I want to upgrade my BCD and there are some brilliant ones on the market, which makes making a choice hard.
I do dive in the cold UK waters but I mostly dive overseas, therefore I think that a lightweight BCD would be best (most airlines don't give extra luggage allowance for diving kit anymore).
I really like the Oceanic Islander II and the Scubapro T-Sport Plus. Both of these have integrated weights, big pockets and trim weight pockets (Big BCD features). The Oceanic has a lifetime parts warranty. Any preferences or any other models that I should try?

As always, Kindest Regards

So far though my diving i have only used a Buddy BCD (i think its the old design) and i think they are one of the best on the market. They live up to their reputation anyways. I have always found them a brilliant BCD but i don't have anything i can compare it to lol! I'm not sure whether i am a fan of the integrated weights, i have heard some horror stories about the weights falling out while just swimming along, which obviously isn't a good thing but again i haven't used one so i can't really judge.

I have tried several different B/C's but the one I dive with now and really like I have been using for about 6 years. Its a DiveRite transpack. It is the backplate/wing design and is very minimal but versital. You can customize it pretty much anyway you want to fit your personnal diving type.

I love my dive rite trans pack BCD its totally customizable and is light has all kinds of add on stuff it is a back inflate BCso if you prefer jacket style then you may not like it but check it out its not the cheapest out there but is a tec divers dream with options from just the basics to two tanks and a 60 LB lift wing its the way to go

I use a Zeagle Stilletto. I had trim pockets added next to my tank straps. I grab any loose weights of the right weight and drop them in the pockets in front and trim. I am always setup before most others and any buddy is quickly trained on the release. A red, large woven nylon ripcord will release both front (vest) pockets' weights. I had to recently dump the weights to help a buddy. It works well. I have 100+ dives on this BCD and no malfundtions. I have also looked at Diverite. Both Manufacturers have a modular system and can be easily customized to you needs. Take a look at Zeagle.

I really fussed over this decision. I wanted to have everything in the BCD but knew that I wanted the BCD mostly fro travel, so lightness of weight and "stowability" were big issues for me.

In the end, I really parred down and bought the SeaQuest Malibu - it is very, very light and has its own integral stow bag that you roll up as a lumbar support when diving. I am a big fan of the integral alternate air source - so I added that option. There are 4 stainless steel d rings and the bladder is a back-mounted, wing style which provides great stability.

The problem for you is that this BCD might be too light duty for you. There are NO pockets and what you gain in lightness, you lose in durability - the fabric is just lighter.

The one I would recommend is the next model up which is the SeaQuest Balance - this adds pockets and a bit more durability. My dive buddy just bought the Aqualung ProQD with the i3 technology. Instead of a hand-held dump valve, there is a lever on the side of the vest that both dumps and adds ait - pretty cool - he loves it and it has great "curb appeal"; however, for me it is just tooo big and heavy.

Note that I do dry suit dive with the Malibu in cold water and have had no problems.

Hope this helps,

Gary MR

Oh i saw the lever action on a bc recently looked interesting, supposedly it takes a little getting used to, but after that often no problems!

I've seen the lever action on the seaquest pro QD i3. Still being a newbie I wasn't sure about it. It looked like a nice. It still has the separate oral inflation hose still. I just not sure how good the deflation was and how easy it would be for other people to find it in a emergency.

I went for the seaquest pro QD with the standard inflation hose as I found this BC the most comfortable I've tried on with the extra strap flexibility.

The Mrs went for the Mares Kaila for the comfort and the rear inflation pockets.

Get one that'll last, in my experience that is either Buddy or Seaquest. I have a Seaquest that I bought 2nd hand 10 years ago from a dive school and it's now brown rather than black but it is still fine.

Buddy haven't changed their design much since the Stone Age , mind you they did recently when they dropped most of their range.

Once you have done a lot of diving you won't really care what BCD you use, you just want something that'll be reliable and last. Hence out of 20 BCD's in my school most are Seaquest some are Buddy with the odd other make for odd sizes.

I currently use a Buddy, it has done 1000's of dives (250 this year), it is reliable and show no signs of wear.

I've been putting off buying a BCD, really don't want to go through the hassle lol.

Really need to make more notes on the BCDs I rent and dive with to find one I like..

thetafferboy wrote:


You should write it in your log book because then you can put whether you had problems etc, and then it just becomes a reference source when you do buy one!

I got an Oceanic one for my birthday, i liked the idea of life time warrenty and the shop didnt stock much else! I havent tried it yet but it has a lot to life up to as i have always used Buddy when training! I got it as a reg set and its a good starter package for finding out what i will need if i ever have to change it.

A local school used Oceanic BCD's, after 2 years they were falling apart. They changed to Buddy's which are still going 6 years on.

AtlanticScuba wrote:


Ah i have always heard good things about Oceanic, if that does happen they should replace them on the lifetime warranty lol if not i can get a new one. Any reasons to go scuba shopping.

I was tempted by the oceanics life time guarantee too, but after a few people warned me off I went for the seaquest. Just keep hold of that guarantee and make sure you send anything off you need to.


I hear ya, I'm not sure if I'm disapointed to be missing the NEC diving show or glad I won't be tempted into draining my bank account lol

Best bet is to try as many different BCs as you can and decide which you like best.

Personally, I dive a Zeagle Ranger - has over 150 dives so far - and I love it. I travel with it all the time. As mentioned above, it has integrated weights and it was designed to fit like a parachute - so it fits snug but very comfortable. It is a back inflate and folds up fairly nicely for packing.

Try one, you will like it.