Seac Sub Pro 2000
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Seac Sub Pro 2000 BC - £369
Here's a tempting proposition for divers in search of hard-wearing kit - a no-nonsense BC which also functions as a wing. Seac Sub's Pro 2000 is popular with police and military divers across Europe, and I can well believe it - its 1000-denier cordura can cope with the rigours of professional diving and even survive a nasty 'accident' on the way down to the cells!
I tested the Pro 2000 across a variety of diving environments: on a 'softy' holiday in 28ºC water, in mid-season UK waters and finally in the icy Antarctic - that's almost a 30ºC temperature differential. In each case, it performed admirably with the kit configurations necessitated by the different environments. My large-sized model allowed me 21kg of lift.
It's very much a busy diver's jacket, bristling with D-rings and places to stow your gadgets. As well as two roomy zip pockets on either side of the front, there are twin weight pockets on the wing (secured by Velcro and clip), a clip pocket on the front left side and a little zip pocket on the front of the cummerbund. You also get an integrated weight system which is secured with Velcro rather than catches - it works, but I wouldn't want to put more than 2kg in each detachable weight compartment.
The Pro 2000 functions both as a traditional jacket and as a semi-wing: pull back two cords located behind the side pockets and you stop air travelling into the front of the jacket, effectively giving you a wing suited to horizontal-attitude diving at depth. Then, when you want to surface, you pull the wing back out and you've got a traditional BC which puts you in a vertical position. It works, though I found it a bit fiddly in the Antarctic, where I was wearing thick mittens.
Verdict
Tough BC with loads of pockets
Value: 8 out of 10
Performance: 9 out of 10
Contact: Alpha Distribution 01709 515157
http://www.seac.co.uk
