BCD stands for Buoyancy Compensation Device.
We've hand picked our favourites from Scubapro, Mares, Aqualung, Atlantis, OMS, X-Deep and Halcyon to have available to you.
The BCD is one of the crucial pieces of diving equipment that you will own. It allows a scuba diver to attain positive buoyancy at the surface, negative buoyancy to allow them to descend at the start of a dive and neutral buoyancy to hold a particular depth during the dive.
Introduced back in the 1960's, some designs haven't changed too much since the 1970's, but some are full of the latest ideas to help you achieve your diving goals in style.
Some of the styles you may come across; Jacket/Wrap around, Rear Inflation, Integrated Weights, Modular Design, Harnesses or Side Mount. Men and women cuts are available in a limited number of BCD's. The women styled BCD's generally have narrower shoulders and shorter backs, they can also be a bit stereo typical in colour - pink or baby blue. But don't worry The Aqualung Lotus is black and the Scubapro Hydros Pro is black with the option to add some colour.
Most modern BCD's have integrated weight pockets and extra trim pockets for small weights, making them more comfortable and easier to attain the proper trim. Of course a bit of extra diving buoyancy training can help you even further.
In our training school and on our dive charter to the Poor Knights we use rear inflation bcd's. The Scubapro Hydros Pro for it's durability and ease of use, and OMS Smartstream for it's one size fits all feature, with a stainless steel backplate.
If you're unsure about what style BCD you'd like then chat to us to find out what style of BCD suits your style of diving.
