Comparing the Balance and the Dimension i3

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Malpaso

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My LDS had a Balance that I was looking at the other night, and decided to do some research on it at the Aqualung web site. Since a couple of the guys I dive with have the Black Ice/Black Diamond, I started to compare them. Then I moved on to the Dimension i3. Since I really don't need all that the Black Ice has, I narrowed it down to the Balance and Dimension.

From putting the spec sheets side by side, other than the d-rings, the only differences I see are the i3 (major difference) and the harness system (seems like a personal preference thing). Am I correct in that analysis? Am I missing anything?
 
It's a case of gadgets vs simplicity. The balance is a solid, simple BCD that performs very well in the water. I had one for many years until moving to BP/W.


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It's a case of gadgets vs simplicity.

Are you categorizing the i3 as a gadget, or other items on the Dimension?
 
The i3 inflation system as a gadget.


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I agree. It's non-standard. So can only be fixed at an Aqualung dealer. Not that there aren't a lot of them all over but you may not always find one close by. Any shop has a $25 standard inflator hanging on the wall - or can cannibalize any of their BC's to get you back in the water - 2 cable ties is all it takes.

My bigger problem with the I3 is that if you're swimming in a tight space, there's a possibility to snag and activate it. Possibly pushing you down into silt or up into some structure. (I'm thinking caves/caverns and wrecks) There's a recent thread here showing some recreational divers diving a safe passage in one of the florida caves. Until one of them kicks the bottom and silts it up. Vis goes to zero when that happens even with bright lights.

And there's all those linkages that make it work. A standard inflator works because all it is is a simple valve at the end of an open hose. And user srviceable if you have the tool and a basic knowledge of how they work. I had a problem with mine once on the first day of a week-long trip to Bonaire - kept sticking open. So I aborted that dive, dropped it in the rinse tank for an hour. Came back, smacked it against the side of the tank a couple times and I used it that week and for the next several years after that. I still would be except my BC (Zeagle) came out with their BX inflator - you screw a garden hose to it to rinse your bc bladder. How do you do that with an I3?

Your standard power inflator buttons are a lot harder to accidentally depress.

It just seems like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. You really need a lever to control your buouyancy? How about just pushing a button? Someone in another thread posted it's more streamlined. Which it probably is. But when someone has to save your ass because you're unconscious, I hope they know where to look for it. Because it's not in a standard location and neither is the oral inflator. And which way to push/pull it to start you back up. In an emergency at a lot of depth they may be narced as well. And maybe it's not your buddy but someone else who gets to you first. Going to show everyone on every dive boat from now on how to properly use one?

I actually looked twice to find the oral inflator the first time I saw one in the store. Most divers know where a normal one is.

I'm not a big fan of their flat valve system either. They're non-standard so parts may be more difficult to find if you break one.
What’s more, when you push the lever down, all the dumps, upper and lower, open at the same time! Special one-way valves prevent the water from getting into the BC.
That must be related to the fact that opening them all in some positions would allow water into the bladder. I've never had a problem selecting which of my 3 pull-dumps to pull - it's usually the one pointing up...LOL

Just buy a non-I3 Dimension. I do like some of the features it has. Or is that the Balance? I'm sure I've seen a non-I3 Dimension somewhere. I've seen several other versions of alternate inflation systems in the past - primarily from Mares. (Google Mares Hub - one of the biggest fiascoes of the last decade) But you don't anymore...Have to wonder about why?
 
I love scubaboard. Where else can you find the same conversation over and over? Is a drysuit standard? Full face mask? Doubles? Quick dump weight pockets? Split fins? Doesn't that make them dangerous? So would flying in an ultralight be safer than a 737 because there a fewer parts?

Evaluate for yourself, think it through and buy what YOU prefer.
 
I love scubaboard. Where else can you find the same conversation over and over?...Evaluate for yourself, think it through and buy what YOU prefer.
if you read my original post, I wasn't asking for an evaluation, or which one I should buy. I was asking for a comparison of specifications, as I had only seen the Balance in person, and was only going off the spec sheets on line. If there is another post somewhere on SB that asks for a spec comparison between these two, please post the link to it. I did not find one via the search function. Otherwise, I don't see where this is "the same conversation".
 
Please don't take offense. I was referring to the responses that you got and will likely get. Every time a question is raised about the i3, it will be called an overly complicated marketing gadget that is a temporary fad etc. Scenariois will be raised about rescue confusion and potential death. This advice will come from those who have never tried it and there will be opinions but very few facts. They will also hate split fins.

I love not having a extra 'hose' hanging around and actually prefer the oral inflator to a 'standard' type. As to your original question, you may want to Google a review of each to compare weight, lift, etc. I know experienced owners of both who are happy, one of which prefers his Balance over his Zeagle. Good luck, buying gear can be confusing.
 
None taken, typical internet communication confusion :cool3:. I was actually hoping there had been a previous discussion on this that I had missed in the search that you knew of.
 
Dimension has i3 and wrapture harness system, Balance has standard inflator and backpack harness system. Both are rear wing.

You can downgrade a Dimension to a standard inflator, but you cannot upgrade a Balance to i3.

The Balance packs in less space than the Dimension.

The Dimension has octi and gauge holders, the Balance does not.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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