Product:Scubapro Glide 3000 BC
Price:375
Manufacturer / Distributer:Scubapro/Uwatec Ltd
Scubapro enters adventurous new territory with this latest BC, which incorporates
a fixed inflator. Actually, Scubapro refers to it as the 'Integrated Power
Inflator', but having spent a week fumbling with it, I think of it as 'The
Annoying Little Button'.
Don't get me wrong - this is a solid BC, well manufactured, highly ergonomic
and suitable for a wide range of diving. But when we look back on this BC in a
few years' time, it will just be seen as a flawed stopgap between designs.
In common with its predecessor, the Glide 2000, this jacket is designed to fit
like a glove. The Glide's harnesses, rotating buckles and padded cummerbunds
mould the jacket to your body, enhancing control and agility in the water. The
jacket includes two large pouches for integrated weights at the front, and two
smaller ones on the back. The latter are intended primarily for counter-balance
weights to adjust trim in the water. Diving a drysuit, I put a couple of 4kg weights
in the front pockets and the same in the back. Underwater, I felt comfortable
in most positions.
So far, so good. But now we come to that power inflator, which sits on the left
side of the body, just above one of the zipped pockets. This is a new step for
Scubapro, although a similar system features on the Mares HUB. Of course, the
HUB went further by integrating a regulator system and a pneumatic dump into the
BC.
And the HUB went on to be a success, although lots of divers didn't like
the idea of the integrated regulator. You can see Scubapro's thought process
here: give the punters a modern, ergonomic Scubapro BC with a fixed inflate button
on the body, but let them use their own regulators.
The trouble is that whereas Mares puts its inflate/deflate buttons on a chunky
console which sits level with the hips, with Scubapro's Glide 3000 you get
one small button. This is fiddly to press when you're wearing even 3mm gloves,
and it sits awkwardly just under the shoulder strap. I tested the jacket in British
waters and found that, once it was pulled taut, the shoulder strap flapped over
the button.
Here's what it's like trying to locate and use the Glide 3000 inflate
button. Close your eyes and try to press an imaginary side-facing button in the
middle of your ribs on your left hand side. You have to bend your left arm out
as if you are doing a duck impersonation. Now, try doing the same to a button
mounted on your left hip, where the HUB inflate/deflate system sits. I find the
latter far more comfortable, but this is possibly a matter of personal preference.
You have just two options to dump air from the Glide 3000 - a toggle-pull
dump on the right shoulder or at the rear at kidney level, both of which work
well. Still, I like to have that third option on the inflate hose itself. There
is an oral inflate tube which is stored away behind a Velcro strap on the left
shoulder. In the water, I found this tricky to get at and slow to inflate the
jacket.
There's a lot about this jacket that is good, but my reaction to its key
innovation - the integrated power inflator - is that it is a gimmick,
and not one which has been well thought out.
Value verdict: 6 out of 10
Performance verdict: 6 out of 10
Sound jacket, flawed innovation
