Mares Magellan BCD - Review 2023

Designed to Travel

The Magellan is one of the lightest Travel BCDs on the market. It is 0.5lbs lighter than the Cressi Travelight.

In addition, it does not have a rigid/hard backplate like the Zeagle Ranger (a non-Travel BCD), so you can roll it up to fit a carry-on with the rest of your gear.

It is a minimalist setup but still gives the extra for accessories, with four D-Rings, a roll-up side pocket, and grommets for a knife. Travel Tip: Don’t forget to remove your dive knife from the grommets if you put all your gear in a carry-on.

Ergonomic Fit

The Magellan has a concave ergonomic shoulder strap design (patent pending) that cuts down on the BCD weight and provides an improved shoulder range of motion while diving.

Chest Strap

While the chest strap is not adjustable, the shoulder straps are. You can raise or lower the shoulder straps to control where the chest and shoulder strap cutouts sit.

The Magellan is a Unisex BCD. For many women, the fit through the chest is a deal breaker on Unisex BCDs. However, the adjustable shoulder straps, and the concave shoulder strap design, make it a good choice for some women—an important selling point for Mares.

BCDs explicitly tailored for a woman’s body, like the LadyHawk and Pearl, have adjustable chest straps but traditional shoulder straps. The Zeagle Zena tosses the whole chest trap out the window and uses a corset design instead. But these are not travel BCDs and won’t fold up as compactly for easy packing.

The takeaway, make sure you know the return policy where you are buying from and try on the BCD to ensure it’s the right fit for you. Everyone’s body is slightly different, and the last thing you want is a restricted range of motion through the shoulders or an uncomfortable fit across the chest.

Adjustable Cumberbund with Integrated Weights

The cumberbund is also adjustable, allowing you to increase or decrease the waistband size as necessary.

We are seeing this type of adjustment on more and more BCDs. Again, the benefit is a more comfortable fit, regardless of the size of the wetsuit you have on underneath.

Winged, BackInflate BCD

Buoyancy control is an essential aspect of diving. There are specialty courses taught to help you better control your buoyancy underwater. Why? Because better buoyancy means safer dives.

First, with better buoyancy, you are less likely to bump into the fragile underwater ecosystem. Second, with better buoyancy comes more control over your place in the water column, which is essential for safety stops and deep diving.

One criticism of back inflate BCDs, especially those with wings, is that on the surface, they tend to push you face-forward into the water. Jacket-style BCDs add air to both the back and sides of the BCD and tend to lessen this forward face-to-water experience.

A positive for the Magellan is underwater, as air is released from the BCD, the wings pull in (via internal elastic). The collapsing wings help to create a streamlined profile underwater. Not all back inflate BCDs have this feature, so the retractable wing is a plus on the Mares design.

Off the rack, the Magellan does not come with trim tabs. This means you carry all of your dive weight (click here to understand why we dive with weight) in the front pockets making a face-first into the water experience more likely.

The Magellan is a durable yet inexpensive BCD, so we suggest purchasing the optional trim tabs to better distribute your dive weight and help minimize the forward push of this back inflate BCD.

Unique Features: Whistle, Grommets, & D-Rings

The Magellan has a built-in whistle which is cool because it is an often overlooked but essential safety feature.

There is always a trade-off between functionality and weight on a Travel BCD. Here is how the Magellan balances.

The Magellan only has 4 D-Rings but does have grommets for a knife attachment.

Four D-Rings is a drawback if you like to carry extra gear like flashlights, slates, and cameras. The upside to the limited number of D Rings is their placement.

Two of the D-Rings are under the weight pockets, which is a great place to store your surface marker buoys (SMB) and keep them out of your way till you need them.

The Magellan has one small zippered pocket which stows under the waist weight pocket. It is a bonus if you need to carry a few extra accessories.

Price & Quality

Mares uses 420 Cordura Nylon Fabric with Radio Frequency (RF) Welded Seams in this BCD, creating airtight and waterproof seams, and ensuring long-lasting quality.

The Magellan is inexpensive compared to a non-travel BCD (like the Ranger) but slightly more than the Cressi Travellight Travel BCD.

Remember to purchase trim tabs (about $18.00 a pair) if you want to distribute the weight.

Overall the Magellan BCD comes in at a fair price.

Do We recommend it?

If you are looking for a lightweight, minimalist travel setup with extra mobility through the chest and shoulders, then the Magellan is the BCD for you.

The Magellan is streamlined, so it is light on D-Rings and pockets but has plenty of space for a minimalist dive setup.

The Magellan Travel BCD has some cool features like ergonomic, adjustable shoulder straps, knife grommets, and a built-in whistle.

If you travel to dive and need a comfortable, durable, lightweight travel BCD, with a nice balance of weight and storage, check out the Magellan.