9 Best Travel BCDs in 2023 (Reviewed & Tested)

It’s not easy to find the best travel BCD that’ll suit both your needs and wants. There are so many BCDs sold in the market today.

Compared to the normal BCD, a travel BCD is easier to pack and more lightweight. Some even have the feature a travel sack and can be folded!

However, there are trade offs to a travel BCD. Because its lighter and more compact, some are less durable than others.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best travel BCDs to help you find the right one for you!

Our Top Picks

9 Best Travel BCDs

• Best Value-Oceanic Jetpack Travel BCD 
• Most Comfortable-Scubapro Litehawk with Balanced Inflator 
• A Buoyant Underwater Companion-Oceanic Biolite Travel BCD 
• Makes You Feel Light Underwater-Aqua Lung Zuma Travel BCD 
• A Dry Weight Handy Travel BCD –Cressi Travelight Scuba CBD 
• An Inflated Buoyancy Device-Zeagle Scout BCD 
• A Lumbar Support Like No Other-Scubapro Go BCD
• Your Scuba Diving Companion-Zeagle Stiletto Scuba BCD 
• Your Leisure Companion-Dive Rite TravelPac BCD 

1. Oceanic Jetpack Travel BCD 

Best Value

Key Features:

• Weight pockets
• Backpack conversion
• Resistant to damages 

You don’t have to bring a large bag with weight pockets to carry an Oceanic Jetpack Travel BCD. This best travel jacket style BCD quickly turns into a backpack that’s a perfect companion when you’re on the go. 

Although a lightweight BCD Oceanic Jetpack is easy to carry, it’s also resistant to damages. You don’t have to worry about buying another Oceanic jetpack lightweight travel BCD right away once the gear you have is damaged. Having said this, you save money having an Oceanic Jetpack best travel BCD. 

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2. Scubapro Litehawk with Balanced Inflator 

Most Comfortable

Key Features: 

• Balanced inflator
• Pleasant to use
• Integrated weight pockets 

A Scubapro Litehawk dive gear with a balanced inflator has a comfortable padded portion on the shoulders. So, this gear is pleasant to put on while doing an underwater activity under a lift capacity. The clean slate form of this gear prevents inconvenience in lift capacity while you’re diving underwater.

A Scubapro Litehawk with a Balanced Inflator with integrated weight pockets is the second travel BCD most light to carry. What’s more, it’s one of the most affordable denier nylon travel BCD, too!

The comfort in doing multiple movements using a Scubapro Litehawk with trim weight pockets enables you to do strenuous activities underwater. The said lightest bcd gear is excellent for photographers, cave, and wreck divers to use. 

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3. Oceanic Biolite Travel BCD 

A Buoyant Underwater Companion 

Key Features 

• Bioflex material with shoulder straps
• Does a quick release 
• Foldable in a low-profile backpack

The buoyancy control device is the most affordable travel BCD. It has a Bioflex material with shoulder straps which makes you find it easy to use and gives off a sensation of a tight fit. You’ll feel the weight of using this gear with shoulder straps as balanced.

This gear makes you do a quick release while you’re using it underwater, regardless of how much weight you put on it. The Oceanic Biolite Travel BCD is easily foldable in a low-profile backpack with an attached air bladder. 

This gear’s bladders zippered pockets are at its back portion. Thus, moving underwater with a waist strap is easier when you use it for scuba diving. 

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4. Aqua Lung Zuma Travel BCD 

Makes You Feel Light Underwater 

Key Features: 

• A d rings gear
• Has e valves 
• It gives a comfortable dry weight feeling

The Aqua Lung Zuma is the lightest travel BCD that exists. You can roll up this d rings gear; thus, it’s easy to have it packed and carry it around with you. Its chest strap with d rings can be adjusted per your comfort preference.

The E valves’ fully adjustable diving harness minimizes the bulk of the weight you’ll feel when using an Aqua Lung Zuma. For an additional comfortable dry weight feeling, you can count on Aqua Lung’s padded back and lumbar features. 

This gear is also famous for having dry-weight flat relief valves for excellent streamlining. 

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5. Cressi Travelight Scuba CBD 

A Dry Weight Handy Travel BCD 

Key Features:

• Pockets with air bladders
• Has 8 D Rings 
• Sizable 

Cressi Travelight Scuba CBD has a dry-weight quick folding feature. You can fold it within only a few seconds. Its pockets with air bladders are suitable for carrying different weights of its accessories. Cressi’s 8D rings are where the scuba gear accessories are around.

You can put your other things while you’re on the go in Cressi’s two-zippered accessory pockets with plastic d rings. These pockets can store a substantial number of the best scuba diving gear with weight integration. 

This gear has an entirely adjustable packing space backplate backed up with extra padded shoulder straps features.

Using Cressi Travelight enables you to have a travel buoyancy control device with your air cell puff up from your body to avoid restricting your movements while diving with other scuba divers with torso adjustable shoulder straps. 

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6. Zeagle Scout BCD 

An Inflated Buoyancy Device 

Key Features: 

• Small and lightly built
• Made of 420 denier nylon
• Suitable to use when in warm waters. 

The Zeagle Scout is an inflated back device for buoyancy control with excellent travel BCD reviews in a list of lightweight travel bcds.

This gear has a small and lightly built frame 420 denier nylon. Because of this, a Zeagle Scout with two zippered pockets is an excellent companion when traveling and diving in warm waters.

A Zeagle Scout with inflating dry weight feature is one of the durable BCDs available in the market. The balancing of weight is at the back of the gear, though. So, it’s hard to have the weight limit reachable and let them go with chest straps when there’s a need to do so. 

One of the most important things to remember is that a Zeagle Scout BCD with a fully flexible backpack is very expensive!

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7. Scubapro Go BCD 

A Lumbar Support Like No Other 

Key Features: 

• 210 nylon material 
• Adjustable straps
• With an Airnet backpack

A Scubapro Go BCD has a 210 nylon material with a neutral buoyancy coating of polyurethane coating. This gear has straightforward rotating shoulder buckles that can easily do a quick-release shoulder buckles movement while you’re using it underwater, provided there’s lumbar support around.

Scubapro Go is foldable and is handy to pack. It has a standard BCD in adjustable straps travel sack to put your gear accessories, best rated scuba compass, dive knife, and other travel items. 

You’ll get the comfort you need using this express tech buoyancy compensator gear with a unique retractable strap, thanks to a water-draining jacket style BCDs AirNet backpack.

You should find it easy to drift above the water with the help of integrated weights Scubapro Go’s wraparound air bladder attached. 

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8. Zeagle Stiletto Scuba BCD 

Your Scuba Diving Companion 

Key Features:

• Stainless Steel D Rings 
• Releasable weights 
• Ripcord

This handy integrated weights underwater gear is an excellent companion for scuba diving in warm and moderately temperate water. This gear with integrated weights stainless steel d rings can carry a sizable weight of things in a readily releasable operational weight savings system.

The integrated average bcd weights in Zeagle Stiletto has a ripcord that operates while you’re diving underwater to release all weight pockets that can only have too little lift.

This gear’s trim pockets are also easy to dispose of due to its ability to do rapid deflation in a travel bag. 

However, keep in mind that the Zeagle Stiletto Scuba BCD is a middle to high-class type of BCD with integrated weights. So, not many recreational divers can afford them. 

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9. Dive Rite TravelPac BCD 

Your Leisure Companion 

Key Features: 

• TransPac weight system 
• Travel EXP production weight system 
• Torso for support 

A Dive Rite TravelPac BCD is a light, buoyant underwater companion in cold water with small weights. This gear materializes as a result of a mix of TransPac and Travel EXP production weight systems.

This gear is an excellent tool for leisure underwater activity and diving in warm waters. A Dive Rite TravelPac also has a torso where the tank’s weight can lean for stability for easy usage. 

Even if you’re wearing either a 3 mm wetsuit, drysuit or a rash guard, a Dive Rite TravelPac allows for a comfortable and sufficient fit of your underwater clothing. 

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What Should I Look for When Buying the Best Travel BCD’s

Lift Capacity 

A travel BCD needs to support your body while you’re underwater. For this reason, the weight it provides must be comfortable enough so that it doesn’t feel like a burden when being used for hours on end.

A lightweight BCD is very important if you need to fly with your gear often; however, many people overlook this when deciding which equipment they should use on their next dive trip abroad!

Fit

A BCD should be the perfect size to not only fit your body but also allow you to move around underwater with ease. The right-sized travel BCD does this by submerging just below your neck and covering you from the top head down, while still allowing room for movement.

A BCD should be loose enough to allow breathing and movement, but not so tight that it restricts you. If the BCD is too big on your body then it will float up when submerged in water which may cause problems with buoyancy.

Style 

A BCD must be fashionable and stylish. It’s style is paramount, as it needs to fit the body well enough for you to enjoy underwater activities without discomfort.

Colors and patterns are all a personal preference for style. What you like the best is what you should wear, but there’s one more detail to consider with travel scuba gear: safety.

Dry Weight 

Another feature to consider when selecting the perfect travel BCD is weight. The BCD should be light and dry so it can stay afloat in water for as long as possible even if you’re underwater!

Pockets and Rings

Pockets are where you keep the other items in a BCD. They provide optimal support for your travel needs with rings providing increased stability and security.

As divers, we need to carry our tools with us at all times. Yet what many start doing when they go on a dive is take off their pockets and attachment points in order to lower weight. When selecting a travel BCD, make sure that the one you pick has space for your normal items.

Dump Valves 

Dump valves are important safety features and allow you to adjust the air in your BCD quickly. These dump valves typically come with two or more, one on either shoulder; they’re an essential feature for any diver’s gear!

Inflator 

Inflators are an important part of a travel BCD since it enables you to breathe normally underwater by filling the device with air. The inflator is the most important and useful part of a BCD.

It has two functions that allow you to inflate or deflate your suit, but it also supplies air when needed for things like clearing water from your mask’s lens.

Deflator 

When your travel BCD is full of excessive air, you can deflate off some air using a special device. Once you’ve released the excess gas from your body’s regulator, you’ll be able to breathe normally again. A deflator button is a crucial part of your BCD and must always be checked when looking for a BCD.