Confused by all the choices for BCDs... looking at a Zeagle

[Pearldiver07]

I have to say that one great thing about Zeagle is how they back their equipment.

We had a customer who brought in an old Ranger for repairs because a resort DM tried to lift it into the boat by the LP inflate elbow at the wing. It tore loose (big surprise).

To my genuine surprise, Zeagle repaired it as a warranty!!!

I used to dive Zeagle for years, and my only complaint was that the Ranger was a bit heavy for travel. But getting "Bullet-proof" and "light-weight" in the same package is very difficult.

Also - I've seen few of what I would call conventional BCD's that are as easily modifiable as a Zeagle. You can change out just about any component if it is given to a person who is still growing, or if you change girth (in or out).

All in all, a great system.

 

[divad]

Also - I've seen few of what I would call conventional BCD's that are as easily modifiable as a Zeagle..

I used my Scout bladder as the first wing on my first backplate. Of course, you could just cut to the chase and TRY a BP/W before you buy anything................

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I ended up getting a used Zeagle Tech Express from cheeko8080 in this thread! Can I be part of the BP/W club now?

Can't wait to dive with this thing. Now for the computer and regulators...

 

[Scared Silly]

Have fun with the new BCD - zeagle make a good product and has good customer service.

OT but you mentioned AL ver Steel for a cylinder. Given the cooler water I would certainly look at a steel cylinder, the HP100 is the de-facto std. steel.

 

[fnfalman]

Right now I dive with a 7/5mm wetsuit, which may be upgraded to a 7mm farmer john style, which may be upgraded further to drysuit in a year or so when I have more money.

I will be diving with a weight belt.

These two alone tells me that you don't need a very big wing. In this case you'd need a wing that's big enough to float your tank and accessories (flashlight, some minor doodads). Why not too big of a wing? a) Your drysuit; when you get it, can be inflated to float yourself and your weight belt - you have no need to have a big wing to help float the weight belt at the surface, and b) you have a weight belt which can easily be ditchable in a hurry thus rendering you pretty buoyant in either wetsuit or drysuit form.

The whole point is to choose a wing that is big enough to float your rig at the surface just in case you have to ditch your rig (major equipment failure or rescuing somebody, rescuing yourself). Your rig includes BC, tank, regulator, computer/gauges, weight (if go with integrated weight). So, if you carry weight on your body ala weight belt/weight harness then your rig doesn't have to float that much lead. In an emergency, you ditch your weight and your exposure suit will float you while the wing floats your rig.

I will most likely own a Catalina Aluminum 80 up to 3000. I'd like a higher pressure tank in the future though. Still debating between steel and aluminum. My divemaster friend says the only reason people don't like aluminum tanks and their bouyancy issues at the beginning and end of a dive is because they can't control their bouyancy very well.

About the only good thing that go for Al80 tank is that it's cheap. If you can afford a steel tank (hell, buy used), then get a steel tank.

In my practice dives I was wearing 7mm farmer john with an Al 80 tank and a 20lb weight belt, 2x3lb integrated weights, and a 2lb clip on to make me slightly negative to compensate for the positive bouyancy of the tank at the end of the dive.

So, you have 20 + 6 + 2 = 28lbs right now. That's pretty heavy. You'd need about 4lbs for aluminum tank compensation. I don't know which BC you have but let's assume that it's about 4lbs positive buoyancy, so you'd need another 4lbs to sink the BC. That brings it to 8lbs total thus far. I find it hard to believe that you'd need 20lbs to sink yourself in a 7/5mm wetsuit. I'm a lot fatter than you and I don't need that much weight to sink me (myself and 7mm wetsuit = 14lbs weight).

I'm 135lb and Asian. With lungs full of air I float an inch above the water, so only the tip of my head is showing.

Is this with your rig on? Or is this with your wetsuit & weight belt only?

I weight myself two ways:

1. With the whole rig ready to dive, I empty the BC completely and exhale complete. This would put me slightly negative, just sinking barely beneath the surface. I'd have to duck dive and kick down until around 10-ft so that my wetsuit gets compressed and I start to sink very slowly.

2. With just myself, fins, gloves, boots, hood and a weight belt with 14lbs of lead, I'd exhale half of my lungs and I'd sink down to eye level. With a full lung, I'd float up to chin level.

Anyway, if you were to use a weight belt then I think that you're plenty safe with the 24lbs lift on the Zeagle Express Tech.

 

[Kern]

Your wing needs enough lift to float your rig at the surface, or compensate for the loss of buoyancy in your suit during the dive. If you dive a wet suit, it will lose buoyancy due to compression with depth, the deeper you go, the more buoyancy you lose. If you dive dry, & the suit floods, the wing has to be big enough to compensate for the loss.

So you need to know how negative your rig is, & the buoyancy of your exposure protection. Then pick a wing with enough lift to deal with the greater of the 2.

 

[meltonart]

I was trained in a Seaquest Balance and later switched to a Zeagle Ranger.
I know a lot of people rave about the Zeagle but I didn't really like it.
I never felt I could get it tightened down enough to where it wouldn't let the tank shift from side to side during maneuvers underwater. It lacked the hard plastic piece that holds the tank in place that the Seaquest had which I feel contributed greatly to the tank stability.