Cressi

Cressi Aquawing Max BCD

The higher-lift sibling to the Aquawing Plus, adding roughly 30% more buoyancy on the same one-size aluminum-backplate wing platform.

Wing / backplate

Modular harness and wing, the standard technical-diving setup. Expect to configure backplate, wing, and harness separately rather than buying a fixed jacket.

Cressi Aquawing Max BCD
4.6Comparison Score
$1199.95
Buy on AmazonBuy on Scuba.com
Released2024
Stylewing backplate
Weight-integratedYes
Lift capacity38 lbs
Backplatealuminum
D-rings5
Trim pocketsYes
MaterialCordura wing fabric with Air-Net padded harness
Travel-friendlyYes
Dry weight3900g
Fitunisex
SizesOne-size (MAS-adjustable, fits XS-XL)

"Lift capacity" is the manufacturer-rated buoyancy the wing/bladder can provide at the surface. Match it to your exposure suit, tank, and weighting, not the biggest number available.

Pros
  • 38 lb (170N) of lift is a meaningful step up from the Aquawing Plus, better suited to drysuits, heavy ballast, or cold-water exposure gear
  • Shares the anodized aluminum backplate and Modular Adjustment System harness with the Plus, so sizing and fit stay just as simple
  • Front ditchable weight pockets plus rear tank-band trim pockets in one package
Cons
  • At roughly 3.9 kg (8.6 lb) dry, it's noticeably heavier to travel with than the Aquawing Plus
  • No stainless-steel backplate option, so cold-water divers wanting extra negative buoyancy have to add Cressi's separate accessory weight bar
Diver community sentiment
Mostly positive

Scuba Diving magazine's ScubaLab testers named the Aquawing Max their Testers Choice for back-inflation BP/W-style BCDs, praising the quick-disconnect crotch strap for fast donning and doffing, the padded harness for comfort in and out of the water, and how easily the Modular Adjustment System fine-tunes fit even mid-dive. Independent reviewers at DIVEIN echo that take, framing it as a comfortable middle ground between jacket BCDs and full tech-style BP/W rigs with solid trim and stability. The recurring gripes are minor: no integrated tank leash, some divers can feel the aluminum backplate through the padding, and the inflator hose could be longer. A ScubaBoard poster shopping for a single BCD that works for both cold local diving and warm-water travel also cited the Max favorably for its lighter hourglass-shaped plate and higher lift over the standard Aquawing.

Scuba Diving / ScubaLab: Best Scuba BCDs, Testers Choice write-upDIVEIN: Cressi Aquawing Max reviewScubaboard: BPW help thread mentioning the Aquawing Max

Summarized from public forum discussion (Scubaboard, Reddit, and similar), not a survey we ran ourselves. See the linked threads for the original conversations.

The Aquawing Max is Cressi’s higher-lift, one-size backplate-and-wing BCD, sharing its aluminum backplate and Modular Adjustment System harness with the Aquawing Plus but stepping up to roughly 38 lb of lift. Made in Italy’s design tradition since 1946, it’s built for single-tank divers who need more buoyancy margin than the standard Aquawing Plus offers, such as those diving drysuits, thick wetsuits, or carrying extra ballast. It sits at the top of Cressi’s wing-style lineup, above the Plus and well above the brand’s jacket and back-inflation travel BCDs.