Cressi

Cressi Travelight BCD

A back-inflation travel BCD from Cressi's Italian design house that folds down to about 135 cm3 for packing, without giving up an 8 D-ring accessory setup.

Travel-friendly

Lighter and more packable than a standard BCD of the same lift capacity, aimed at divers who fly to their diving.

Cressi Travelight BCD
$569.95
Released
Styleback inflation
Weight-integratedYes
Lift capacity36 lbs
Backplatenone
D-rings8
Trim pocketsYes
Material420D/210D nylon air cell with internal urethane lamination
Travel-friendlyYes
Dry weight2500g
Fitunisex
SizesXS-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
  • Folds to roughly 135 cm3 of packed volume, among the smallest of any back-inflation BCD Cressi sells
  • 8 D-rings plus 2 wide side pockets and 2 rear trim pockets give it more attachment and storage options than most travel BCDs
  • Integrated Lock-Aid weight system removes the need for a separate weight belt
Cons
  • Lift capacity tops out around 36 lb even in the largest size, less than Cressi's non-travel back-inflation models
  • Semi-rigid backplate trades some back support for foldability compared to a true rigid-backplate BCD
Diver community sentiment
Mostly positive

Across Scubaboard threads and independent reviews, divers consistently praise the Travelight for its light weight, tiny packed-down size, full-size pockets/D-rings, and low price, making it a favorite travel BCD for warm-water, single-tank diving. The most recurring criticism from actual owners is that its lift rating runs smaller than comparably sized standard BCDs, raising concern about marginal surface buoyancy once weight pockets are loaded, one poster measured noticeably less lift than a same-size Aquaride. A secondary, less universal concern questions whether the lightweight fabric sacrifices durability. No one reported it as unsafe; concerns are framed as "know its limits."

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

The Travelight is Cressi’s lightest back-inflation BCD, designed in Italy specifically for divers who fly to their dive sites. Its semi-rigid backplate lets the jacket fold flat for packing while still carrying 8 D-rings, 2 zippered side pockets, and 2 rear trim pockets. It suits travel and warm-water divers who prioritize packed size and weight over the higher lift capacities of dedicated cold-water or technical BCDs.