Apeks Exotec BCD

Apeks Exotec BCD

The Exotec is a hybrid, and that is the whole point of it. It has the articulated backplate and streamlined profile of a wing system, with the pockets, integrated comfort and one-hand adjustment of a jacket BCD. Apeks built it for divers who want backplate performance without committing to a bare harness.

The feature that makes it work is the BioReact articulating waist. The backplate pivots at your waist rather than staying rigid, so it follows you when you twist or reach instead of fighting you. Sit in a boat wearing a conventional backplate for an hour and you will understand why this matters.

Because it behaves as a wing rather than a jacket, we list it with our wings and backplate systems alongside the rigs it actually competes with, not with the jacket BCDs it looks more like.

• BioReact articulating waist system, backplate pivots with your body
• Wrapture harness with swivel shoulder buckles and low-profile backplate
• GripTek fabric to stop the BCD shifting on the surface and underwater
• Armoguard bladder material, abrasion resistant and fast drying
• Lightweight anodised aluminium hardware
• G-Hook chest strap and tank retainer, one-hand adjustment
• Three-position height adjustable backplate
• Two flat folding pockets that tuck away to reduce drag

Why divers choose the Exotec

The articulating waist solves the rigid backplate problem

A conventional backplate is a flat sheet strapped to your spine. It performs beautifully horizontal and awkwardly everywhere else, which is why kitting up, climbing a ladder and sitting on a RIB tube are all less comfortable than they need to be. The Exotec pivots at the waist and removes most of that.

Backplate trim without backplate commitment

You get the flat, streamlined body position that back inflation gives you, without threading webbing, cutting it to length, or losing your pockets. For divers who want better trim but do not want a technical rig, this is the shortest route.

GripTek keeps it where you put it

The fabric is designed to stop the BCD sliding around your exposure suit. On the surface in chop, a BCD that rides up around your ears is genuinely unpleasant. GripTek is a small thing that you notice by its absence elsewhere.

Serviced in-house by our own technicians

Inflators and dump valves are wear items and they fail at the worst moments. Like every BCD and wing we sell, the Exotec can be serviced in-house at our UK dive centre, so it is checked and back to you without leaving the country.

Features that matter underwater

Wrapture harness system

Swivel shoulder buckles combined with a low-profile backplate. The swivels let the shoulder straps follow your shoulders rather than digging into them, which is what stops the whole rig sliding upward when you are vertical at the surface.

Armoguard bladder

Abrasion resistant, fast drying, and slick enough that it does not hold bacteria the way a textured bladder does. Fast drying is the underrated part if your kit lives in a bag between weekends.

G-Hook chest strap and tank retainer

Both operate one-handed. Kitting up on a moving boat with one hand on a rail is exactly when you appreciate this, and it is why Apeks put the same mechanism on both.

Flat folding pockets

Two large pockets that tuck flat when empty. You keep the storage without carrying the drag of a permanently open pocket for the entire dive.

Where the hybrid sits

Against a traditional jacket BCD, the Exotec puts you flatter in the water and streamlines better, at a higher price. Against a bare backplate and wing, it costs you some ultimate configurability and gives you back comfort, pockets and a rig you can put on without a fitting session.

Against the Exotec-S, this is the fuller-featured version. The S is the more streamlined sibling with the same BioReact waist. If you carry more kit and want the larger pockets, take this one.

The divers we sell the most Exotecs to are people who have outgrown a jacket BCD, tried a friend's backplate, liked the trim and disliked everything else about it. That is the gap this fills.

Who the Exotec is for

• Divers who want backplate trim without a bare webbing harness
• Anyone who finds a rigid backplate uncomfortable out of the water
• Divers upgrading from a jacket BCD who still want pockets and integrated weights
• People who kit up on small boats and value one-hand adjustment
• Divers who want a single BCD for UK and warm water

Who it may not be for: technical divers heading for twinsets and stages. You want a proper plate and wing you can rebuild around, not a hybrid. If that is the direction, buy the technical rig now.

Specifications

Buying the Exotec

This is what we recommend to divers who want the performance of a backplate and the practicality of a jacket. It is not the cheapest BCD and it is not a technical rig, and it was never trying to be either.

Get the size and backplate height set properly and it is one of the most comfortable things you can dive. Get it wrong and you lose exactly the feature you paid for, which is why we would rather fit it than post it blind.