bcd's don't last forever

[Dive Bunnie]

It's official, my bcd is on its last legs!!!

I will say though that I have had it for six years, it looked brand spanking new until only last year, so was well worth the investment I feel.

I am even getting as near to the exact same BCD to replace it, which I guess has to be the final seal of approval.

And what kind of BCD are we talking? The Seaquest Diva LX. I stress the LX, as I have since tried on the Diva xlt, and it is a very basic version of the former. Great if you only do a little diving now and again, but not suitable if you are guiding, teaching or spending any decent amount of time in the water. So I am getting the luxury version.

I will say though, that it has worn exceptionally well. But in recent months, the little bits have started to go, and it now has a replacement corrugated hose, shoulder dump and what is really swinging the table in favour of a new one is that I have had to majorly patch up the bladder itself where it has simply worn thin with over use!!!

RIP my faithful friend hehe.

[Dive Bunnie]

And it seems that a good design doesn't last forever either!

I do wonder why when a company has created possibly the best women's bcd ever, they decide to discontinue it??? Ok I know it has been in existence for probably about 8 or more years now, but just as all the original faithfuls are starting to fall apart, their owners will find that they cannot be replaced!!!

Apparently the Diva LX has been replaced with the Pearl i3. For a start, whilst I am one of the most girlie of girlies, I do find the Pearl a little too pink. But most importantly it doesn't have the traditional corrugated hose dump. It has a funky little button on the side, which very much like the Mares Hub, I have seen to be far from what it promises, and so completely different that it would be impossible to teach with.

So.. I have ended up having a friend of mine run around half of Southern England trying to get me an extra small Diva LX from some of the shops that have older stock! What a nightmare.

It still does beg the question "if it's not broke, why fix it?". But Seaquest have opted not to respond to my email asking this very question.

[Dive Bunnie]

Yay! I have my shiny new Diva LX bcd in my sweaty little hand, and will be fun diving in it tomorrow! Coool.

I owe about 50 million sakaras (beer) for the favour, but it will be worth it. I tried it out in the pool this morning and it was great.. well very much like my current bcd, except the inflator button works properly and it doesn't leak bubbles!!!

I will say the pockets are smaller though which is a shame, but it is still very good.