SCUBAPRO Hydros Pro Men's BCD w/BPI

Been diving with this luxury item 4 times now and love it! The fit and feel is outstanding. The materials are awesome. It just becomes part of you under water. Excellent buoyancy control with the trickle inflator valve. Plenty of D-Rings and oh man I love the accessory attachments you can add for a knife and flashlight. It is a travel ready tech BC for sure! Taking it to the Dominican Republic in 2 weeks!

I've been using the BCD for about 2-3 years now. The BCD is easy to use and safe.I'll jump right into the negatives: It has only two small D-rings on the vertical straps, which makes it a bit difficult to attach a flashlight or camera (there are attachment points on the weight inserts, but I found them impractical). The major issue I had with this BCD is a head-down, feet-up position in the water. I have struggled with this issue for a long time, trying ankle weights, switching to a regular weight belt, changing BCD size (from S to M), and recently installing some of the weights (2 lb) on the tank to lower my feet. The built-in trim pockets are located too high, making them unusable; if anything, they make the problem worse. I believe the issue stems from the wrong backplate size and having the center of gravity too far forward. For reference, I'm 5'11" (almost 180 cm) tall.

Das Jacket tauche ich jetzt seit ca. 80 Tauchgängen im Meer als auch in Bergsee bei 4° Wassertemperatur. Ich habe mir das Jacket gekauft weil ich die Fummelei mit den Bleitaschen in die Jackethalterung satt hatte. Bis dann irgendein klacken oder sonst was signalsiert dass ein Knopf eingerastet ist und bei der Zugprobe dann doch wieder aus der Halterung oder im schlimmsten Fall einem Mittaucher am Boot auf die Zehen fällt. Das ist bei diesem System ausgeschlossen.Weiters liebe ich dass ich durch ziehen am Inflatorschlauch das Jacket dosiert in 2 Stufen entlüften kann. Ich brauche also nicht mehr den Inflatorschlauch über meinen Kopf halten um Luft abzulassen.Jetzt der ärgerlich negative Punkt weshalb ich nur 3 Sterne vegeben kann. Der Reißverschluss an den Bleitaschen ist äußerst minderwertig. Trotz sehr sorgfältigen Umgang meinerseits sind am Bogen wo der Reissverschluss eine 90° Kurve macht, schon Zähne bei beiden Taschen ausgebrochen.

Es kommt schön kompakt gepackt an. Ich empfehle, ein Foto zu machen, damit man es auch wieder so zusammenpacken kann für Reisen. Es trocknet wirklich schnell, wie beschrieben. Mir fehlt eine Tasche, aber die kann man ergänzen, was ich auch tun werde. Es taucht sich an sich richtig gut, angenehme Lage unter Wasser. An der Oberfläche halt nicht ganz aufblasen, wie bei jedem Wing. Nun das Problem: ich hatte bei zwei der ersten Tauchgänge das Problem, dass das Jacket oben über den Schnellverschluss abblies. Durch Ruckeln unter Wasser des Tachpartners ließ es sich fixen, ist aber echt unangenehm, wenn man das Wing aufbläst und sofort die Luft wieder sehr rasch entweicht. Zumal man selbst sehr schwierig da ran kommt, ohne das Jacket unter Wasser auszuziehen. Vielleicht hatte ich ein Montagsmodell, aber sowas ist bei Elphinstone echt nicht witzig. Die letzten Tauchgänge ging es, nachdem ich es extrem gespült hab, aber sowas hinterlässt kein gutes Gefühl.

I only used this on a single dive so far but it is night and day better than using an older jacket style BCD. It’s very comfortable, very easy to balance in the water, and it looks awesome. I always tend to gravitate to style over function with gear, but this BCD has both. I can’t see myself using any other style for recreational diving. I am looking forward to getting some of the accessories.

Live it

As an instructor I spend a lot of time in my BCD. So, having a comfortable, portable, easy to maintain and repair BC is of the utmost importance. I have only had the hydros for a short time, but I believe it to be all of those things and more.

Overall I've very happy with the Scubapro Hydros Pro. I have waited to write this review as I just got back from a seven day 21 dive trip in Cebu. First I'd say I'm by no means an expert (only been diving a few years) but I'd done over 50 dives this year and over the last few years I have been slowly buying my own equipment; this BCD was my last major purchase for my kit.First the positive and quick shout out to the seller who was responsive both to emails and even gave a phone number where I could call them and shipped the item quickly. The BCD is well made and versatile. am between a large and a medium and because of the gripy material I never felt like I had to pull everything down super tightly it still did not move around me when I was in the water. Quality is pretty much spot on...though on the scubapro band that holds the Inflation and low pressure hose after 18 or so dives the white lettering seemed to bleed into the black portion of the bad making it look a little weird...kind of disappointing if you want to keep you gear looking like new but for me its not a big concern. For packing weight it was a good balance and I really liked that my BCD dried almost completely in the 4-6 hours before the last dive and packing it up that night. It is slightly on the heavy side so just be aware and just to confirm...the backpack is almost not worth having...I left it at home...please some mini d rings or a crotch strap would have been a much better accessory. I got lots of comments from the dive masters and guides which I will admit is kinda nice as a validation that you made at least a trendy (expensive) choice.Cons...I'll be brief because mostly its nit picking. First is the integrated weight pockets...they really seem like they were designed from a computer and not so much from someone wearing it for 21 dives. The weight pouches themselves are very basic...no quick release (have to operate the snap), and no compartments within the pouches so if your using a standard weight on each side it will slide around and give you that uncomfortable little pull from time to time. The colorful compartment they are put in as well seems not the greatest design as its about 25% thicker than needed and kind of hangs off your hips pretty wide. Our DM had a scubapro vest BCD with the same weight pouches and the compartment was much less thick. A lot of the marketing claims the wing is designed so that air is not trapped anywhere...well from my experience it was very similar to other wings in that yes its one air cell but air does get trapped in spaces depending on the position of your body and yes you will have to tilt, lean back and move sometimes to dump air. The buttons on the inflation are very close together...with gloves it could be hard...not a huge issue for me except I occupationally hit the wrong one though I put this on my familiarity with the BCD not the equipment itself.Finally the price...I agree with some that say its over priced...but not by too much and honestly id doesn't matter the price as much if you've done your research and this is the BCD you want. However, my thoughts on it are that this is a serious BCD investment and it might be worth it to consider a back-plate wing system (that is also modular and a "BCD for life", another marketing point of the Hydros) but that is more flexible and gives you more options down the road to experience different equipment configurations. I see myself in the next year or two moving to a back-plate wing system either as a replacement to my Hydros or perhaps in addition to.Safe Diving!

I typically don't write review unless they are outstanding products or they suck! The Scubapro Hydros is OUTSTANDING! They nailed this one! Best BCD I've ever used. I've had Aqua Lung, Zeagle, and Mares... but the Hydros is second to none! The fit and function is amazing. Once you have it on your back, this BC will not move. No shift while descending, or rolling over. Even going thru the surf the BC stays in position. The Monprene material is awesome! They are correct when they say it drys fast! Even little things like the grab handle... it soft and fits the hand perfect... which makes carrying your set up easier. Truly you must purchase this BCD to understand how different it is from you standard BC. A MUST BUY!!!! It's on the top of the price scale, but you won't think twice about it after you use it! My only complaint is I didn't get the Air 2 system with it. No big deal, I can upgrade.

the best Scuba diving BCD in the market.Add air 2 this BCD will proforme very well in ocean and very durable to own for long time. Highly recommend .

Ich hatte mir das Jacket zur Ansicht bestellt, da ich ein neues Wing-Jacket brauche. Das Material ist sehr interessant, muss seine Haltbarkeit aber noch beweisen. Verarbeitung ist 1A. Die Passform jedoch mit meiner 15 l Flasche eine Katastrophe. Die Rückenplatte ist viel zu kurz für mich (185 cm), so dass Blei und Flasche genau im Kreuz drücken, statt auf der Hüfte abzustützen. Die Flasche hängt auch viel zu tief, ein DIR-Ventil Drill ist völlig unmöglich. Habe mich deshalb anderweitig entschieden. Schade, ich hoffe Scubapro bessert da nach.