Apeks Black Ice B.C.D.

[Boston Breakwater]

Hello, everyone. I purchased (3) Apeks Black Ice B.C.D.'s from an Estate Sale.
New with tags. (Never seen water.)
It seems (Too me.) like a cross between a U.S. Divers Sea master, and a Seaquest Black Diamond from the late 1990's
Very nice construction, and heavy duty.
Does anyone dive with one of these?
Comments would be appreciated.
Cheers.

 

[vjb.knife]

I dive with an Apeks Black Ice mostly at work. I like that it is HD and the size of the pockets, since I carry a lot of hardware, sometimes. I have been using it for a little over two years now and it looks pretty new, considering how hard I work with it. It is a little bulky but not a problem. It can carry a lot of weight and still balance well. I use an Apeks WTX BPW with a set of tiny doubles and an Atomic BC2 on recreational dives with single 80's. They each have their place for me and I like them all.

 

[afieldofblue]

I like mine, but it's quite heavy with quite a lot of metal on there.

Really comfortable otherwise, no cumberbund - An oddity are the two-rowed weight pockets -
nice for colder water, but having stuff in your right BC cargo pocket does seem to affect how the weight pocket stays clicked-in.

Diving in tropical waters, I managed to lose a weight pocket with a single 2 pound weight in it, despite have double-checked that it was clicked in tight before (giant stride) entry.
Didn't notice it, and luckily managed to find the missing pocket at the end of the dive, but haven't used the Black Ice's original weight pockets since (reverting to some back-mounted Zeagle pockets I had on my previous BC) as i'm afraid of it happening again.
This was with a single weight in the right pocket, not sure I would trust these with even more weight inside...
And keep in mind these are non-standard format weight pocket, which means no real replacement possible for those of us located in remote areas.

 

[vjb.knife]

I like mine, but it's quite heavy with quite a lot of metal on there.

Really comfortable otherwise, no cumberbund - An oddity are the two-rowed weight pockets -
nice for colder water, but having stuff in your right BC cargo pocket does seem to affect how the weight pocket stays clicked-in.

Diving in tropical waters, I managed to lose a weight pocket with a single 2 pound weight in it, despite have double-checked that it was clicked in tight before (giant stride) entry.
Didn't notice it, and luckily managed to find the missing pocket at the end of the dive, but haven't used the Black Ice's original weight pockets since (reverting to some back-mounted Zeagle pockets I had on my previous BC) as i'm afraid of it happening again.
This was with a single weight in the right pocket, not sure I would trust these with even more weight inside...
And keep in mind these are non-standard format weight pocket, which means no real replacement possible for those of us located in remote areas.

Depending on which wetsuit I am wearing and how many tools I am carrying I use anywhere from 4# to 8# in each pocket. I carry a lot of tools, hardware and specialized equipment in the two cargo pockets all the time and I have never had one of the weight pockets come loose. I check them prior to every dive but have had no problems.

I think some of the Aqualung BC's use the same or similar weight pocket, but I am not sure. If you have this problem on a regular basis I think something is wrong with either the pocket or the BC side latch mechanism. I have several hundred dives on this BC mostly at work and a few recreationally here in Hawaii.

 

[afieldofblue]

Depending on which wetsuit I am wearing and how many tools I am carrying I use anywhere from 4# to 8# in each pocket. I carry a lot of tools, hardware and specialized equipment in the two cargo pockets all the time and I have never had one of the weight pockets come loose. I check them prior to every dive but have had no problems.

I think some of the Aqualung BC's use the same or similar weight pocket, but I am not sure. If you have this problem on a regular basis I think something is wrong with either the pocket or the BC side latch mechanism. I have several hundred dives on this BC mostly at work and a few recreationally here in Hawaii.

I know, it's a little odd - maybe it got undone as I was kitting up (small space on a speedboat) - but I do remember finding it difficult to get the pocket to click properly, a bit of fumbling around in the morning to get it to click in place.
I've used mine one season so far, so 2 to 4 dives a day from November to March but was afraid to use the pockets after this, as I work as an instructor/guide and can't risk losing weight pockets when I'm guiding.

 

[American Digger In Europe]

I've had my weight pockets fall out TWICE. I heard the click, double checked for proper seating and had my buddy check me again. As soon as I hit the water one of my weight pockets fell out. Pretty embarrassing thing to happen to an instructor in front of students!

Needless to say, I changed to a different BCD.

 

[afieldofblue]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one - Even after hearing the click, the pockets do seem to come out quite easily - I wonder if this is linked to the large pocket design...

For those who don't know, the Apek Black Ice comes with these Surelock II weight pockets:

 

[Boston Breakwater]

I dive with an Apeks Black Ice mostly at work. I like that it is HD and the size of the pockets, since I carry a lot of hardware, sometimes. I have been using it for a little over two years now and it looks pretty new, considering how hard I work with it. It is a little bulky but not a problem. It can carry a lot of weight and still balance well. I use an Apeks WTX BPW with a set of tiny doubles and an Atomic BC2 on recreational dives with single 80's. They each have their place for me and I like them all.

I like mine, but it's quite heavy with quite a lot of metal on there.

Really comfortable otherwise, no cumberbund - An oddity are the two-rowed weight pockets -
nice for colder water, but having stuff in your right BC cargo pocket does seem to affect how the weight pocket stays clicked-in.

Diving in tropical waters, I managed to lose a weight pocket with a single 2 pound weight in it, despite have double-checked that it was clicked in tight before (giant stride) entry.
Didn't notice it, and luckily managed to find the missing pocket at the end of the dive, but haven't used the Black Ice's original weight pockets since (reverting to some back-mounted Zeagle pockets I had on my previous BC) as i'm afraid of it happening again.
This was with a single weight in the right pocket, not sure I would trust these with even more weight inside...
And keep in mind these are non-standard format weight pocket, which means no real replacement possible for those of us located in remote areas.

Depending on which wetsuit I am wearing and how many tools I am carrying I use anywhere from 4# to 8# in each pocket. I carry a lot of tools, hardware and specialized equipment in the two cargo pockets all the time and I have never had one of the weight pockets come loose. I check them prior to every dive but have had no problems.

I think some of the Aqualung BC's use the same or similar weight pocket, but I am not sure. If you have this problem on a regular basis I think something is wrong with either the pocket or the BC side latch mechanism. I have several hundred dives on this BC mostly at work and a few recreationally here in Hawaii.

I bought (3) U.S. Divers Sea Master B.C.D's in 1999 I sold one, and the other two lasted for twenty years.
The weight pockets were the same "Idea." with 2 rows.....(Pouches.) one above the other. Although, the weight release was different. I think the construction of the "Black Ice." is very well done. What really made hesitant was the little strap that goes around the tank valve. I've had dual cam bands for years.....I don't think that I could get myself to trust that little strap. Like I said they're "Brand new." never seen water, maybe I'll just post'em for sale. I have (2) Apeks WTX 45's and an Apeks WTX6R and I always reach for those. I appreciate the feedback.
Cheers.

 

[David Novo]

I know, it's a little odd - maybe it got undone as I was kitting up (small space on a speedboat) - but I do remember finding it difficult to get the pocket to click properly, a bit of fumbling around in the morning to get it to click in place.
I've used mine one season so far, so 2 to 4 dives a day from November to March but was afraid to use the pockets after this, as I work as an instructor/guide and can't risk losing weight pockets when I'm guiding.

I dove an Apeks Black Ice until recently and I also found it difficult to make the weight pockets click. They eventually always did and never fell but I stopped using them after being fed up with all the hassle.

Apart from that, I found it to be the best BCD I dove (tbh the sample size is pretty small) and just replaced it with a BPW.