Dive Rite Hydro Lite BC Lightweight Traveling BCD Buoyancy Compensator Device

I just took this to the Philippines and it was very easy to travel with. It also saved a ton of weight compared to my back plate and wing set up.

I really wanted to like this more than I do. As another poster commented the wing is already showing signs of fraying on the outer shell. Looks like some Velcro got to it in and pulled up some of the threads. Not a show stopper but for the price I expected more. My one real ding on it is the weight pockets. They are easy to dump which is fine.But they are not easy to load while the bcd is on. Since the weights drop out the bottom ,the pocket is rather small , and they are positioned rather far back towards the wing. Demoing weight removal and replacement in a class is near impossible unless your elbows are double jointed. For what it is. A warm water recreational bcd it’s fine. Durability is in question. Only time will truly tell. I have about 10 dives on it so far. But if you instruct and have to demo a weight removal and replace. You will probally have to use a weight belt and use the pockets for your personal fun dives.A year latter now and the bcd has held up well. I resolved the weight pocket issue by taking them off and flipping them upside down so they dump towards your head. But in proper trim it still will function fine . Shell has held up.no new frays. Just have to be careful of Velcro around it. I have replaced the cam bands just out of personal preference . While not my primary bcd I do like it it for travel. And for when a student shows up with bad rental gear it has been a great backup bcd. It is not as good as dedicated backplate and wing. But a major upgrade for person with a rental jacket bcd.

I'm very disappointed with this BCD. First, I noticed that the stitching was unraveling. I certainly did not expect that. Second, I was very disappointed that the second tank strap was woefully short. When you put it on the tank, the short Velcro strip pops loose. You can only characterize this too short strap as an engineering failure. There's no excuse for it. Given the price of this piece of equipment, it's woefully poor quality. I wish I could send it back.