BC Scubapro Go

MY EYES SOMETIMES GLAZE OVER when the representative of a company enthusiastically shows me a new product that as often as not looks much like the last one.
I admit that when I was presented with the Scubapro Go BC, I felt a yawn coming on.
That reaction was unjust, but a conventional BC does at first glance look like any other.
In fact the Go has some useful innovations over older models. Misleadingly, it has more features than the previous Geo, though fewer letters in its name. It’s a travel BC.

The BC
The Go looks strongly built yet is in fact quite lightweight. In size L it weighed in at only 2.6kg.
The buoyancy cell has the conventional shape of a BC, and the cummerbund and waist-strap are free to slide through loops in the cell, so there is no torso squeeze once it is fully inflated.
The shoulder harness has swivelling buckles and the large, easily accessed side pockets are fitted with zips that run in the right direction.
The six aluminium D-rings are securely attached, and although the BC is lightweight it is strongly enough made that I could demonstrate side-mounting a pair of 12-litre aluminium cylinders to some interested onlookers. It’s one of the few travel BCs available that is substantial enough to do this with.
When using an aluminium tank on the back in a conventional manner, there’s a conventional camband fitted low down to avoid that floaty empty-tank feeling. Stability is provided by a second Velcro-covered strap higher up, where one would normally expect to find the camband.
An integrated weight system at the front is big enough to take a total of 9kg – I used 6.
Pinch-clips combined with adjustable webbing secure the weight-pouches so that they stay snugly in position.
Best of all, this BC can be rolled up to fit into the single bag to which airlines are so keen to limit us economy class passengers. Mind you, it still has a soft cushion to make the tank against your back feel comfortable when you’re clad only in a thin suit.

In The Water
I was able to make my trademark headfirst dive into the water, tugging on the bottom dump-valve to shed any air remaining in the buoyancy cell and finning straight down onto the dive site. This gave me a slight edge over other photographers who were prone to faff about with their cameras at the surface.
I threaded the corrugated hose through the sternum strap so that it stayed where I wanted it, much to the consternation of our Filipino dive guide, who had never seen it done this way. Well, he wasn’t too old to learn.
This put the inflate and dump functions where I wanted them. I needed only to pull the corrugated hose to control venting air on ascent.
There is another dump valve on the right shoulder operated by a toggle at the end of a cord threaded down to pectoral-muscle level.
This conventional jacket-style BC design is ideal for single-tank diving. I used it with both 12- and 15-litre aluminium cylinders and was a little surprised to find that when fully inflated at the surface with the 12-litre, it was inclined to push me forward on my face at first.
I needed to put 2kg of my lead onto the camband to balance things up.
I eventually swapped to the larger cylinder, which both solved the problem and gave me more time in the water. It certainly held me high enough to make waiting to be picked up in the Pacific quite undramatic.

COMPARABLE BCS TO CONSIDER:
Cressi Travel Light, £287
Mares F-Light, £290
TUSA Voyager, £335

SPECS
PRICE £315
MAX LIFT (SIZE M) 14kg
SIZES XS, S, M, L, XL
DRY WEIGHT 2.6kg
INTEGRATED WEIGHTS 550g
TRIM-WEIGHT POCKETS No
ZIPPED POCKETS Two
CONTACT www.aqualung.com
DIVER GUIDE