Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I buy everything I review. To receive FIVE stars, a product must meet >90% of the manufacturer’s claims. I don’t subtract because I don’ t like the color or appearance (too subjective and personal). I review form, function, ease of use, and construction quality. Please forgive typos: I’m an evidence-based scientist, NOT a typist. If you find my review helpful, please click “YES”. This helps me improve future evaluations (which I do for free to help people make more informed decisions). Their Claim: A jacket-style BCD (versus back-inflate) with all the features you need for recreational diving My Verdict (details below): 100% true This is a beast of a BCD. It is EXTREMLY durable. Here’s my story. I was diving and became entangled in vegetation. My dive buddy (paired up at a resort by the dive master, so I didn’t know him) went to cut me free (he didn’t see I was in the process of taking the vest off to do it myself). He unknowingly cut too far and dragged his knife across the side of the BCD. When we surfaced, there was not a scratch. It took it in stride with no issues whatsoever. The denier outer shell is one tough material. This BCD has four nylon D-rings, plus the four pull-rings for the shoulder and waist straps. I can attach my light, safety tube, camera, and hose clamps for my safe second stage and gauge cluster with no problems. It has 33.7 lbs of lift, MORE than enough for cold-water dives. It kept me upright on the surface, and the trim is excellent underwater because, let’s face it, you use very little air to provide neutral buoyancy, so the sides don’t hold much air. While not a back-inflate, which provides the best underwater trim, who cares? Further, if you're a newbie, good luck keeping your body upright on the surface with a back inflate BCD. You’ll find very quickly that it WANTS to bury your face in the water by tilting you forward. I tried it on one dive and almost drowned. That sealed the deal: a jacket style is what I need. If I dove 100 times a year, I don’t think even then I’d get used to a true back-inflate BCD. It also lacks integrated weight (IW), which I consider a BONUS. When in trouble, I want ONE buckle to release my weights. My weight belt does that. With IW systems, you have two or more pouches with weights to release. When in an emergency, SIMPLE is better. So I’m not paying for features like IW that I don’t want OR need. I only use 6# of lead, so IW is entirely unnecessary. If you believe you need IW, then this is not the BCD for you. I don’t so why pay for them? The tank holds securely to the back plate (has a rubber interface), which has a sturdy carry handle to make it easy to lug around. The BCD is lightweight and easy to pack in a regular sized suitcase. With all my gear packed, it still came in under the airline’s 50# limit before an upcharge is applied. The two side pockets are plenty large. I can hold my torch and other stuff there, easily accessible. They close with Velcro, meaning no zipper to get stuck, care for, wax, etc. The back padding is very comfortable and taking four dives over two days didn’t cause any issues. It has three purge valves, all easily accessible. The low-pressure inflator is easy to use by mouth as well. Best of all? At $184, this is >$200 cheaper than similar models that offer no discernible advantages for my diving style. I am in love with this BCD. There’s a reason dive shops use this as a preferred training BCD. It’s tough, functional, and more than meets the needs of most recreational divers. If you're a tech diver, then you may need to spend $500 on a Zeagle, Mares, or other brand. But for me, diving only on vacations, I am delighted I found this BCD.