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Buddy Commando BCD with Inflator but no cylinder
Author:	Tim Saville
'THE BUILD QUALITY OF THE COMMANDO IS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER '
Strengths:
Weaknesses:	It is a fairly heavy BCD but nowhere near as heavy as the back plate/manifolded twin set option.
Overall:	As a regular diver in a variety of conditions, I own several BCD’s that suit all possible configurations. Or so I thought. It was only when a trip to Truk Lagoon started looming on the horizon that I began to consider my options. Taking the wing with bags of lift and a heavy backplate would take up all my luggage allowance and a single cylinder BCD would not give the safety margins I would need for 50 metre diving. Enter the new Buddy Commando. Yes it is a fairly heavy BCD but nowhere near as heavy as the back plate/manifolded twin set option. The relatively simple fitting of the double camband enabled us to use a pair of independent Ali 80 cylinders which would give us in excess of 4,500 litres of air per dive, plenty enough for the San Francisco Maru. That problem solved, I looked again at the little bells and whistles that the Commando has to offer. The closer I looked, the more impressed I became. Despite looking a little odd, the dsmb/reel fold away pocket worked perfectly, the roomy pockets were more than adequate and fitted with fumble free chunky zips. Even chunkier than that were the solid grips of the integrated weight system which closed with a clunk-click every trip. Dump valves were easy to locate and use and the carrying handle made lugging about particularly easy. I was still puzzled by the pouch provided for the AP Valves emergency breathing cylinder. Was this a superfluous addition for something that is not always widely used? Of course not, with the aid of a strong needle and a length of fishing line, I sewed up the bottom. It now fits my Greenforce umbilical torch battery in a perfect position, and can recommend this little adaption to anyone. The build quality of the Commando is of the highest order and the comfort level even when sporting twin cylinders is the best I’ve ever experienced. There's easily enough lift in the medium size to support either twin aluminium cylinders in a wet suit, or twin 12 litre steel cylinders in a drysuit. So impressed was I with the initial sea trials that all four of us on the Truk trip went armed with new Buddy Commandos. A true test of quality. A couple of suggestions for improvement would be the addition of trim weight pockets and a more user friendly low pressure/oral inflator.
Breakdown Overall Rating Performance       80% Quality       80% Value       80%     80%

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