Entry Level BCD Comparison Guide

so there are lots of different be CDs out there on the market today but what makes a basic BCD different from a more expensive BCD in these guys we're gonna take a closer look at the different features that you'll find on more basic B CDs and compare them against those that you'll find on higher-end B CDs in today's show we're going to take a quick look at basic entry-level B CDs that are much more inexpensive okay so most entry-level B CDs are going to be this kind of style this we call it jacket because it inflates on the back and also inflates around either side most people learn to dive in a jacket style BCD so much entry level b cds tend to be a jacket style because it's what you're familiar with so they have a few great sort of features the main one is that you get pockets on the side so a bit of storage area this one from Aqualung the pro HD has a great pocket because it's you can open it from either side you've got two zippers on it makes it very easy to get stuff in and out of it it also features a few handy little sort of adjustments that you that you get on more and more B CDs nowadays the first one is instead of just having a d-ring it has this little recess here so it's nice and obvious what it's for thanks to the the little graphics next to it but instead of having your octo on a clip you can bend the hose and just put the hose inside of that that creates a really quick release mechanism you can just pull on the second stage when your octo to get it out but you don't need any fantasy clips that can undo or need to be replaced if they break very quick and easy another feature that you need to start looking for is integrated weight pockets so instead of having the lid on a weight belt you put it into a small pouch you get a pair of them one on either side and and they lock into the BCD if you need to get rid of them in an emergency just grab hold of a hand or give it a good tug and then you can ditch your weight if you need to okay so now we've got the C AK Pro mm BCD still the jacket styles are very familiar you've got those integrated weights but it's got a few other features that you start to get on of higher-end VCDs starts off with a adjustable or removable chest straps you can move this up and down or you can take it off completely depending on whether you like having a chest strap as you can see we have an adjustable harness system so instead of just the the standards adjustment that you get on your harness you can actually adjust it on the inside as it on that back plate to really customize it so it's much more comfortable just for you and what it also features it does have pockets it also has a secondary fold away pockets so this is nice and neat it kind of stays out of the way until you need it you just have a little d-ring give that a tug and then you get a secondary pocket that's just sort of bellows out so if you find something in the water or you need to stow a spare mask it's very quick and easy to deploy but if you don't need it you can just fold it away and and just keep it nicely out of the way in streamline ok now we've got the first of our wing style B CDs this is the scuba pro delight hawk so the wing is the other style of the jacket with the wing it doesn't inflate around you so when you're on the surface even when you're fully inflated all the bladder is behind you so you're never going to feel crushed some things that some people do say about Winstar B CDs is that on the surface it can put your face down it'll only put your face down if you're incorrectly weighted but if you do feel it starting to push your for is just deflate it a bit or lean backwards they're really comfortable wearing their on the surface and and when you're in the water under the water they hold you in a very lovely trim position so a lot of people prefer them they tend to be a lot lighter as well because you don't have the added sort of material but one thing that they they do lack is sort of storage pockets but but realistically what are you taking down with you if you're on a night diet you're going to be using your torch so storage if you're not interested in storage then a wing we can highly recommend so this is the lightweight you've got integrated weight still but but we're really looking at the bladder so the bladder is all behind you gives you a great sort of range of motion and a nice trim in the water as you can see it's very big and bulbous down around your hips but it's quite small and slight up towards your shoulders this means that even with a small amount of gas in your in your BCD it's gonna hold you in a nice horizontal trim position in the water and this is really where we want to be in the water we want to be as horizontal as possible and the shape and the design of the BCD is going to help you maintain that that sort of perfect trim and now we go back to our jacket styles for the Cressy aqua pro so very traditional style the the Danya of the material is kind of thin this is more for sort of just safe weight so on a lot of the the lower end PC DS you'll see quite a light denia which is like the the weave of the material makes it lighter much more flexible but it's not quite as abrasion resistant as some of the higher NBC DS you'll go up to the thousands and 2000 dernier B CDs they're much tougher so if you're sort of cramming in and out of Rexel reefs then then a hired earlier BCD is the way to go what makes this BCD different from where a lot of others on the list is they're integrated weight system so this is what we call a gravity assisted weight pocket instead of having a weight pouch that you stow your LED inside of clip it into the BCD the downside of those is that if you need to get rid of your LEDs you ditch the pocket and you lose it with the weight so to go diving again you then need to buy a replacement pocket with these you you load it up into these two the pouches but they're physically attached and by simply undoing the pinch clip the weight of the lead is going to unravel that and then the lid will just slide out of the bottom stays attached to your BCD it's very secure because you stow your lid you then fold it up and then you physically clip it back onto your BCD so it's secure and when you need to ditch your lid you're only going to use you you're not going to lose a part of your BCD with it and finally we're gonna look at the Mara's prestige BCD so all over it's got the integrated weights it's the jacket style but what we're gonna look at is on on the sides so now we have knife attachment points so you're seeing these are more and more bc DS very simple little devices these little grommets just sit on the other side of your BCD just above the pockets and they allow you to mount a b c d mounted knife onto your BCD so that way you don't have to strap it to your leg or stow it away in a pocket it's there it's readily available it's kind of neat and out of the way you also get on the back you'll start to see trim white pockets as you start to move your way up through the the ranks of BC DS so trim weight pockets just allow you to stow some lead on your back usually so that either side of the cylinder so that you can adjust your trim so your trim is your position in the water if you're nice and horizontal you have great trim these pockets just allow you to move that lead off of your waist off of your weight belt and off of your integrated weights and just into these pockets but these are non dumb pible so once they're in there they stay there for the entire dive do you only usually put one or two kilos in each of them so that was a quick look at just a few inexpensive B CDs but let us know what features that you look for in a BC D let us know in the comments below thanks for watching and safe diving

Channel: Simply Scuba

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Keywords: simplyscuba, simply scuba, The Simply Group (TSG), Entry Level BCD Comparison Guide, emtry, level, BCD, comparison, guide, scuba diving, scuba diving (interest), scuba diving (sport), diving, advice, how to, scubapro, scuba diving BCD, best BCDS, 2018, wing system, mares, apeks, what BCD to buy, what BCD is the best, where to buy bcd, bcd advice, scuba diving advice, hollis, which BCD to buy, chossing a BCD, what to look for in a BCD

Id: kJ-unH9YKYg

Length: 8min 0sec (480 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 18 2017