BCD

A back-inflate BCD with a pneumatic valve that operates the inflater hose. I love it. No more struggling and spinning with the hose to deflate your BCD. This comes in a jacket style (Pearl i3) also, which I had intended to get. The jacket style has more storage and rings. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to try the Lotus, which I was sure I wasn't going to like. Surprise! Got it on and felt like I was diving naked :) Cons: The valve is in a pocket on the lower left side of the BCD. It does sacrifice a bit of storage space, but worth it. Also, if you need the extra small size, you get one or two less D rings than with the larger sizes. Finally, because this model (Lotus i3) is a back-inflate it's considered a "travel" style. However, the valve compromises the flexibility of the BCD making it more difficult to pack in a dive bag. It actually takes up more space in the bag than my old jacket style BCD. All in all, it's worth the small sacrifices!
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