The problem with travel BCs is that they are designed to be as light as possible.
£324.90
So D-rings are few and far between, pockets are usually small or even non-existent, and general accessories kept to an absolute minimum. While this is perfect for the globetrotter, it does mean that the diver who also dives in colder waters and perhaps needs more features has to buy two jackets. But is there a BC that has attributes to satisfy both situations?
Italian equipment manufacturer Cressi-sub thinks so - and it's called the Aqua Ride. Made from 420-denier nylon, it's a medium-weight jacket at 3.5kg. We strapped it onto a 12-litre Faber cylinder and took it for several dives to find out how it performs.
We managed to stuff 4kg into each
of the weight pouches (it is weight-integrated) and a further 2kg in the rear trim pockets, giving us a total of 12kg, which was the perfect weight to find me neutral at 5m. Sliding the pouches into position was not a problem and could easily be done while wearing the BC. Cressi's redesign of its Lock Aid quick-release mechanism is as good as the renowned SureLock system by SeaQuest, if not better.
With the weights in place, the two generous and easily accessible zip-up pockets allowed me to carry a small reel, delayed SMB and a backup torch, and still have room left for other accessories. We tested the large size, which was easily big enough for me when wearing a drysuit - indeed, I had the cummerbund on the smallest setting. This involved having to remove the soft backpack padding - this was a bit fiddly, but in fairness, you will
only do this once.
Exploring the BC, you'll find four chunky D-rings - two on the shoulders and two below the pockets - with a further two smaller D-rings above the pockets. Two more plastic D-rings on the sides of the waist strap mean that this BC probably caters for the majority of kit configurations. In the water, the power inflator worked perfectly - and, with a choice of three
dump valves, jettisoning gas was straightforward in any orientation. I tried
it with a single 12-litre cylinder, and on a few dives, I also had a three-litre pony attached - with its 16.3kg buoyancy, it
had no problem keeping me high and out
of the water on the surface. The backplate has two holes with stainless-steel grommets fitted, so the Aqua Ride could also take a small twin-set at a push.
We tried very hard to fault this BC, but we simply couldn't. At just the wrong side of £300, it is pretty good value - about mid-table in comparison with other jackets on the market. In conclusion, the Aqua
Ride is an excellent all-round BC, which
is exactly what the manufacturer set out
to produce.
DIVE says…
Great all-round BC
Value 9
Performance 9
