Zeagle Scout or Dive Rite Travelpac

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Scuba727

Registered
Messages
16
Reaction score
4
Location
Canada
Hello All

I think I have it narrowed down to these two BCs. I would like to ask the experienced divers of scubaboard to offer their opinions.

I will be diving only down south in warm water a few times each winter. Single tank only without wetsuit, strictly recreational diving. I typically use about 8 lbs(probably too much.)

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Scuba727
 
Zeagle Scout. I have been using mine for more than a decade, as good as new, beautifully made, works perfectly, very easy to pack but very tough. User friendly, simple. So comfortable and sleek you almost forget you are wearing it.
 
I like the Transpac.
 
I have a dive buddy that has a Scout for warm water travel. He likes it. Rugged, lightweight, basic BCD. I dive a Zeagle express tech w/zip touch wt. pockets for warm water travel. Packs well and very configurable. Wife dives a Stiletto. Needless to say I've had good luck with Zeagle rigs. Lots of good travel rigs out there. Good luck.
 
Another vote for the Zeagle. I dive the Scout for teaching, simple open water and travel. When I use my doubles I have on an old Zeagle Techpack. Both have done a lot of dives. The Scout probably has 500+ dives on it. Other than some fading from pools probably it is as serviceable now as when I got it several years ago. I think enough of them to put both my daughters in them. Nothing wrong with the Dive Rite though, I still prefer my Zeagle.
 
Last edited:
Seems to me the Transpac and Scout are two pretty different Bc's. The Transpac is a slightly larger unit and probably heavier duty. It's twice the price too.

My guess is you'll thoroughly enjoy which ever one you choose as your first BC.

EDIT: oops, sorry, I miss read it. Travelpac not Transpac.
 
I did my first 40 dives with a back-inflate BCD - a Zeagle Scout. Never had a problem. Nice and travels well (small profile). I have since switched over to a BP&W (which is by definition a back-inflate BCD). If I were to do it all over again I would just start with a BP&W. Take my advice - just go with a single continuous band of webbing (i.e., no quick release buckles) and don't get the padding as it is not necessary.
 
without a wetsuit you really need something on the shoulders, the one piece harnesses are great when you have exposure protection on, but you need at least neoprene sleeves to comfortably dive them without exposure protection.....

It is a safety problem for some of us. I dive like that regularly through the university I work with, and the 20-30' walk with a single AL80 is enough for me to loose circulation in both of my arms to the point where I have problems moving my hands. I have big shoulders so the webbing goes and pinches the nerve off because it slides off of my traps, but if I put neoprene sleeves on there, it distributes the load enough to where it isn't a safety issue anymore.

I do prefer hard plates and wings for that type of diving to remove the weight belt. The trianta system I linked earlier is great for this type of diving.
Basic Harness Shoulder Pads - Dive Right in Scuba
that is the shoulder pad referenced above and they really do make the difference between a one piece harness being intolerable and comfortable at the surface. Underwater it is irrelevant, but you still have to get there.
 
Sometimes I get a little rub in the armpit if I'm diving in just a skin or t-shirt with my express tech. I think it's my burgeoning, middle aged man boobs. :D I use these yakgrips for a little padding. Amazon.com : Yakgrips Kayak Paddle Grips (1 Pair), Black for take apart shaft : Kayak Paddle Accessories : Sports & Outdoors The ones for two piece paddles are similar to the DRIS pads tbone referenced. The ones for solid shaft paddles use a velcro strip. I was dubious about the velcro ones at first, though they were nice because you can add them without rethreading your harness. I have 40+ dives on them and they haven't come undone or moved a bit. I even reattached them a couple of times initially to get them in just the right spot. Technology trumps age. Yahoo.
 

Back
Top Bottom