fine.

It is a heavy duty BC but I was looking for something with more features.
 
The Scubapro Classic is the most durable BC I have had and used. Mares BC's don't come even close.

We used many types of BC's in our rental inventory and they all seem to fall apart within 2 years of heavy use but not the Scubapro Classic.


This is totally not true. I have had my Mares Dragonfly for over 10 years, my Mares Vector Origin for 4 years and it only gets used in the pool and the chlorine hasn't even discoloured it yet. The instructor I work with has had her Mares Kaila for about 6 years and she put about 200 dives a year on it.
Mares make great BC's made from heavy marterial that lasts.
 
Love Cressi, and its the rental BC of choice for Buddy Dive and Bel Mar in Bonaire. They rent thousands to a diving community that puts their gear through its paces with unlimited shore diving.
 
Love Cressi, and its the rental BC of choice for Buddy Dive and Bel Mar in Bonaire. They rent thousands to a diving community that puts their gear through its paces with unlimited shore diving.

Thanks for your comments , Which Cressi model/s are you referring to ?
 
I had the Dragon and the Prestige in my rental collection, picked 'em up in summer of '09. I had real troubles with the MRS weight pouches falling out with more than 4-6 pounds in a pouch (they're supposedly able to handle 10-12), especially with newer pouches. The trim pouches in the Prestige are my favorite trim pouches I've ever loaded, the Dragon's trim pouches are a real hassle to load and unload, we ended up putting 3 lbs in each pouch on the Lg and XL models and leaving them there. The trim pouches in the Prestige started ripping out at about a year of heavy use in rental. The zippered pockets are ripping around the zippers with minimal pocket use after about a year and a half.

We just made the switch to the Cressi Start Pro for the rentals, it's a basic BCD with Cressi's pouchless integrated weight system. We like it so far, but I'm not sure about the velcro on the velcro pockets for the long run. I've got some Aquapro 5 models in the shop and they look to be terriffic, I'm only using the XXS size in rental as it's a great size for kids and tiny women. I've got minimal use on these BCDs so far. The Cressi pouchless integrated system on these two models intrigues me, so far no problems whatsoever. Earlier models had narrower weight pockets that managed to wiggle out of their quick release and dump weights. I've no problems with the new ones yet (wider pockets less likely to get out of place I guess), but the gear is new and not softened up. So far so good, a month's heavy use with zero pouch problems, can't say that with other brands I've used.

I had problems with all the Oceanic pouches I'd used in rentals in the past, with the fewest pouch problems with the original tricky to thread pouches that so many people hated. Typically, the plastic backing in them would crack in the middle and then the weight pouches would want to slowly work forward and then dog ear during the dive and hang by the quick release only (to some extent we've been having the dog ear issue with our Mares BCDs once the pouches were older too).

I've seen Seaquest/Aqualung in rentals for a long time with the occasional lost pouch (as you can tell, pouches are my pet peeve) but no major problems over time.

The ScubaPro BCDs look pretty good. My only gripe is some of the pouches are a bit too hard to dump quickly for some people, and on the back inflate models there's little if any easily accessible pockets on some models for suddenly needed extra weight or to put junk picked up off the bottom.

Every BCD out there has it's plusses and minuses.
 
Yes you are 100% right , and which BCD would be a winner in your opinion ? :wink::cool2:

E) None of the above.

Before you make your purchase, I would recommend doing some research on the following options:

1) Halcyon Eclipse 30
2) Oxycheq Mach V Extreme 30
3) DSS LCD 30

Don't be put off by the 'alien' design of these BCDs. They fit your specifications exactly and offer many advantages over the 'traditional BCD' jacket style design.

IMHO 'familiarity with the rental junk I used on my OW course' shouldn't be the primary factor in your decision. :wink:
 

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