Charles Hood reviews a sturdy BC for serious diving |
Pro Tech, £345
My first impressions is that this is no lightweight jacket. The 4.2kg Pro Tech is a sturdy BC, designed for some serious diving, so is not one for the travelling diver. The weight comes from the materials used – the outside of the bag is made from a thick 840-denier nylon, while the inner material is on par with your average BC at 420 denier. It’s got all the gizmos the typical diver would want, and all in the right places. The three enormous pre-bent and two straight D-rings can accommodate reels, torches and even stage cylinders if required, while the smaller 25mm rings help keep hoses and gauges from dangling. The pockets are easily large enough to take a DSMB and small compact camera, for instance.
However, one of its best attributes is the Smart Weight System (SWS) – otherwise known as weight-integrated pockets to you and I. They work extremely well. You can put up to 6kg into each weight pouch and installing them is very easy. Most pouches need a certain degree of pushing and stretching to get them in place, but the SWS aligns the pouches on a guide, which means they simply slide in place. A straightforward click locks them in position, and a sharp jab on the quick-release pulls them away again. It would have been nice to see a couple of trim-weight pockets at the back of the BC, but there is an additional weight or tool pocket on the left-hand side – handy if you want to quickly add a couple of kilos, for example, when carrying out a shallow shore dive.
The rest of the Pro Tech has plenty of other good features. I particularly liked the fact that the harness is fastened directly onto the backplate. This mechanism, combined with the sternum adjustment system, means the whole jacket can be adjusted to suit both tall, skinny divers and vertically challenged salad dodgers. Talking of adjustment, another neat touch is the chest strap that has two settings – high up or midway down – which is useful if you find that it obscures your drysuit valve in one position. The elasticated cummerbund features a tiny zipped pocket, which could be used to store a car key (non-electronic ones, of course) or, perhaps, spare O-rings.
We used the Pro Tech SWS on several dives connected to a single 12-litre steel cylinder and side-mounted three-litre pony, and it did the job it’s designed to do. I was particularly impressed by the SWS.
De-kitting is also a doddle, thanks to the massive breakaway clips on each shoulder that can easily be operated when wearing 5mm gloves. The large version we tested gives approximately 17kg of lift, which is more than enough for the average diver and at a push could support a small twin-set. It comes with three dump valves, with pull cords and power inflator and whistle attached. The BC has a sturdy carrying handle that is useful when hauling the set out of the water.
At a fiver under £350, it’s not a bargain, but is in the same price range as other BCs of a similar spec and lends itself to the end of the market that requires a tough-performing BC.
DIVE SAYS…
Tough BC with plenty of features
Value 8 Performance 8
Contact Blandford Sub Aqua • 01823 663849 •
www.blandfordsubaqua.co.uk