Sitting on the tailgate of the truck I secured my BCD then stood up ready for the dive when to my surprise my tank slipped. Hmm that’s funny, I have not had that happen in years. So I sat back down to fix it when I discovered that “Noooooooooooooo” it was the whole tank back plate that had torn away from the body of my beloved old BCD. This BCD was one of the first Lady cut BCD’s to hit the market and I purchased when I became an Instructor so it has had a long and productive life. I was devastated as it had not missed a beat, was still extremely comfortable and had all the features I had become accustom to.

Reluctantly I made a list of what I loved about my BCD and Emma went on a search for my replacement. A few days later a ScubaPro Bella arrived. I gave it the once over and found it ticked all the boxes and more. The contour fit my body like a glove with a soft padded back plate and even the shoulders had a spongy feel so once my steel tank and weights were in place it was actually more comfortable than my old one! The material is strong and you can feel the quality. It had areas that has a matte finish which also gives it a bit of style!

It did take me a few dives to get my buoyancy right, the deflate button is on the side not on the top of the low pressure inflater which made me have to think about it a bit plus the inflate button gives a healthy amount of air compared to my old one so I played around with half squirts and full squirts. I like the way it holds me in the water with little effort needed to adjust position in the water. Hopefully I will never need someone to do it to me, but on the shoulder of the LPI there is a little switch to allow someone else to deflate without taking a hold of the diver. Would be great for students and Disco divers!

I love the weight pockets, no velcro or finicky clips that you have to hold your tongue the right way to connect. They slide in easy with a simple clip to secure in place, you can adjust the tension so they do not fall out plus the weights are held in with a zipper. All of these features I have enjoyed when giving weights out to overly buoyant divers. There are nice big pockets on both sides with easy to operate zippers. This is useful for me as I am a rubbish collector and will fill my pockets with plastic and other nasties.

Overall I am extremely happy with my new Bella BCD. I am still working out where I want all my toys to hang off me using the variety of D-rings but am confident that soon I will be 100% set up The only thing that would have made it better was to get a pink one! Yes ladies it does come in pink but I must have been naughty cause I got a Black/Navy one. Don’t get me wrong this BCD looks classy so if you are not a pink girl, No Problem!

Cherie Dodd

PADI Instructor ~ Let’s Go Adventures