BC: Thinking of upgrading. Advice?

[James Price]

I'm thinking of upgrading my bc, I have a cressi j119 bc at the moment, I have been looking at a mares hub. Does anyone have any suggestions ?

[Tim Ingmire]

Don't buy a HUB.   Dom will along soon to add meat to that statement and maybe even a link to an article on his website on why it is such a bad idea.

Why are you upgrading?  What are you changing about your diving that you need to upgrade for?

[James Price]

My bc has a inflator system similar to the hub, in that there are two buttons at the base of the bcd that you push to inflate / deflate it, this in its self I like as it is easily found and you do not have to angle it upwards to vent air. But on the cressi these buttons stick out away from the jacket on a stick aroud 4" long and I have found when moving in and around wrecks that it tends to get caught. Now I do like the system in itself which is why I was looking at the hub, as it is similar but with the exception that the inflation / deflation system is kept close to the jacket and so will not catch as you swim through areas as easilly.

[Tim Ingmire]

Click here for Dom's view on the HUB.  

I know the kind of inflator that you mentioned (personally, they do my head in but that's neither here or there).  An alternative to dumping air by raising the inflator hose - can you pull your hose to dump?  Do you have other shoulder dumps using a cord?

If you aren't changing your diving and you are happy with your current BCD except for a minor niggle then I'd try and solve the niggle rather than all the expense of changing your BCD.  Just a thought, can you put bungee around your current inflator and tie it in a little?

[CotoChris]

<font color='#0000FF'>Last year when I changed BCD I went for a buddy Pioneer. I went for it because I wanted a durable tough BCD and AP valves give excellent service. I'm very happy with it so can reccomend it anyday.

[Narked@50]

Try using your suit for buoyancy instead of your BCD? You can alway buy another BCD if you don't like this after a couple of dives and it costs you nothing? You may even like it?

James &nbsp;

[Helen F H]

<font color='#000080'>The Hover seemed very popular at the dive show. &nbsp;Lost count of the number of people carrying a big black box with Teguillio (spelling??) on it. &nbsp;Looks like a nice BCD.

[Andy Phillips]

Wow, Dom really does have a view on it.

I must admit, each time I see one, I laugh.

Don't do it, get a standard BC and use the pull dumps. I had (indeed, still have) a ScubaPro Glide 1000. Not a Bad bit of kit, once you get the hang of where the dumps are. it is a trivial matter to dump gas. Better still look at the single tank wings, OMS, Halcyon and Diverite are three names to be getting on with. Not only will you have a much better piece of kit, you will feel more comfortable in the water.

This move to all in one stab jackets is a joke, just as divers begin to realise that a wing design offers better stability in the water, manufacturers realise that there is a section of the public who will buy anything because &quot;it looks pretty&quot;.

I shall go now I am begining to rant.

Andrew

[courage]

I’ve owned a HUB for a number of years and I’m still very happy with it (I know Dominic, you couldn’t care less) but if a significant part of your diving is done in the UK or similar waters I wouldn’t really recommend it. The best thing about the HUB is the pneumatic inflate / deflate system (it comes with the usual cord operated dumps as well, but to be honest I’ve never had to use them). Generally I would go along with the other poster who suggested that rather than getting a new BC you try to solve the problem with your current one, but if you do decided to go for a traditional BC (rather than a wing) and you want an inflator system similar to your existing one I would look at some of the other Mares BCs that use the same system (the Vector AT perhaps).

[Digger]

<font color='#000080'>I've go to say, there's a lot of very good reasons why the HUB is a bad idea, dn I can think of very few that are going in favour. Dom's not far off my thinking on the thing on his website, there are so many other better options out there.