Charles Hood's verdict on this BC from Aqua Lung |
Aqua Lung SeaQuest Pro QD i3 • £389.95
It’s been a long time coming, but Aqua Lung has finally manufactured a BC without a floppy hose. What’s wrong with a floppy hose, you might ask? Well, it’s floppy: it has an annoying habit of getting caught on things, ending up around the back of your cylinder valve or smacking you in the mouth when you’re putting your kit. Tekkies use copious amounts of Velcro or elastic bungee cord to keep it under control – but if you do that, you can’t use it to dump air. The solution is obvious: do away with it and inject gas straight into the BC using a flush-fitting valve. Mares does it, Cressi-sub does it, and now Aqua Lung does too.
The i3 inflation system is simple to use. Pull the lever upwards (to ascend) and the jacket inflates; push the lever down (to descend) and it dumps air. But logically, if you lift the lever, you instinctively assume you are releasing something; if you push down, you believe you are activating the mechanism or adding something – so I would have reversed the lever. That said, after three months of diving with the i3 version of the Pro QD, I got used to it and it works very well.
It also doesn’t let in much water. I didn’t empty it once over the three months – after a couple of dozen dives, it only had about 100ml in it. Another good feature is the weight integration. Regular readers will know that I’m not a fan of weight integration for UK waters, due to the sheer amount of lead you need to carry. However, this BC has changed my mind – on one particular shallow shore dive, I found it quite easy to stuff 16kg of lead into the pouches and still have enough room for a small reel and delayed SMB in one pocket and goodie bag in the other. This is because the pockets are external to the BC and not integrated as on so many others.
On surfacing, the SureLock quick-release system worked like a dream – I maintain that it is the best mechanism on the market, and equally when returning the pouches back in place it was straightforward. Other features include a smart octopus holder in the inside, knife grommets on the left pocket, a sturdy carrying handle, a nicely padded backpack and nine handy D-rings – although Aqua Lung oddly didn’t include a D-ring on the bottom of the left side, where I sometimes like to attach my reel. One small criticism is that there aren’t any trim-weight pockets – a couple at the back would be the perfect finishing touch. It comes with a single cam-band to attach your cylinder to, and the backpack has various holes in it to accept a medium-sized twinset.
I was fully expecting the Pro QD to cost well over £400, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was reasonably priced, representing pretty good value for money. It is available in sizes XS to XXL; for women, the i3 system is now available on the Pearl BC.
DIVE says…
Floppy-free model that works well
Value 8 Performance 9
Contact
Aqua Lung • 0116 212 4200 • www.aqualung.co.uk