Talk me out of a apex black ice.

[Crackerbacks]

I have been diving the same zeagle for almost 20 years and it’s pretty much falling apart. I want to want another zeagle but I really like the looks of the black ice. I’m a big guy and I dive a little bit of everything, dry suit, 7mm wetsuit and some tropical diving. I don’t want to purchase multiple BC’s and I don’t mind weight when traveling.

Thanks!

 

[formernuke]

Get a bpw instead meets all your criteria.

 

[ajtoady]

Buy what suits you! If you want a jacket type,,guess what,, buy a jacket type. If you wish to try a BPW, get one of those. I have both types and dive both. Each has it's own benefit or use spectrum.

 

[UFOrb]

Why do you wish to be talked out of buying one?
They do indeed look like a nice bit of kit, and would suit your purposes. I was tempted to get one myself when a saw a good deal last year (possibly a fair bit cheaper here than the US). I was put off by its weight for travel and it has much more lift than I require for the type of diving I do.
I opted for a BPW (XDeep Ghost) in the end (also on a very good deal), which I'm happy with.

 

[lexvil]

The black ice looks like a nice enough b/c but a back plate is more modular, easier to maintain in that any part you want to or need to replace can be sourced from multiple places and suppliers. Less bulk and can be disassembled for travel, for the ultimate back plate get on the freedom plate list, when it arrives (whenever that will be) everything from the first plate can be used on the FP.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Have you thought about the ScubaPro Hydros Pro? Very similar, modular, and rugged as all get-out. I absolutely love mine and it travels better than a small child (size wise, that is. but I always drugged my kids before long flights so the same applies).

 

[SleepySlipper]

My first bc was an Apex black ice, I put in around 150 dives before moving on. I enjoyed a majority of my dives. The reason I got away from it were the left hand side cumberbund pocket was poorly designed, velcro on the entire bc eventually started to wear out, clip-in ditchable weight pockets started to wear out, lots of excess material which made the rig very heavy when wet. It was fun while it lasted.

 

[Crackerbacks]

So big thing with a BPW set up... do I have to wear a weight belt or is there someway it integrate weights? I absolutely hate a separate weight belt.

 

[SleepySlipper]

All depends on your body composition, exposure protection, and diving environment. For instance, I’m 150lbs diving a drysuit in frigid water most often. With two steel tanks connected to a stainless steel backplate/wing, I don’t need any additional weight. When I dive on the Hawaiian islands, I will rent aluminum 80 tank and throw on a stainless backplate/wing combined with a 3mm wetsuit, I still don’t need any additional weight.

 

[Kamaros]

So big thing with a BPW set up... do I have to wear a weight belt or is there someway it integrate weights? I absolutely hate a separate weight belt.

You have a couple of options for ditchable weights. You can add weight pockets that just thread onto the webbing (eg. Dive Rite Quick Buckle Weight System, {16 lb | 7.3 kg} | Dive Gear Express®). You could also go with the DIR route which just threads hard weights directly onto the right-side waist webbing, held in place by a buckle. For non-ditchable weights, you can use trim pockets (that also thread onto webbing or tank straps), weighted single tank adapters, or v-weights if you're diving doubles.