Hi all...
I know this post is a bit older and i've seen that Frarie bought his BCD but i'll tell u some more about the jacket anyway. As it doesn't seem to be used a lot trough the board il scrible down my limited experience with it for future reference !
I just bought the ScubaPro Master Jacket last week after testing it in the pool first.I did my first real dive with it on sunday and my first impression is... great jacket !
Some more about it's features :
One of the great things about the masterjacket are the straps to fix your cilinder. It is a full jacket (air all around) so size has to be considered a bit more than the adjustable ones (although !?). On the other hand because of the straps you can perfectly fix the bottle and it doesn't move an inch ! The idea is that these (elastic !) straps are fixed to the plate that holds the bottle and they are adjustable. So your bottle gets strapped firmly to your back. This way the weight of the bottle is not held by the jacket itself. Inflating or deflating your jacket doesn't have any effect on the fixation of the bottle. This for starters feels very comfortable. My girlfriend is halve my size and even if she puts on my XL jacket the bottle doesn't move the least bit !
quote (diversaurus) :
'Bladders, in some shapes and designs, can cause air to get
trapped as the diver changes positions.'
End quote
As for this, the jacket has 3 extra purge valves so u can let the air escape without any problems in any position. This sounds pretty complicated and i can hear u think 'taskload' but it's actually very practical and gives u good control over the jacket.
The first one is integrated in the inflatorhose. The valve is positioned on your left shoulder and by pulling the inflatorhose down you open this valve. The advantage is that u don't have to hold your inflatorhose up to let the air out.
The second is on your right shoulder and is opened by pulling a sort of knob that is positioned on your chest (right side). I found it very comfortable having one hand on the inflator button and using my other on the right side to deflate. If you need your right hand to hold your light you just use the left side by pulling the inflator hose.
A third valve is positionned on the bottomside (back) of the jacket and is to be used on descend (head first) allowing you to let the air escape without any problems, even in this position.
As i said before it sounds complicated and gives the impression of taskload but i found myself using them comfortably after about 10 minutes and i definatly feel more in cotrol as with a normal jacket.
All this still allows you to use the jacket as a normal one as you can use the inflatorhose to deflate like any normal jacket !
Because the jacket has air allround it is a lot more comfortable in the normal swimming position (face down). The air in the front of the jacket (shoulders) truly gives you the feeling of laying in a comfy couch
At first i had a bit of a doubt about the jacket being a bit annoying because it obviously has a bit more volume than the normal ones but i have to say it doesn't limit my freedom of movement the least bit !
The extra volume obviously gives you more lifting capabillities wich can come in handy in case of an emergency (or treasure hunting
)
Don't forget that the gear u buy and use is allways a personal choice but as far as i'm concerned the Scubapro masterjacket is a winner... Comfort and safety are well considered and i really enjoy using it !
Bart
