Stop Lugging Around Your Heavy BPW
I am a backplate/wing (BPW) diver. I haven’t always been, but I conduct the vast majority of my dives with a BPW. I keep it simple—a stainless steel backplate, a harness, a wing, and (probably more than I need) D-rings and clips. And I don’t like change.
That is, until I tried the Cressi Aquawing. It’s a continuous weave BPW, but, unlike my personal unit, it comes with an aluminum backplate, which means I had to do some math. Once I added a few pounds to make up for missing my stainless steel backplate (about six pounds, give or take) I was ready to go.
For starters, the Aquawing is quite comfortable. The “air net” padding on the shoulder straps and over the backplate is soft and supple. The harness really conforms to your body. Generally, once you adjust a continuous weave harness how you want it, you just leave it alone. This can make adjustments for diving a drysuit or going the other way to skins difficult.
The Aquawing’s “Modular Adjustment System,” however, makes adjusting the harness a breeze. You simply pull on the waist straps to tighten the shoulder straps, and to loosen it, just pull out on the shoulder straps.
I knew I had a great travel BPW when I dived the Aquawing and it felt exactly how my daily BPW felt. The two weight pockets are on the back, on the tank straps, rather than on the belt or in ditchable pockets. Having the weight where I was used to it was a game changer.
By the nature of this design, you cannot ditch weight in an emergency. If doing so is a concern for you, Cressi makes a variation of the Aquawing, called the Aquawing Plus, that comes with integrated, ditchable weight pockets.
Generally, when we categorize equipment by price, we expect said equipment’s quality to match. For example, we know that a budget piece of equipment will be bare bones, while a luxury piece of equipment will have all the bells and whistles.
With the Aquawing falling into the mid-range category one would expect it to be middle of the road quality—but with the Aquawing you’d be wrong. This BCD feels and performs much like its more-expensive counterparts. For a solid BPW you’d pay well over $1000, but with the Aquawing you’re spending only half as much.
Having a BPW that weighs just over six pounds makes a world of difference for me. I actually flew to Mexico at one point with my heavy kit. Talk about overage fees. The Aquawing has changed the way I look at aluminum backplates and travel BPWs. This will be in my bag for years to come.
Spec Breakdowns & Features
The Cressi Aquawing is a lightweight backplate/wing setup. With an aluminum backplate, and weighing just over six pounds (6.39 lbs.) it is one of the lightest backplate systems on the market.
It’s also one of the most comfortable and easily adjustable continuous weave harness systems on the market. The “air net” shoulder strap and backplate covers are both extremely comfortable and fast drying.
Two cam bands ensure your cylinder stays where you want it to. The thermoplastic rubber integrated cylinder rest that holds your tank in place ensures that it won’t slip and you’ll stay in perfect trim your entire dive.
Two trim pockets attached on the tank strap can hold up to five pounds each, and, when weighted correctly, you’ll feel like wearing a traditional stainless steel backplate.
Accessories
Cressi makes almost every accessory you could want from bags, to wetsuits, watches, and even apparel. You can’t go wrong with Cressi masks and snorkels. One of our favorite accessories is a good dive knife. You never know when you might have to cut an abandoned fishing line. The Cressi Skorpion does the trick nicely.
Price/Quality Ratio
Generally, when you buy an entire BPW setup, and all that this includes, you expect to pay more than if you were to buy a traditional jacket. That’s just the way this gear is priced. When you add it all up and figure the cost of a good wing, a nice backplate, and a good harness it starts to add up.
That’s where the Cressi Aquawing changes the game. Not only do you get a good wing, a great harness, and an aluminum backplate, you get it at roughly the same cost as a traditional jacket BCD.
The Aquawing is one of the better BCDs we tested, and it makes perfect sense at this mid-range price point for divers to buy it as a travel BPW, a transitional BPW going from jacket to BPW, or as an everyday BPW.
Do we recommend the Cressi Aquawing?
We do recommend the Cressi Aquawing BCD. It is a great BCD from a great manufacturer. It’s a perfect setup for the BPW diver looking for a travel-specific unit, a diver looking to transition from a jacket-style BCD, or even as an everyday BCD.
Wearing a BPW setup changes your diving for the better. Your trim generally becomes better and there is nothing at your waist to encumber your movements. Also, the air pocket is directly above you, rather than surrounding you with smaller air pockets. This makes it easier to maintain perfect neutral buoyancy.
But, carrying around a heavy steel backplate makes traveling with a BPW a burden. Divers who use a BPW aren’t knocking down the doors to find a travel jacket-style BCD. With a dry weight of just over six pounds, BPW divers can have a BCD that performs and looks just like their personal kit.
Ultimately, we recommend the Aquawing, not simply because of its lightness, or because it’s a great setup to transition to BPW, but because of the price-to-quality ratio. You could search high and low but you’d be hard-pressed to find a BCD that offers as much as the Aquawing does at its price point.
In this case, mid-range cost does not mean mid-range quality. With other BPW setups costing nearly double what the Aquawing costs you’re not only saving money, you’re also getting a BCD that can compete with more pricey units.
Specs & Features
| Inflation | Wing (Back-inflate) |
|---|---|
| Weight | 6.39 pounds |
| Lift capacity | 29.3 pounds |
| Clips/D-rings | Four stainless steel D-rings |
| Adjustment points | Continuous weave; adjusts at hips and crotch strap |
| Tank attachment | Two cam-bands |
| Weight capacity | 5 pounds per trim pocket |
The more I read about this model and its variants the more I like it.