Opinion on used/new BCD's for first time divers

[Devin Long]

Hello all, my wife and I just got our open water certification and fell in love with diving. We are looking to buy our own gear as it will be cheaper in the long run. Looking for something durable, cost effective and lightweight, as most of our diving will be done while traveling. Also trying to keep it fairly cheap bc we are not living in a place we can dive that frequently, hopefully that will change in the near future though. I still want to buy quality the first time and not sacrifice for the sake of price now.

I was initially on LeisurePro and based on reviews/peer suggestions had picked out the zeagle wicked ranger for my self and the zeagle Zena for my wife. we were also able to try these on and really liked the way they fit as well. I dont know how i feel about the ripcord weight release, looks complicated to put back together after the fact if you did have to pull. I do really like Oct-Z setup with it and the fact you can rinse the bladders out with a garden hose easily.

Now before I decided to pull the trigger on these I decided to look on craigslist to see what deals could be had.
Found a guy selling a Zeagle Ranger that is six years old for $150. It looks to be in great condition. Only thing I noticed was some green oxidation where the LP line hooks up to the vest.
He also had a Tusa Selene that has only been on 2 dives for $300. Both of these vests fit us perfectly as well.

So do you all think the used stuff is a good deal? or better to just buy new to start? Any and all suggestions on gear is most appreciated!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The Zeagle Ranger is not a light weight BC. $300 for a used BC is a lot as well..

 

[Lorenzoid]

Zeagle is great stuff. My wife loves her Zena, but since our switch to the backplate-and-wing configuration, she might be interested in selling it. I have a Zeagle Express Tech, which I don't intend to sell. The ripcord weight dump system might be more difficult to reset after deployment, but you are probably never going to have to deploy it. The garden hose connection is the bomb for rinsing!

 

[diversteve]

I dont know how i feel about the ripcord weight release, looks complicated to put back together after the fact if you did have to pull

It's not as hard as it looks...



I agree with dumpsterDiver - for extensive travel you probably want a different Zeagle. Their newest travel BC is the Covert - it's light at 3.9lbs and you roll it up like a newspaper. A Ranger is too stiff in the back to do much except tuck the wings in while packing.

Or an Express Tech is very minimal also.

A Stiletto does 90% of what a Ranger does but has a 35# wing and is single tank only. Slightly cheaper price - around $600 new. One lb. lighter also.

There's also the Wicked Lite, it's a discontinued model with tribal patterning on the wing. They roll up also since it's the previous version of the Covert with minor changes. Leisurepro has them at a good price - $325 new. It has the Zip-touch weight system so no worries about rethreading but you'll have to add a pocket to one of the straps if you want one. 32# wing. http://www.leisurepro.com/p-zglwl/zeagle-wicked-lite-ranger-bcd

 

[Colliam7]

We are looking to buy our own gear as it will be cheaper in the long run. Looking for something durable, cost effective and lightweight, as most of our diving will be done while traveling. . . . . I still want to buy quality the first time and not sacrifice for the sake of price now. . . . I had picked out the zeagle wicked ranger for my self and the zeagle Zena for my wife. we were also able to try these on and really liked the way they fit as well. I dont know how i feel about the ripcord weight release, looks complicated to put back together after the fact if you did have to pull. I do really like Oct-Z setup with it and the fact you can rinse the bladders out with a garden hose easily.

Decent choices. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the Zena - no pockets, difficult to clip lights, etc to it - I base this on having helped 5-6 of our shop customers AND STAFF switch from a Zena, that they had paid a lot of money for (to a BP/W, as it turns out). The Zeagle ripcord system is fine - I have never had to deploy it in my (12 y.o.) Ranger. Re-threading is not difficult, just takes a bit of time, but that is not a show-stopper, by any means.

Found a guy selling a Zeagle Ranger that is six years old for $150. It looks to be in great condition. Only thing I noticed was some green oxidation where the LP line hooks up to the vest. . . . He also had a Tusa Selene that has only been on 2 dives for $300. Both of these vests fit us perfectly as well.

The Ranger price is OK - do not worry about the green oxidation. Ranger is a nice BCD, not optimal for single cylinder diving, though (I started with one, so i have some experience upon which to base my comments.) Used TUSA Selene isn't worth $100, much less $300. DO NOT go there.

So do you all think the used stuff is a good deal? or better to just buy new to start?

Used gear is absolutely fine to start. I am not sure this set is the right way to start, for either of you.

 

[enduser]

Zeagle makes great products and they are damn near indestructible. I dove a Ranger and then switched to a Brigade (same BC smaller wing) and both were good BC's.

As Dumpster Diver said a Ranger is not a lightweight travel BC but it is excellent quality and will outlast us all with little to no maintenance.

If it were me I would buy the Ranger and pass on the Tusa. That is a great price on a Ranger and if 6 months later you decide you want something else you will be able to sell it for at least that if not more. I have bought and sold a few via classifieds and have always come out ahead.

Do you have any pics of the Ranger you can share? Does it have curved or straight shoulders? Does it have two D-rings per shoulder or one? What color is the inflator button? Does it have the garden hose flush on the inflator hose? Is the word Ranger on the velcro strap a plastic tag or embroidered Ranger on the strap?

I know you said it was six years old but those things will help you date it a bit more.

Buy used. Save some coin. Go diving.

 

[Tbar]

So do you all think the used stuff is a good deal? or better to just buy new to start? Any and all suggestions on gear is most appreciated!

Hi - Welcome

I think buying second-hand is a great option. I have 3 kids and wife and brother that dive and have kitted all out with regs and bcds. My rule is to be very aware of the product you want and then be patient. I researched and decided I wanted Scubapro regs, particularly MK25/S600/S600 set-up and now have 6 sets. I also have purchased 3 Scubapro Ladyhawk and 3 Knighthawk BCDs. By focusing on only these products I could get a feel of the issues, quality and cost. I have purchased from this forum and of eBay. On average I would say the cost has been about 30% of new price, the savings on BCDs are much greater than regs.

As soon as it is delivered I test and when I find issues I discuss with the seller and agree compensation. I can service the items, sticking to the one set-up helps reduce the parts and tools I need.

If you do go second hand, take you time and stay focused – it can take a lot of effort. If you can’t service the equipment then you need to factor the cost of a service for any second-hand gear.

I have purchased computers new (except 1 of them).

 

[Devin Long]

pictures of the used ranger. it is not the newer style you can hook a hose up too. really starting to lean more towards getting a new "travel" BC. I have been going through alot of threads, it seems like many people end up switch to BP/W setups in the long run. Maybe it would be worth my time/money to just start with that? they seem like they are capable of packing down light too. Any suggestions on travel BC's or BP/W setups will be most appreciated. right now I am looking at the Zeagle Wicked Lite based on price, looks like it is durable, and the water hose cleaning feature. Need a BC for both my wife and myself, so if there are recomendations for females I will take that too. Type of diving we will be doing is mostly tropical warm water. Coldest we will be diving would be Charleston/Florida area in the winter so 60 degree water with 5-7 mil full wet suits worst case. Another question, one thing I dont like about the Wicked Lite is lack of cumberbund and pockets. Cumberbund issue mostly for my wife, she likes her setup to be snug on her. I like having pockets. I saw the XS Scuba shorts with pockets you can put on over wetsuits, is that something that works out well?

 

[enduser]

That does look like a little bit older Ranger. Single D-Ring per shoulder and red inflator button. It could have been purchased 6 years ago but had been old stock. In my opinion it is still worth $150 and you could probably ebay it for more than that. But not if that is not the route you are taking for gear.

I will let others comment on the BP/W route, I did recently pick up a used DSS stainless steel backplate and LCD 30 wing but only have 1 dive on it.

So I am no where near an expert and so many other SB'ers are! But I will say the quality is excellent, it was easy to vent, and basically felt like I wasn't wearing a BC. It will take a bit of getting used to not having a single pocket but I may accessorize it a bit with one later.

Explore both Deep Sea Supply BPW and Zeagle Express Tech hybrid soft backplate.

 

[tbone1004]

If you're spending money for new gear, the best back for buck, quality system is still this.
DRIS Dive Gear 28lb BP/W System | Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL - Dive Right in Scuba

It's not the lightest thing out there, total system weight somewhere in the 14lb range, but the hard backplate can go straight against the bottom of your carryon and the whole thing sits pretty flat for travel and you won't have to deal with weighbelts since the system is 10lbs negative. High quality equipment, great price, good CS if something goes wonky. I used to travel with a system like that regularly with a full scuba set as my carryon, no problems.

Deep Sea Supply is high quality gear, but new wings are $350 ish, so quite a bite more. They're made in USA, but a cool dude though. If Made in USA matters, Oxycheq, DiveRite, and most of HOG wings are made in USA. I would recommend trying the bp/w system though, it's high quality gear that will last you the rest of your life aside from maybe having to reweb the harness.