Any experience with Zeagle rip cords?

[Thresa]

I am looking at a few BC’s right now and Zeagle Zena is one of them. I really like the look and the feel of the Zena, but I am unsure of the rip cords. I was told by the local dive shop that if you pull the cords then you have to bring the BC in to have the cords put back in. Is this a good design feature, it sounds more complicated than most other BC’s. I’m just wondering why they chose to make their BC’s this way. What are the pro’s and con’s of this rip cord system? Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[sasscuba]

I am looking at a few BC’s right now and Zeagle Zena is one of them. I really like the look and the feel of the Zena, but I am unsure of the rip cords. I was told by the local dive shop that if you pull the cords then you have to bring the BC in to have the cords put back in. Is this a good design feature, it sounds more complicated than most other BC’s. I’m just wondering why they chose to make their BC’s this way. What are the pro’s and con’s of this rip cord system? Thanks in advance for the input.

Rip cord system is a great system. It dumps both sides of weight with 1 pull. It is very very easy to rethread by yourself just make sure to see how it is threaded before you do a test pull on land. Highly recommend Zeagle!

 

[sspadafo]

I agree that it does sound complicated but once you learn to re-thread the thing, it really isn't hard. I was also hesitant to buy a Zeagle BC. What I did was pull it out while in the shop. I sat with it for 5-10 minutes and figured it out BEFORE I bought it. In my opinion, a shop owner shouldn't have a problem with you playing with it before purchase, but if they do have a problem with things like this, don't buy from them.

-Shaun

 

[herman]

I agree with stangscuba, the ripcord is one of the better systems on the market.

If your LDS told you that they have to reinstall the rip cord if it's pulled I would highly suggest you find a different shop to deal with. They are either lying to you or are totally incompetent, neither of which you should put up with. They should offer to teach you how to do it, it's not hard once you have seen it done. If they are a Zeagle dealer, I suspect Zeagle would like to know about them.

 

[ScottZeagle]

I agree with stangscuba, the ripcord is one of the better systems on the market.

If your LDS told you that they have to reinstall the rip cord if it's pulled I would highly suggest you find a different shop to deal with. They are either lying to you or are totally incompetent, neither of which you should put up with. They should offer to teach you how to do it, it's not hard once you have seen it done. If they are a Zeagle dealer, I suspect Zeagle would like to know about them.

I have shown thousands of people how to re-thread the ripcord system at various shows over the years, and the overwhelming response is always "Wow, that isn't hard at all!"

Don't let a dive shop fool you into believing that you must send the BC back to us for re-threading....it is simply a lie.

The Zena is actually quicker to re-thread than most, as the weight pockets are shapped differently and there are not as many loops to deal with.

Please let me know if the shop WAS a Zeagle dealer, and if you have any other questions, feel free to call, post them, or PM me.

Thanks for coming here to check it out, rather than simply believing what you were told...

Scott

 

[SteveAD]

I have seen the "ripcord is too complicated" argument mostly from shops sellin other than zeagle, quickly followed by "these pull out pockets are so much easier to put back in". What they fail to mention is that in the (atmittedly unlikely) event that you do have to ditch your weights with those oh so convienient pull out pockets, you are actually throwing away the pockets and may not have them to reinstall.

I love zeagles ripcord.

 

[herman]

Told you Zeagle would like to know.

 

[jpcpat]

The ripcord is easy to rethread yourself, it only takes a minute or 2. As a release, IMHO, it's the best one out there.

 

[DiveMaven]

I have a Zeagle Zena (biggest fan on earth!!) and because I bought it from ScubaToys, I didn't have anyone to show me how to rethread it. I turned my Zena over in my lap, looked carefully at how it was threaded, pulled the cord slowly, and watched it come out of the loops. Then I simply rethreaded it exactly how it came apart. I'd say the first time it took me 5 minutes from start to finish, including watching how it came apart. After that, I pulled the cord and it took me approximately 2 minutes to rethread it the 2nd time. Don't let ANYONE tell you that you can't rethread it yourself.

Let me tell you one MAJOR advantage to Zeagle's ripcord system. While in Belize in December, one of my husband's weight pockets from his SeaQuest BC came out and there was no way I was going to dive to about 400' to try to retrieve it. Not only was he not able to use his integrated weight system on that side of his BC (he simply put the weights in his pocket), but it cost us nearly $25 when we got home to replace ONE pocket. The same exact thing happened (in Cozumel) to a friend of mine who has a SeaQuest Diva, only her LDS charged her $35 to replace the pocket!!

I never have any pockets I ever have to worry about losing or replacing. I've already told my husband that the minute he's ready to replace that SeaQuest BC, we'll be buying him a Zeagle.

 

[SteveAD]

I have a Zeagle Zena (biggest fan on earth!!) and because I bought it from ScubaToys, I didn't have anyone to show me how to rethread it. I turned my Zena over in my lap, looked carefully at how it was threaded, pulled the cord slowly, and watched it come out of the loops. Then I simply rethreaded it exactly how it came apart. I'd say the first time it took me 5 minutes from start to finish, including watching how it came apart. After that, I pulled the cord and it took me approximately 2 minutes to rethread it the 2nd time. Don't let ANYONE tell you that you can't rethread it yourself.

Let me tell you one MAJOR advantage to Zeagle's ripcord system. While in Belize in December, one of my husband's weight pockets from his SeaQuest BC came out and there was no way I was going to dive to about 400' to try to retrieve it. Not only was he not able to use his integrated weight system on that side of his BC (he simply put the weights in his pocket), but it cost us nearly $25 when we got home to replace ONE pocket. The same exact thing happened (in Cozumel) to a friend of mine who has a SeaQuest Diva, only her LDS charged her $35 to replace the pocket!!

I never have any pockets I ever have to worry about losing or replacing. I've already told my husband that the minute he's ready to replace that SeaQuest BC, we'll be buying him a Zeagle.

thank you for backing me up.