Tell me about your back inflate BCD’s, was thinking of purchasing but am still unsure
I have just completed my divemaster course and I’m now a PADI professional. As a gift to myself for completing this course, I was thinking about replacing my jacket style Aqualung BCD with an Aropec Elite back inflate BCD and I’d give my current BCD to a good friend or one of my parents so it would still get plenty of good use with someone who would take care of it. I saw this one while looking for a back inflate and it immediately caught my eye. Obviously I dive in teal and all my gear is teal, so that’s a big plus, but I was wondering about ease of use and durability. I want something that’ll last me a long time, has a good reputation for being of high quality, isn’t too difficult to travel with, and has the ability to dive a tight kit on as I also love me a good wreck dive and don’t wanna feel too bulky when I’m in tighter spaces. I dive 2-3 times per day, I take VERY good care of my kit (I’m honestly anal about my gear, I’m very protective over my scuba equipment), so I’d need something that’s easy to move around in too as someone with a relatively short torso. I’ve tried the OMS back inflates but I don’t like the straps too much, they feel too bulky for my body and I like to have more pockets on me for picking up trash. I looked into this one and it seems to fit all of those things perfectly, with quality, durability, comfort, adjustability, etc. (bonus points if it’s teal or has teal accents but is not a priority) but I’d like y’all’s opinions and recommendations as well. Sorry for the long body text, BCD’s are expensive and I want to make sure I’m making an informed decision about such an investment. Any personal anecdotal experience with back inflates of any brand/style that work for you are also appreciated but I’d also love to hear about your experiences with aropec as a brand/their BCD’s.