First BCD, Zeagle Zena...love it.

[divingsiren]

:cool2: After weeks of reading about BCD options, driving around to multiple dive shops in my area, and understanding what I wanted in a BCD... I got myself the Zena, and am so excited to actually use it diving this week! Just had to share my happiness with fellow divers, since my nondiving friends don't quite get my excitement, oh well!

Thanks to the great divers on this board for all your wisdom! cheers! :cool2:

 

[0garibaldi0]

Congrats! I'm waiting on mine to be shipped but have no idea if I got the right size. I ordered the Tusa Selene II first, but found it way too bulky for travel, so it went back. I hope you share your experience w/it after your dive. I'm heading to Key Largo in a few weeks and will be using it - hopefully.

 

[bluejaykaren]

My daughter has the Zena and after seeing hers and hearing every trip how much she loves her bc I really want one too. I have Zeigle Ranger and I loved it until she got her Zena. It weights so much less and it takes her half the time to get geared up.

 

[divingsiren]

Congrats! I'm waiting on mine to be shipped but have no idea if I got the right size. I ordered the Tusa Selene II first, but found it way too bulky for travel, so it went back. I hope you share your experience w/it after your dive. I'm heading to Key Largo in a few weeks and will be using it - hopefully.

The Zena is pretty cool in that it has multiple parts, thus multiple sizing. I ended up having a medium sized vest, small front panel, and XS shoulder. It fits me way better than the rented men's Aqualung BCD I used at my LDS. So long as the weather conditions are good for diving tomorrow, I plan on breaking it in! :cool2:

 

[DiveMaven]

I hope you know how to adjust it properly at the start of the dive to get the perfect fit. If not, here it is:

When you gear up on a boat, don't worry so much about tightening things down. Just do it enough to get off the boat. For shore diving, pull your shoulder traps all the way so your tank is as high on your back as you can get it (makes it easier and more stable to walk into the water).

Once you're in the water, loosen all of your straps and begin your descent. At about 10', while horizontal in the water, pull down your Zena as far as it will go on your body. Starting at the bottom, tighten the straps snuggly, making sure that the middle straps are sitting at your natural waist below or right at the bottom of your rib cage (depending on where your waist is). It is very important than the middle stap is at your waist, and if you can't get it that low, you need a bigger shoulder section.

Once the body straps are tightened down (from the bottom up), snug down your shoulder straps. You'll find they don't need to be tight, just the slack taken out of them. If you've done this process properly, your Zena will NEVER move or shift on your body during a dive, regardless of what position you're in. It also won't ride up at the surface when your wing is inflated.


Also, as a side note consider getting an add-on lumbar pad for your Zena. It makes an already comfortable BC even more comfortable. There's also a bigger pocket you can buy that is specific to the Zena (and Zeus) if you need one.

I have 400 dives on my Zena and it looks as good today as the day I bought it. Even the color hasn't faded!!

 

[buton]

i heard the zena is great on woman, when we went to scubatoys the recomended the ZENA, but my girlfriend said "it does not look cool i dont like it"(i will not argue with a woman) so she got the stilleto(XS, it looks cool and fashion she said) during her first dives with it, the bc kept going up making her uncomfortable, i heard thats a common problem on women bcs, so i got her the Split Saddle Strap Assembly and problem solve "she is happy and not complaining"...

congrats for your BC, great choice...

 

[DiveMaven]

The Stilleto isn't a women's BC, it's a mans.... One thing I know for sure, a properly fitted and adjusted Zena would NEVER have moved up on her body, even fully inflated on the surface. Glad to hear you solved her problem and she's happy now.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

We have so many of our divers that rave about their Zenas you know it has to be true!

 

[divingsiren]

I hope you know how to adjust it properly at the start of the dive to get the perfect fit. If not, here it is:

When you gear up on a boat, don't worry so much about tightening things down. Just do it enough to get off the boat. For shore diving, pull your shoulder traps all the way so your tank is as high on your back as you can get it (makes it easier and more stable to walk into the water).

Once you're in the water, loosen all of your straps and begin your descent. At about 10', while horizontal in the water, pull down your Zena as far as it will go on your body. Starting at the bottom, tighten the straps snuggly, making sure that the middle straps are sitting at your natural waist below or right at the bottom of your rib cage (depending on where your waist is). It is very important than the middle stap is at your waist, and if you can't get it that low, you need a bigger shoulder section.

Once the body straps are tightened down (from the bottom up), snug down your shoulder straps. You'll find they don't need to be tight, just the slack taken out of them. If you've done this process properly, your Zena will NEVER move or shift on your body during a dive, regardless of what position you're in. It also won't ride up at the surface when your wing is inflated.


Also, as a side note consider getting an add-on lumbar pad for your Zena. It makes an already comfortable BC even more comfortable. There's also a bigger pocket you can buy that is specific to the Zena (and Zeus) if you need one.

I have 400 dives on my Zena and it looks as good today as the day I bought it. Even the color hasn't faded!!

Didn't read this post until after my dive this morning, but a lot of what you said was what I figured out along the way. Honestly, I had no problems with the Zena, it was wonderful. Tank stayed where it should and the BCD fit like a charm. A lot of the measurement stuff we did 2x at the dive shop to make sure I had the right sizes, hence why all 3 parts of my BCD are all 3 diff sizes, which makes me really impressed by the Zena design. After 2 dives in it, I will easily say Zeagle made a wonderful women's BCD. Perhaps I'll eventually get the lumbar support, but right now I've got a regulator, octo, spg and computer to invest in!

 

[leahjoness]

Do any of you girls find the tank sits far away from your head? Maybe I'm just not used to it, but I find the tank sits on an angle with the bottom close to my body and the valve away from my head. Is it not fitting me properly? Is this how is it designed to fit?