Sherwood Scuba

Sherwood Avid BCD (CQR-3)

A jacket-style, weight-integrated BCD with six D-rings, dual tank bands, and an unusually wide XS–3XL size range.

Sherwood Avid BCD (CQR-3)
3.9Comparison Score
$725
Buy on AmazonBuy on Scuba.com
Released2013
Stylejacket
Weight-integratedYes
Lift capacity32 lbs
Backplatenone
D-rings6
Trim pocketsYes
Material1000 Denier nylon
Travel-friendlyNo
Dry weight3629g
Fitunisex
SizesXS–3XL

"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
  • Six stainless D-rings plus dual tank bands give strong accessory and cylinder-stability options
  • XS–3XL size range covers more body types than most jacket BCDs
  • Releasable weight pockets (16–26 lb capacity) are paired with dedicated non-releasing trim pockets
Cons
  • Jacket-style design gives less in-water trim control than back-inflate or wing designs
  • Bulkier than travel-focused BCDs, less ideal for air travel
Diver community sentiment
Mostly positive

Long-running Scubaboard threads praise the Avid's CQR integrated-weight system as one of the best on the market, alongside solid D-ring placement and trim, with several owners reporting hundreds of reliable dives (400-500+) without issue. The main recurring concern is long-term durability on older units: divers with rigs in the 10-15+ year range report the plastic cam-band brackets becoming brittle and cracking with age, though this is described as an aging-plastic issue rather than a defect affecting newer units.

Scubaboard: Sherwood Avid discussionScubaboard: Avid cam-band bracket durabilityScubaboard: is the Avid worth it

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

The Avid is Sherwood’s mainstream jacket-style BCD, built with a weight-integrated harness, six D-rings, and dual tank bands. It’s aimed at recreational divers who want a conventional, stable jacket BC across a broad size run rather than a technical wing configuration.